I know that I will probably get shat on for posting this on the "wrong" forum but the appropriate one unfortunately does not appear to get a lot of hits or exposure.

For the last 35 years or so I have been fascinated by elephant hunting and those who hunt them seriously. I have built up a considerable library on the subject and tell my wife each night as I grab a book that I am "off to Africa"

I know a lot of you out there share my passion and I therefore feel compelled to bring to your attention one of the latest additions I have on the subject, "NDLOVU" by Richard Harland. As some of you will know few people living or dead can match his experience.

This is the most complete and authoritive book on the subject that I have read. Here is a guy that has "been there and done that" and fortunately for us he has written about his experiences. He pulls no punches in his opinions, writes with humour, modesty and above all serious knowledge.

I could go on, but suffice to say if you have an interest in elephant hunting or want to learn more on the subject this book is an absolute must read.
Mal

+1 on that. I just read it recently and enjoyed it very much.

Mal,

You are spot on, a superb book. Then get Buzz Charlton's DVD, Hunting the African Elephant and you have the complete set.

Already done that, but many thanks for the advice anyway,
Cheers,
Mal.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Mal,

You are spot on, a superb book. Then get Buzz Charlton's DVD, Hunting the African Elephant and you have the complete set.

I got both from "Rowland Ward" on a recent trip yo J'oberg. They are available by mail order, thanks for responding,
Mal.

It's a great book and Richard is great guy!

I have read Richard's book and I have met him personally on a number of occasions. He is the consumate gentlemen, and one of Africa's living legends. And. . . he is a member of AR!

It's an excellent book. I strongly recommend his other 2 books...one is autobiographical and the other is biographical about the life of Paul Grobler who was a mentor to Richard. Paul lived a tremendously interesting life.

Richard has also contributed to Boddington's new elephant DVD project along with Ivan Carter. Little known fact...Ivan's mom is Richard's first cousin.

Mal, I'm always interested to hear of other's elephant books. What else do you favor?

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
It's an excellent book. I strongly recommend his other 2 books...one is autobiographical and the other is biographical about the life of Paul Grobler who was a mentor to Richard. Paul lived a tremendously interesting life.

Richard has also contributed to Boddington's new elephant DVD project along with Ivan Carter. Little known fact...Ivan's mom is Richard's first cousin.

Mal, I'm always interested to hear of other's elephant books. What else do you favor?

Hi Mate,
the list is wide and varied and unfortunately a lot are out of print, so I will mention a few that I believe are still available. Some are not specifically on elephant although a considerable part of the text is.

"African Epic" Richard Harland

"Months of the Sun Ian Nychens

"Elephants Ivory & Hunters Tony Sanchez Arino


"Elephant Hunting in East Equitorial Africa" Arthur Neuman


"Bell of Africa" W.D.M. Bell


"Karomojo Safari" W.D.M. Bell

"Kambaku" Harry Manners

"The Hunting Imperative" Richard Harland

"Pondoro Last of the Ivory Hunters" John Taylor


"Elephant" Cmdr David Blunt

"Hunting the African Elephant" C.H. Stigand


"The Last Ivory Hunter" P.H. Capstick

"A Hunters Life in South Africa" R.G.Cumming


Although not majorly about elephant,"A Pioneering Hunter" by my dear friend Brian Marsh is well worth a read.Try "Rowland Ward Publications" for availability.

Hope this list, whilst not exhaustive is helpfull,
Best wishes,
Mal.

Thanks. I have all of those except Blunt, Stigand, Manners, and Cumming. You might also enjoy...

Mahoboh by Ron Thomson
Taller than Trees by John Gordon Davis
Along the Hunter's Path by Kai-Uwe Denker
The Elephant Hunters by Sanchez Arino.

In addition to the above mentioned books you might want to try and find a copy of "Elephant Hunting in Portugese East Africa" by Jose Pardal.

465H&H

Don't forget "Adventures of an Elephant Hunter" by James Sutherland and "African Safaris" by Major G.H. "Andy" Anderson.

RCG

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
In addition to the above mentioned books you might want to try and find a copy of "Elephant Hunting in Portugese East Africa" by Jose Pardal.

465H&H

Thanks for the suggestion 465. What year was the Pardal book written in? I am wondering if he was a contemporary of Pondoro.
Cheers,
Mal.

quote:

Originally posted by RCG:
Don't forget "Adventures of an Elephant Hunter" by James Sutherland and "African Safaris" by Major G.H. "Andy" Anderson.

RCG

I know that Anderson and Sutherland were good friends, there's a great picture of them together in the Sanchez book that I mentioned above. Are the two books you mentioned still in print?
Best wishes,
Mal.

I believe they are still available. I purchased copies within the last 5 years or so. I bought them from Safari Press IIRC. Rowland Ward or www.trophyroombooks.com might be worth checking as well.

RCG

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
Thanks. I have all of those except Blunt, Stigand, Manners, and Cumming. You might also enjoy...

Mahoboh by Ron Thomson
Taller than Trees by John Gordon Davis
Along the Hunter's Path by Kai-Uwe Denker
The Elephant Hunters by Sanchez Arino.

Thanks Yukon,
have already ordered the Denker book,tried to get the Arino book but R.W. were out of stock. I will chase up the other two,
many thanks,
Mal.

The Ivory Trail, by TV Bulpin. I think is the book about Bvekenya Barnard, and old ivory poacher

Pardal hunted in the 50's, 60's and early 70's before he was run out of Mozambique after independence. He made some thinly veiled negative comments about Taylor's killing 9 eland with one shot so he wasn't a fan it appears.

465H&H

Harlands book is great as are the rest on this forum. There are a bunch of good reveiws of books on the Books and DVD forum. Check those out for more good books.

you will enjoy ron thompsons book - then after you're done with it read david hulmes book. The loveld can be its own little world

I really enjoy learning all about the methods of hunting elephant to try to get to the point where I would be competent to hunt elephant on my own and do it safely. Consequently, I like books that get into the detail of tracking and reading elephant behavior. Ron Thompson's book has a chapter on tracking where he explains to a friend accompaning him exactly what the trackers are seeing as they track. That was a very valuable chapter to me in my quest to learn.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
I really enjoy learning all about the methods of hunting elephant to try to get to the point where I would be competent to hunt elephant on my own and do it safely. Consequently, I like books that get into the detail of tracking and reading elephant behavior. Ron Thompson's book has a chapter on tracking where he explains to a friend accompaning him exactly what the trackers are seeing as they track. That was a very valuable chapter to me in my quest to learn.

465H&H

Hi 465H&H,
could please provide me with the publisher of Thompsons book,
thanks,
Mal.

Africa Safari Press, 1997. It was a limited edition of 2500 signed (if you want to call that limited). They are hard to find and expensive. I paid almost $200 for mine last year after looking around for awhile. Also, it's "Thomson".

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
Africa Safari Press, 1997. It was a limited edition of 2500 signed (if you want to call that limited). They are hard to find and expensive. I paid almost $200 for mine last year after looking around for awhile. Also, it's "Thomson".

Thanks, will try SP then the usual haunts,
Regards Mal.

Just to clarify...that's not Safari Press but Africa Safari Press.

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
Just to clarify...that's not Safari Press but Africa Safari Press.

Havn't been able to find much at all on Africa Safari Press, is it a subsidiary of Safari Press?

I don't think so. Maybe Don Heath, Alf, etc. will come along and have more info. This is a tough book to find sometimes. Did you try Abe Books search online? They have one listed for $250.

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
I don't think so. Maybe Don Heath, Alf, etc. will come along and have more info. This is a tough book to find sometimes. Did you try Abe Books search online? They have one listed for $250.

Pinchon1 -

I believe it is out of print so I do not know if the publisher will be much help. Although it says "Africa Safari Press" on the title page, on the reverse side it shows "African Safari Press" with an address at P.O. Box 733, Schoemansville 0126, Hartbeespoort, South Africa.

Amazon shows two available used.


One for 4250, one for over $800.

Not sure if they will ship to Australia.

You could put a "Want to Buy" ad in the classifieds here.

quote:

Originally posted by Charles_Helm:
You could put a "Want to Buy" ad in the classifieds here.

That is how I got mine -- a signed copy for $75. But if someone wants to buy it for $4000, I will gladly part with it after I go to Kinkos and copy it.

Wow I had no idea that this book was so valuable. Anyway this book and Rogues and Marauders by John Dawkins are my all time favorites. Incidentially my Mahohoboh is #100.
If terminal performance and ballistics are of interest to you then Thomsons book will enlighten you with some very unique experiences he had shooting eleies.

My copy is #1299. Was there another run that wasn't signed or just the 2500?