JOHN TAYLOR,FAMOUS AUTHOR OF "AFRICAN RIFLES & CARTRIDGES " WROTE A TOTAL OF 5 BOOKS.

I HAVE REPRINTS OF THE RAREST TWO -

MANEATERS & MAURADERS

SHADOWS OF SHAME

THESE ARE AVAILABLE AT $30.00 @ OR $50.00 THE PAIR PLUS SHIPPING TO READERS OF AR.

EMAIL TO CABLETOOLS@ALLTEL.NET OR CALL TOM AT 814 774 5739

Instead of trying to sell your wares in the Books and Video forum, that is set up for discussion, you should really put your items for sale in the Classifieds forum.

thanks, i didn't see that before. i'm new to all this . anyway it doesn't matter much. no one is interested. maybe they don't know who taylor was?

I think everyone that visits AR knows who John Taylor was. But they probably aren't looking here for books to buy, I'd guess they are looking at the Classifieds.

After reading "A Man Called Lion" by Peter Capstick and Brian Marsh I lost all interest in reading what Taylor might have written.

Bill Quimby

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:
After reading "A Man Called Lion" by Peter Capstick and Brian Marsh I lost all interest in reading what Taylor might have written.

Bill Quimby

That book had exactly the opposite effect on me, Bill. I have lost all interest in Marsh or Capstick's writings. It seems to me that both went out of there way to do a character assassination on Taylor. Why write a book like that after the man is dead and unable to defend himself or sue for slander. Fact is, neither would have written that book while he was alive. Pretty gutless to take potshots at a dead man.

I totally agree with PHillips on this one.

I have always enjoyed reading Taylor's books over and over. Capstick just gave them another dimension.

"African Rifles & Cartridges" is one of the very best books on African hunting IMO. As far as Capstick's "A Man Called Lion", I think it is perhaps his best book, but I don't really care that much for his writings. I think they pale in comparison with the classics written by men with immense amounts of actual experience.

If Taylor hadnt written the African rifles and cartridges, tons of knowledge would have been lost and African rifles and ammo wouldnt have been mentioned so much, but thats my opinion.

He saw in the future and wanted better bullets and a flanged 416, and his points about the 375, thats something that made the glorious H&H remain on the big game hunters list of choice for many years,and it will be even better with the good bullets and powders and brass that it has gotten .

I love Pondoro's books and own a couple. Whatever the guy's sexual inclinations (and I couldn't care less what they were) he lived a life that many of us dream about: living away in the bush off the land with only the local people for companions.

"That book had exactly the opposite effect on me, Bill. I have lost all interest in Marsh or Capstick's writings. It seems to me that both went out of there way to do a character assassination on Taylor. Why write a book like that after the man is dead and unable to defend himself or sue for slander. Fact is, neither would have written that book while he was alive. Pretty gutless to take potshots at a dead man."

Not telling readers abut Taylor's long homosexual relationship with a black man would have meant Capstick and Marsh had neglected their responsibilities as biographers.

Pondero's love life was no secret at the time, and apparently was the reason for his eventual banishment from Africa.

Knowing Capstick, I suspect he would have written "Pondero" even (especially) if Taylor were alive.

Bill Quimby

"A man called lion" is his best book, in my opinion. Particularly because of the subject matter.

I have all of Taylor's books. Three of African Rifles and Cartridges, one bound in leather and unread.

He certainly knew his topic.

I wish Fletcher Jamieson had lived to write a book or four. They would have been something. His photos would have to rate amongst the best ever taken during that period in Africa.

The chapter on C F-J is reason enough to buy a "A Man Called Lion", in MHO.

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:
Not telling readers abut Taylor's long homosexual relationship with a black man would have meant Capstick and Marsh had neglected their responsibilities as biographers.

Pondero's love life was no secret at the time, and apparently was the reason for his eventual banishment from Africa.

Knowing Capstick, I suspect he would have written "Pondero" even (especially) if Taylor were alive.

Bill Quimby

I suppose someone should write a book now about Capstick being not much more than a barfly stealing stories from PH's and hunters that he overheard.

I would not support that either, but would be as telling as "A Man Called Lion".

I just cannot stand when someone writes a biography for no other reason than to tear someone down (after they are dead), for no other reason than to make money.

"I just cannot stand when someone writes a biography for no other reason to tear someone down (after they are dead), for no other reason than to make money."

I thought Capstick and Marsh informed readers about Pondero's sexual preference without "tearing him down." Would you have wanted them to have ignored it?

Bill Quimby

I have read a couple of Taylor's books as well as Capstick's comments on him. I found his writing boring and at times made me questions whether he did all that he claims he did. He was a bit of the "head case" as well.

I would not recommend anyone read his books. THere is much better out there with better and more accurate information.

I read +reread John's,"African Rifles + Cartidges",not because of his sexualpreferances but because its a damned fine book.Come now gentlemen,we're talking about literature;nothing more,nothing less.

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:
I thought Capstick and Marsh informed readers about Pondero's sexual preference without "tearing him down." Would you have wanted them to have ignored it?

Bill Quimby

I think Taylor gained famed that made him worthy of biography for his hunting (poaching?) and firearm expertise. I know when I bought the book, I didn't buy it to be constantly reminded that Taylor died with his life in shambles and more energy was put into proving their theory that he was gay than the reason we know of Taylor.

Why does Taylor's sexual tendencies matter? Matter of fact, it is the only book of African hunting I've bought that I have given away. Captstick's (and Fiona's) work on "Warrior" and "Winds of Havoc" were very good biographies. Why not give Taylor the same courtesy? I'll never buy another book that Marsh has worked on.

per capstick, the question of taylor's orientation was definitely answered in his autobiography "pondoro etc". having read that book i'm not sure anything was definitely answered except the real reason the British kicked him out of Africa. the last 75 pages of "pondoro" were a scathing essay on what he considered the very poor way in which the British managed the indigenous populations of their colonies, esp as compared to other european nations. and i never saw anything in "pondoro" that was tantamount to taylor admitting he was a homosexual. he admitted a deep fondness and devotion to one gun bearer in particular but i didn't read any more into it than that. if someone read capsticks book first (and i did) he would be predelicted to see taylor's "pondoro" in that way. if one read "pondoro" w/o ever having even heard of capstick i'm not sure he'd see the same thing in taylor's writing.

what's interesting to me about taylor's thoughts on cartridges is how closely his opinions are mirrored in gregor woods book (name escapes me) and "the perfect shot" by kevin robertson.

Dphillips:

I knew Capstick and have met Brian Marsh a couple of times, including sharing a meal in Durban SA about 10 years ago. I suspect Marsh was reluctant to publish what he had learned about Taylor, leading Capstick to do it instead. In my brief dealings with MarshIfound him to be quiet, almost shy. I cannot see him having a mean bone in his body.

Bill Quimby

Whatever Taylor's predilections were, there is no taking away from his experience or his contributions as a writer.

I have not read and probably will not read "Warrior". Airing another writer's dirty laundry after his death may sell books but I will not contribute to the reward of that practice.

I think Capstick's early works were his best. He wrote from the heart. His later works were not near as good. I believe the reason for that was his first works were so successful that he was showered with advances for new books and forced himself to cover those committments.

I think Ruark fell into the same trap, although to a lesser degree. Ruark's last book, "The Honey Badger", was in my view well below the standards of his other books.

There are more authors out there who only have one or two books in them of good quality. Especially for those who choose to write from their own experiences. After you run outof experiences to write about, you are left with writing about those of others, and then one gets onto a slippery slope. Ego creeps in, and there is a tendency, perhaps unconsciously, to write in such a manner as to make the lifes of others less than your own.

I have not read the book in question by Capstick & Marsh and likely won't in this lifetime. I read a couple of Capstick's early books and found them exceeding shallow. That was enough for me.

Now, a bit about Pondoro. About 45 years ago I read African Rifles & Cartridges. As a result, I became interested in collecting books about the opening of the African continent and the Indian sub-continent to the European.

That, in turn, interested me in acquiring the rifles those Eropeans used, as it was pretty well inidcated that their technology was what kept them alive in many ways hostile situations.

So I built a rather large collection of Mannlichers, single shots, double rifles, magnum Mausers, etc.

That accumulation led to wanting to shoot them, so I had to beg, borrow, not quite steal (but definitely smuggle), and sometimes manufacture ammo for them, as Kynoch had pretty much shut down production by then, and RWS stuff was very difficult to come by. So I ended up swapping stuff with Jack Lott, Neal Knox, Jack Jobson, Walter Abe, P.O. Ackley, and many others whom I might not have otherwise ever met.

The interest in rifles those perambulations engendered & developed, continues still.

Does that tell you of my respect for Pondoro and his influence on my entire life?

I care not one bloody whit about his sexual preferences, so long as they were done discreetly, with a loving heart, and without injury to others. To me he was, and always will be, a positive role model. I wish him well wherever his spirit might be today. To Peter Capstick I can only say, if you were half the man........

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Manion:
I have not read and probably will not read "Warrior". Airing another writer's dirty laundry after his death may sell books but I will not contribute to the reward of that practice.

...After you run outof experiences to write about, you are left with writing about those of others, and then one gets onto a slippery slope. Ego creeps in, and there is a tendency, perhaps unconsciously, to write in such a manner as to make the lifes of others less than your own.

The book by Capstick and Marsh that denigerated Taylor was "A Man Called Lion". Capstick had begun "Warrior" before his passing and Fiona finished it. "Warrior" was a fine book, in my opinion. "A Man Called Lion" fits that last paragraph of your's that I left in the quote box.

I am baffled how some of the responses to a thread get so off base to dwell on such minor details. Taylor was a character, and I see no issue with revealing some of the factors that made him such an interesting figure. None of that takes away from his writings, or his experiences or his life. I have enjoyed hnis work. It just completes the story. And then to go on to run down Capstick is just too much. Not to read Warrior is a choice one makes, but it is a fine book, about a truly fine gentleman. His exploits (Meinertzhagen's) and his life are, to me, a more worthwhile and exciting story without the tawdriness that engulfed Taylor.

I greatly enjoyed the information Pondoro Taylor had in his writings. I have never heard of this Pondero guy. Packrattusnongratus

CAPSTICK AND MARSH ARE NOTHING BUT A COUPLE OF HAS BEENS - THEY COULDN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO PONDOROS WRITINGS.

CAPSTICK WAS A DRUNK AND BS ARTIST. MARSH IS A WASHED UP GAME PROTECTOR

BOTH WRITE -ONLY TO SELL BOOKS, NOT IMPART KNOWLEDGE

stuffed birds from places he had never visited.

Recently in a British newspaper there was a story about Colonel Meinartzhagen saying it had been discovered he was the greatest stuffed bird theif of all time.

The colonel had an enormous collection of bird study skins numbering more than 6,000 and when he died it was discovered most of them had been pinched from the British Museum.

He would go to the museum to visit his buddies and talk about Africa and when no one was looking he'd open a drawer and pop as many stuffed birds into his pockets as he could manage without getting caught.

He had hu

"BOTH WRITE -ONLY TO SELL BOOKS, NOT IMPART KNOWLEDGE"

Hey. When your occupation is writing you do not do it to "impart knowledge." You do it to survive. I don't know what induced Pondero Taylor to write five books but I suspect he wanted to make some money, too. The desire to "impart knowlege" probably never occured to him.

Bill Quimby

quote:

Originally posted by tomo577:
CAPSTICK AND MARSH ARE NOTHING BUT A COUPLE OF HAS BEENS - THEY COULDN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO PONDOROS WRITINGS.

As I stated earlier I enjoyed some of Taylor's work. That said, I see no need to run down Capstick and Marsh, both of whom wrote well, and neither of whom would have had anything to do with Taylor's "candle." Both men accomplished a great deal in their lives, and were well received, y usted?

I disagree with Tomo577's comments, especially after having read books by Taylor, Marsh and Capstick.

Marsh and Capstick are good writers as well as storytellers. Taylor on the other hand, I do not like his work and doubt that the did all he said he did. His "knock out values" are common sense and of little value to hunting body of knowledge. He was a "character" of the 2nd order and not someone I would have wanted to meet. He wrote books to make money to continue poaching.

From reading all of the above, am I correct in assuming Taylor preferred Mannlichers?

"From reading all of the above, am I correct in assuming Taylor preferred Mannlichers?"

Only in the larger calibers.

Bill Quimby

Just read tommo577 comments on this thread.What a pathetic,spineless,cowardly and ill informed load of bullshit.I would love to know what this idiot has ever achieved in the world of hunting.No doubt he is a legend in his own miserable little mind!!!!

pichon 1,

probably need to be posting a day or two longer before donning the mantle of "know-it-all" regarding anybody here that you do not know of.

Click Tomo577 up and read thru his posts. You might find out that he is the owner of the Wickliffe 76 single shot rifle actions, tooling, etc. He is also providing us with new actions that will build up to a 577NE, and he and Ed Hubel are building a prototype scaled-up action for cartridges up thru (and including) the 4 bore. Either would be a lifetime achievement, both makes him one heck of an over-achiever here. His company also imports numerous accessories for building/repairing/restoring pre-war quality firearms.

I would ask for your resume, but that would be in poor taste...

regards,

Rich

Before knocking any of the three...consider the underlying facts No one author is going to please every reader! And just because an Author writes a great book, doesn't mean his next one will be also!

Big game and Big Game rifles didn't sell well- the publishers thought it needed "padding" and African Rifles and Cartridges was the result. It is well worth the money and the time spent reading it - even allowing for Taylors all to human predudices. Shadows of Shame is a revolting book and clearly identifies Taylors Homosexuality.

"A Man called Lion" was written by Brian Marsh, but typicall of Brian's writing was too dry and "British" (read 'Barron in Africa' for a sample of Brian's usual Style). Peter owed Brian a good few favours and offered to edit it- put the old golden Capstic phrase here and there and then market it under his name- so it would sell well.

I read the original manuscript before Brian gave it to Peter and of course have the book. From the point of a scholar, the original contained far more information. From the point of "readability", Peter (or the publisher???) cut out quite a a few "interesting small bits" but made it much more readable.

Brian certainly considered Taylor a friend. Taylor helped him- for free, when taylor himself was down on his luck and broke - And Brian certainly didn't write the book to Rubbish and old, if eccentric friend!

For those who didn't like Capsitics early writings- I recomend Worrior and Winds of Havoc. (Peter only wrote the first 80 pages of Worrior)

Also- there is a world of difference between a good Biography and a good hunting book or war story! Read "Ghosts of Africa" which is the jazzed up easy reading, partially fictional account of Meinertzhagen and L. V.- The read "Worrier". Or read Wilber Smiths "Men of Men", and then read the truth- "Pursuit of the King". Inevitably truth is stranger than fiction - and to me, much more interesting!

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"For those who didn't like Capsitics early writings-I recomend Worrior and Winds of Havoc. (Peter only wrote the first 80 pages of Worrior)
Also-there is a world of difference between a good Biography and a good hunting book or war story!:

All true. And Peter wrote not one single word of Winds of Havoc.


Bill Quimby

I respect a lot PHC hes a good writer and he was a guide or PH i guide a bit here in Argentina and is a real hard work besides that he worked as a Zambian rager ,as a rhedesian game guard etc so i believe he knows what he writes .I liked Warrior because i love hunting ,adventure and military life ,besides that pig sticking is my passion.Taylor is a real pro homosexual or not .So i believe we must be respectful with this men.Juan

Ooops! I don't know how the stock tip from my email made it into my message.

(That stock, by the way, is going nowhere despite the glowing words from the company that sent me the tip.)

I agree with you, Ganyana. Have I met you?

Bill

At .96 it may be worth a gamble. I have lost more on stuff more feeble.....

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
pichon 1,

probably need to be posting a day or two longer before donning the mantle of "know-it-all" regarding anybody here that you do not know of.

Click Tomo577 up and read thru his posts. You might find out that he is the owner of the Wickliffe 76 single shot rifle actions, tooling, etc. He is also providing us with new actions that will build up to a 577NE, and he and Ed Hubel are building a prototype scaled-up action for cartridges up thru (and including) the 4 bore. Either would be a lifetime achievement, both makes him one heck of an over-achiever here. His company also imports numerous accessories for building/repairing/restoring pre-war quality firearms.

I would ask for your resume, but that would be in poor taste...

regards,

Rich

Not as poor taste as as refering to Brian Marsh as a "has been" and a "washed up game protector".Please continue with your hero worship.
Pichon1