An interesting book but I must say that I need to break this review into two parts - Content/Style/Quality and then into What He is Saying/Do I enjoy what he has to say--

Part 1 - THis is basically volume 2 of Fred Everett's life story as a young hunter/poacher. The first book is "Heat, Thirst and Ivory" and covers his tortured childhood, school years and start as a poacher/hunter. He introduces us to his mentor, an African who basically teaches him about life and hunting. The first book is intriguing in that he tells the story of boy, growing up in a home where does not fit in. He leaves, goes to boarding school, does not fit in, gets kicked out and basically heads to the bush with his mentor to live poaching elephants. All of this before he is 18 years old. The book ends leaving the reader to wonder what happens when the kid is no longer a teenager. He gives glimpses of learning life's lessons and returning to patch up relationships that were wrecked for some real or imagined reasons. In Heat, Thirst and Ivory, Everett is the tragic figure and the reader feels sorry for him to some extent as he is the "square peg in the round hole" in life.

Tuskers in the Dust picks up where Heat, Thirst and Ivory leaves us. He is still a young man, hunting elephants solely for the ivory in Zim, Caprivi, Zambia and ends in Mozambique three to four years later. This book is written a bit differently than the first. It has many interesting hunting stories and his growth in skill as an elephant poacher along with his mentor, the mentor's son and others that come and go in the storyline. He digresses at times to give his views on civilization as we know it, the affects of religions (especially Christianity) on the Africans and himself, the impact of the rule of law on himself and the Africans as well as his disregard for virtually any type of authority he encounters. Everett is writing this in 2006 or 2007 about events that took place in the 1937 to 1940. His hindsight into events (in chronological order) is amazing as he does refer to writing diaries at the time. He has had 60+ years to hone his view of the past. This to say, that you may find his opinions and commments a bit unusual ( I will address this a little later).

Overall, the book is well written, the stories are fast moving and interesting, especially about his relationships with various shop keepers and ivory buyers. He is also very descriptive of his various encounters with Africans. He holds them in generally high esteem. His mentor is almost worshipped. THe book is long and poorly illustrated. The few photos are "ok" but not particularly special. He mentions meeting Harry Manners, Wally Johnson and a couple of other PH/authors but does not spend time on his impressions of them. The most interesting part of the book to me was the forward and Peter Flack's comments on the book. The forward is what actually piqued my interest into the person of Fred Everett as he mentions in there that he has no relationship with his children and that he living a pauper's life in South Africa but is rich in his memories of his life. He relates that he provided all type of support and education for his children but they seem to have abandoned him. My first questions is - "Why?".

Part 2 - After reading this book, I sensed a great deal of "darkness" as I progressed through it. He writes at length of his hatred for his mother, his distaste for his father and siblings due to perceived slights toward him. He cuts ties with them completely. He goes from one situation to the next where he is confronted with his inability to get along with people that are not working for him or under his control. He makes friends in several places but does not get close to them. He hires a young orphan girl to cook and clean for him in Mozambique but cannot get over her religious beliefs (she is a Catholic) and abandons her. He has serious problems with Christianity and goes a several rants against it as well as the Muslims. He professes to not believe in God or an afterlife, yet commends the African for his beliefs in the hereafter. He states emphatically that he has his own set of values and ethics but is a poacher, a thief, a liar when it suits him. One of the most telling moments came when he observed two bull elephants, one of which was blind. The sighteed elephant was acting as a guide for the blind elephant. He observed their activities for a period of time and was hesitant to shoot either. His African tracker said to him - "What is the difference between shooting an elephant that can see and one that cannot? We hunt elephants for the ivory." He hesitated and debated "was a bullet in the brain the reward for this type of behavour" in other words, am I doing the right thing? He debated the age old issue of "putting the blind elephant out of his misery" but could see that the blind elephant was not in any kind of misery other than being blind. He was at least 30 years old and doing ok. He shoots them both and does not seem to be affected by his actions. He later states that he does not like to watch an elephant being cut up and the tusks removed, yet he kills at least 300 elephants in this book. He seems to only see the world in the terms of - what is in it for me, how can I have what I want regardless of rules, law or the impact his actions have on others.

Not being a psychoanalyst, I cannot say what demons Fred Everett suffers from, but it occurred to me that he never once mentioned affection or love in either book. He mentions his wife, who he must meet later in life, but she is not in these books. His lack of a loving relationship with his mother, his contempt for his father and for any authority bleeds through into his thinking. He appears to decide that he will make his own rules with what is right and wrong - the heck with the rest of the world. Love is missing in his life.

I came away feeling that Fred Everett must be an incredibly lonely, anger filled person who has lost everything and everyone that may have meant something to him. Honestly, this was a "downer" of a book. I read a lot of African books about hunting and history. I doubt I will read his next book (which he vaguely mentions in the preface and which he sets up at the end of this book). It is a shame and a loss that a man of such obvious talents has decided that the world is not right, from his perspective, and the world has the problem and not him.

I rate this a solid 8 for quality of story but a 2 for the "downer" aspect of how I felt upon completion of it. I make no recommendation as to whether or not you should read this book.

My granddaughter and I spent a couple of hours with Fred Everett while at a friend's home in Pretoria in 2002. He seemed to really enjoy giving her a lesson in speaking the Bushman language. Our hostess claimed Fred and his wife were virtually penniless. I tried to pay for the autographed copy of his "Heat, Thirst and Ivory" that he gave me but he wouldn't take the money. He seemed a humble, nice guy.

Bill Quimby

Bill,
I am hoping I am totally wrong about him. I truly enjoyed his first book, but the second one left me in a funk. Have read his books? What do you think of them?

I read the first, but did not come away with a negative feeling as you did. It may be because it was five years ago and I've forgotten. That happens more as I grow older.

Haven't seen the second book.

Just finished my own memoirs and after reading your comments I'm going to check it based on your comments about Everett. My father was an alcoholic miser and a game hog, so I also had great contempt for my father.

I also can't remember mentioning love or affection anywhere in the manuscript although that doesn't mean love is missing in my life. I've been married to the same woman for 52 years. Does that count?

Don't know how I'd feel if I were Everett. I haven't lost my savings or real estate and, although our Social Security isn't enough for us to live on, my wife and I were smart enough to put money away and buy properties before we retired.

Bill,
His first book was outstanding and I enjoyed it to no end. THere were indications in it that he had a very strained relationship with his mother and his subservient father. But the animosity and hate he describes in the second book cast a dark shadow over his life and view of life.

Contempt or lack of respect for a parent is one thing (usually based on behaviour or alcohol or drugs or other excesses), but to state that you hate your mother is a bit bold coupled with problem after problem getting on with other people.

My comments about love and affection were an observation trying to sort out, based on the two books, why Everett turned out the way he did. His lost relationship with his children and his family (he seems to have a good marriage, but he only mentioned snippets in the book) along with a host of other relationship problems, led me to my observations.

I am not trying to judge or make a statement as to "who" he is, just observations based on his books.

My father was an alcoholic as well and I had times of contempt as well, but after seeing what the alcoholism does to a person (as well as nearly any other addiction), I came to pity more than anything. Selfishness and complete self-centeredness seems to come from a lack of seeing that we are not God, that we are not in control of what happens in life. When we think we can control everything and everyone in our lives, we get sorely disappointed as we have virtually no control over events or people. The only real thing we can impact is our attitude and perspective. With a "self centered" perspective we limit ourselves to "see" only what is in front of us and how it impacts us. With a broader perspective (being unselfish and not centered on "me"), we see things differently. I feel, that based on Everett's writings, he never got off the "self center" and saw things only from a narrow view.

Congrats on having a bride for 52 years. I am on year number 27 with mine. Good luck on your book.

"Congrats on having a bride for 52 years. I am on year number 27 with mine. Good luck on your book."

Thanks, and congratulations on 27 years of marriage. That is an accomplishment in itself these days.

Bill Quimby