Interesting historical diary of a three year hunt for elephants by a unique minimalist and very introverted man. Neumann's book is a diary of three years of hunting in the late 1890's. He was a friend of Selous' and a few others. He took nearly 500 elephants and wrote just this one book. He was very close to his native helpers, losing one a croc and another to a lion. He was badly wounded by a cow elephant and suffered assorted other ailments. Throughout the book he never complains or feels sorry for himself. He was also an avid butterfly collector and lists his sightings in the book.

Overall, if you enjoy "period" books, this is an easy, fun read - similar to Selous or Bell's books but not stuffed full of hair raising escapes and near misses.

I would rate this a 7 out of 10 due to the quality of the writing and story telling. The overall story is exciting but very much like many others who experienced "wild" Africa. He was pleasant and fun to read.

I have this book and really enjoyed it. Definately a good read.

He was tusked by a cow correct? I thought that killed him?

Yukon,
He was "tusked" by a cow but survived after several months. It is a hair-raising tale and not one I would want to be on the receiving end of. He was skewered through the arm and the ribs.

I've always wondered just how true this part of Neumann's book might have been. I have trouble imagining anyone having a filthy tusk shoved into his lung (and not having a doctor or any of the medicines we have today) and not only surviving but also walking back to civilization. People were tougher then, but they weren't supermen.

bill quimby

Bill,
He mentions in the book that the tusk missed his lung and that is why he lived. The wound on his side bothered him for a long time afterwards. He even tore it open again when he tried to return to hunting too quickly. He was a seriously tough person - however, according to other sources, he returned to England, got very sick, fell in love, was rebuffed and then killed himself. He was described as loner and someone who thought he had no friends.

It's been a few years since I read Neumann. I guess I missed the part about the tusk not hitting a lung, but how does something pierce one's ribs and not hit one or both lungs?

Bill Q

Good question, but that is what he said.