I just finished John Burger's books - African Jungle Memories and African Adventures. Both are excellent reads much like Corbett's books on India and tigers. He writes in a very easy reading style, tells good stories, does not seem to embellish his own status in the stories and says a lot of interesting things. For one, he likes to hunt buff but not elephant. He felt that the intelligence and the family nature of the elephant made him feel bad when he killed one. He also writes about meeting and hunting with Selous and several other famous hunters and poachers. He was in and out of the gold mining business as well and seemed to have been drawn to the bush for 30 years of his life. He married late in life, Doris, a concert pianist that lived in the bush with him. She dies after 15 years of marriage and he is inconsolable about it. Both books mention "Horned Death", the book he is best known for. I am about to start it right now. Stay tuned....


OK, I just finished Horned Death. It is very similar to the books noted above with more stories. The thing that makes Burger easy to read is his easy going style. He frequently uses the "understatement" to get his point across and he rarely makes himself the spotlight. He talks alot about his trackers and his gun bearers. Many of the stories are "seen" throught their eyes. It is a good book, worth the price and fun to read...

Updated with a new book added.