Capstick "Death in the Long Grass" is superb

[fourfive8]

Agreed, great writing technique and ability. A type of clarity to his style- almost similar to the way he talked. A type of over-refined articulation that I suppose rubs some people the wrong way. I think his wife also played a role in editing and putting final touches on some of his work. While I've read and heard the criticisms about him "stealing" stories and taking credit for experiences of others, I also notice he made a great effort in giving credit to those who passed along those stories to him. Also agree that much of the criticism is probably nothing more than jealousy. One of his later books, Sands of Silence, while not as metaphorically embellished as some of his earlier works, IMO, really captures the essence of the San people- more like a personal documentary.

And yes I've read Corbett also. Interesting insight, but something lacking in the style of the storytelling. Maybe why some like Hemingway and some don't- different tastes for different styles. I think Hemingway was Ruark's mentor in a way. Maybe why I like both of them also. Likes or dislikes of literature is very subjective anyway.

 

[sestoppelman]

I think Ruark was a better writer than Hemingway, blasphemy I know. Both men led fascinating lives and I have probably read more books about EH than books he wrote.

 

[mark-hunter]

In terms of African hunt, I agree that I have enjoyed reading Ruark more then Hemingway.
In terms of African hunting literature, Ruark is also the most quoted author, in the World, probably.
He also wrote more books on safari then Hemingway, so this may also be the reason for frequent quoting.

 

[sestoppelman]

I think Ruark probably spent more time in Africa than EH as well.

 

[Pondoro]

Hemingway, Capstick and Ruark suffered from alcoholism...but Ruark is forgiven, he sailed in WW2 convoy´s. All who sailed in convoy´s have my greatest respect..

 

[Sika98k]

Have you read other hunting authors? I ask because Capstick can't hold a candle to Jim Corbett and John Taylor. J.A. Hunter's biography is great too, although not long enough!

Read “Months of the Sun” by Nyschens, a great read. “ The Hunting Imperative” by Harland. A couple of tremendous reads. “ White Hunters” by Brian Herne, a superb book. A classic,”Wanderings of an elephant hunter” by W. D. M. Bell. The list goes on and on.......

 

[Red Leg]

I think Ruark probably spent more time in Africa than EH as well.

I think Ruark was a better writer than Hemingway, blasphemy I know. Both men led fascinating lives and I have probably read more books about EH than books he wrote.

Hemingway went to Africa only twice - in the 30’s and then the 50’s. Ruark went more than a dozen times developing a real love for British East Africa. He was a journalist and a novelist, but his best novel, “Something of Value” and best narrative “Horn of the Hunter” came from those experiences. The former got him declared “persona non grata” by the new Kenyan post colonial government. Hemingway was involved in two plane crashes during his second safari, the injuries from the latter contributing to his eventual suicide.

Neither were military, but both of them saw a lot of combat. Much of Hemingway’s early and best work drew heavily from those experiences in WWI and the Spanish Civil War. Ruark was lucky to survive several North Atlantic crossings at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic. Hemingway was at D Day.

Ruark was indeed a fine writer, and “Horn of the Hunter” is probably a bit better piece of Africana than “Green Hills of Africa,” but Hemingway was one of the great writers in all the history of literature in the English Language. Ruark never created anything approaching “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, “A Farewell to Arms”, or “The Old Man and the Sea”. Ruark’s other African narrative, “Use Enough Gun” is a pretty awful read, composed largely of material edited out of “Horn of the Hunter”. I really think his best outdoor writing was “The Old Man and the Boy” about growing up hunting with his grandfather.

 

[Red Leg]

Hemingway, Capstick and Ruark suffered from alcoholism...but Ruark is forgiven, he sailed in WW2 convoy´s. All who sailed in convoy´s have my greatest respect..

I am not sure they need your forgiveness. Ruark did in fact drink himself to death, but I would not call Ernest Hemingway an alcoholic. He clearly was a hard drinker, but so were most of his generation. There have been several modern judgemental historians and psychologists who have made all sorts of remote analyses of Hemingway (Churchill is another favorite target), none of which, of course, are flattering. I will simply say their musings won't rate a footnote in the literary histories of the twentieth century through which Hemingway will stride like a giant. Capstick was a hard drinker and a smoker, but he died of heart disease necessitated bypass surgery that should have been performed in the US rather than South Africa.

 

[Pondoro]

I am not sure they need your forgiveness. Ruark did in fact drink himself to death, but I would not call Ernest Hemingway an alcoholic. He clearly was a hard drinker, but so were most of his generation. There have been several modern judgemental historians and psychologists who have made all sorts of remote analyses of Hemingway (Churchill is another favorite target), none of which, of course, are flattering. I will simply say their musings won't rate a footnote in the literary histories of the twentieth century through which Hemingway will stride like a giant. Capstick was a hard drinker and a smoker, but he died of heart disease necessitated bypass surgery that should have been performed in the US rather than South Africa.

Well..Churchill won the Nobel Prize in literature 1953 so there must have been something to his writings..in addition to all his high ranking positions in two world WARs...even he was a tad thirsty..

 

[M Whitley]

I purchased a copy of "The Recollections of an Elephant Hunter" about William Finaughty while I was at the DSC show.

My favorite read so far, wish I would have started it when this quarantine started instead of finishing it a month ago.

 

[Rare Breed]

I finally got this book and read it. It is superb. I must admit that I did not expect what I was treated to. Lots of adventure, for sure. But, Capstick had a very witty and descriptive style that is just fun to read. To top it off, his observations are incredibly insightful. I was caught off guard by his sensitivity; his take on wild dogs was a suprise. His observations about the "Disney crowd" prophetic!

Get the book! At first you will be entertained, but later you will be enlightened.

Now, what to read by him?

 

[Rare Breed]

I love that one and all his others. I bought his library and have reread them all at least twice. Some people don’t like his sense of humor but I love it and treasure his books alongside my O Roark ones

 

[mark-hunter]

Hemingway, Capstick and Ruark suffered from alcoholism...but Ruark is forgiven, he sailed in WW2 convoy´s. All who sailed in convoy´s have my greatest respect..
@Pondoro


Hemingway, said once, something like, in order to be a WRITER (or artist) you must experience war... Most probably, this idea made him to chase German subs in Caribbean with his fishing boat "Pillar" when he was denied to enlist in army. (luckily he did not meet any German subs, so he could get to second safari after ww2)

Idea to sink the sub, with sport fishing boat was to come close to the sub, as they will take food from him - their common practice then - with roaming fishing boats to confiscate their food, he would then spray the sub crew with thompson 45 cal, submachine gun on conning tower, trow a satchel charge on the sub before they submerge, and punch the holes in subs hull with .577 double rifle solids, before they submerge. Team of three, a radio man, a friend and him on a fishing boat. That was the plan any way, but they did not meet any of German subs., so he survived this episode.

He did see wars earlier, being correspondent in Spanish civil war, and participated in ww1, him self, which resulted in a book farewell to Arms.
In 45 he was again war corresponded following allied troops liberating Europe, (i suspect also he fired a few shots here and there, never mind press logo on the helmet)

In twenties, After ww1, with his writing he became a member of lost generation writers, arguably the last generation of real writers in art history, judging this by fact that their literature is on the reading list in high schools world wide. Such generation is never repeated.
Members of Lost generation writers (plus all others like sculptors, painters, etc ) hanged out in post ww1 Paris, around place of Gethruda Stein, a lesbian, who moved earlier to free minded Paris from USA, and patron of many young perspective authors of this generation. She gave them a name, "lost generation"
All of this generation witnessed, experienced or suffered war in some way. Amongst them were James Joyce, E. Hemingway, Scott Fitzegerald etc... do the google

As kid, I loved reading Hemingway, my house is on the beach, my boat in front of house, and I was much doing coastal fishing, with an old man from the neighborhood, and maybe first book that I vividly remember since being a kid is Old man and the sea, Hemingway noble prize book. Then I followed many of his work later. I was then 8th grade, primary school, 14 yoa, and Hemingway )and lost generation) was subject of high school classes, in 4th grade high school, 18 yoa.

I have cought somewhere this Hemingway premises, of war experience as a must for a good writer... And it sticked to me.

And, really, when I think of it, I see that biggest art of the world, actually comes from the places ravaged by war in history. In the war you see the pain, the blood, the misery, dying. You see the best and worst from men. They, the artist, draw in their work from those experiences. And sure, it takes a toll in them.

Latest example is lost generation writers in this case. (possibly few exemptions could be found somewhere, but I am not an art historian, so allow me to err a bit.)

Common vices of all those great writers were: alcohol, women, gambling, active night life and in Hemingway case fist fighting (He also loved boxing sport)
Can we blame them for this?

Can we find a modern artist, not submerged in some of such vices? Hardly. Add drugs, and modern rock culture.
Now remove women, alcohol, and drugs - you removed the art from perspective. Well, to me at least it looks like that.
I am certainly not blaming them.

Now lets describe a poor artist.
Without vices, avoiding women and promiscuity, maybe with a vision of perfect future world, vegetarian also, and then he tries to be artist. And then in art, he sucked. He sucked trying to be painter, in Vienna before w. war 1. But with same vice free habits, he joined the politics, and became Adolf Hitler.

Thats why, I am afraid of perfect people, anal characters, and similar "perfect, politically corerct" persons, etc...

So, to come back to Hemingeway, Capstick and Ruarks alcoholism, OF COURSE THEY DID, What else they could!?

On convoys,
Well I did not sail in convoys, of 41-45, but I did sail in convoys of the first decades of 2000, many times, passing, Gulf of Aden, Horn of Africa for protection of modern Somali pirates to avoid "Captain Phillips scenario". When out of convoy, we would stretch a hand made steel handrail around the ships side, and connected to 440 volts, of reefer container sockets, spraying profusely with sea water for better conducting. I was considering ramming a pirate boat as well, but my pirates never came. Thats my experience. (politically correct companies never issue firearms to their crew, btw)

The old man I fished with as a kid, my neighbor, the one that I mentioned at begging of post, was a chief engineer on escort destroyer in WW2, 4 years of escorting on Atlantic.

We were spending days together fishing around and I listened to his stories... he grew white hair in one night, in early stages of battle for Atlantic, when subs sunk like half oh his convoy. they expected their ship will be next, for several days and nights, on a cold winter of North Atlantic, and high swell. Their Life boats were swung out being ready for abandoning, but all smashed against the hull due to heavy rolling.
O BTW the old men never drank water. He drunk exclusively Light white wine, diluted half with water only. And I have never seen him drunk.

 

[Adam Stevens]

For me it goes Ruark, Hemingway, Capstick.

I read Hemingway first, then Ruark and lastly capsticks,

Ruark seemed much more the humble man, willing to write his failures as they were, candidly. But Capstick was over the top bravado and sorry when I say this, his “personal” stories just reminded me over and over again of the how the rest of the world views “arrogant Americans”. Hahahaha. I’ll know I’ll take some fire for that but That’s all I pictured while reading his works.

Ruark is my favorite, but definitely need more old books in my collection

 

[Laniarius]

I honestly don't understand how some of you see Capstick as showing bravado or playing himself up. Maybe that comes across more in Death in the Long Grass, which I read over ten years ago and maybe I don't remember those aspects. I'm nearly finished my 9th out of his corpus of 13 books, and I see only a self-deprecating tone. He will jokingly brag about how he's good at climbing trees to get away from charging rhinos, but when he talks about shooting, for example, at most he says that he considers himself a reasonably good shot (I'm paraphrasing from memory, just sharing my recollection of his overall tone). Anyway, I don't imagine it's helpful to argue about how we perceive his tone, but I just wanted to chime in that I don't find him boastful at all.

Regarding him denigrating Corbett, yes, Capstick had some disagreement with Corbett, for example, with the assertion that man kills by day are by tigers and by night are by leopards (I haven't verified if Corbett indeed wrote that, haven't read him yet but definitely want to).

Anyway, here are some quotes from Capstick on Corbett:

"Young Jim Corbett grew up in the six-thousand-foot-high mountain country a naturally gifted woodsman and hunter."

"The Champawat tigress was the first of an amazing number of man-eaters Corbett would kill over his thirty-two year career in Kumaon."

"The Panar leopard reduced northern India's population by 400 souls before the late, great Colonel Jim Corbett corrected its table manners."

"Corbett will always be remembered as a fine writer and an admirable man - simple, kindly and courageous'".

OP: after reading Long Grass, I suggest reading the books that are similar collections of stories: Death in the Silent Places, Death in the Dark Continent, and Death in a Lonely Land.

 

[tigris115]

I personally really like Capstick's sardonic take on the profession of a big game hunter along with all the occupational hazards. He strikes me as a guy who just takes life in stride, something I aspire to do.

After recently reading "Green Hills of Africa," I found it quite depressing with how much self-loathing Hemingway exhibited. I have had bouts of self loathing as well as having friends back in college with the same issue so it hits quite close to home. I could also be reading too deep into it since the knowledge of his suicide was in my head while reading.

 

[Red Leg]

I personally really like Capstick's sardonic take on the profession of a big game hunter along with all the occupational hazards. He strikes me as a guy who just takes life in stride, something I aspire to do.

After recently reading "Green Hills of Africa," I found it quite depressing with how much self-loathing Hemingway exhibited. I have had bouts of self loathing as well as having friends back in college with the same issue so it hits quite close to home. I could also be reading too deep into it since the knowledge of his suicide was in my head while reading.

Hemingway - Self-loathing?!? There must be another addition that I missed somehow.

A little context about his suicide. Upon return from the safari where he was injured he suffered from blinding headaches and all the symptoms we would associate with a serious brain injury (cerebral fluid was leaking from his ear). It was severe enough that it took away his ability to compose narrative and he gradually descended into bouts of paranoia. He was checked into a Chicago hospital anonymously (he was worldwide celebrity) and given electroshock therapy (the late fifties could be an ugly place). Apparently the culminating event occurred just before JFK's inauguration. Kennedy was huge fan of Hemingway, and his advisors asked if Hemingway would write a short dedication in a copy of "For Whom the Bell Tolls." to be presented to the President during the festivities. Hemingway apparently sat staring at the book for hours unable to come up with such a simple phrase. I, for one, do not find it particularly sad that a man who embraced life so firmly on his own terms also chose to leave it in the same way - and used his favorite 20 bore SxS English game gun for the chore.

Undoubtedly, Hemingway was neither average or "normal" in the same sense as most of the people we encounter. He was an artist, he was truly brilliant, and his emotions, passions, and interests (and courage) were as deep and mercurial as his personality. But self-loathing - in the thirties - divined from a reading of Green Hills? You got me there.

 

[tigris115]

Yea looking back, self loathing is more my projection/looking too deep into it. I feel like when you look into things with prior knowledge, you try and find clues and stuff.

 

[gizmo]

My favorite book of all time. I have everything he has ever written as well as 90% of all of the books he was series editor on.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I really think his best outdoor writing was “The Old Man and the Boy” about growing up hunting with his grandfather.

First book I ever read. Still a favorite for any age person who enjoys the outdoors experience. Chesapeake Bay I have only driven by and across. Unimpressed doing that, but reading the book it was a magical place for a boy with a wonderful old man!