White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris

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White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 24 ratings · 6 reviews

East Africa affects our imagination like few other places: The sight of a charging rhino goes directly to the heart; the limitless landscape of bony highlands, desert, and mountain is, as Isak Dinesen wrote, of "unequalled nobility." White Hunters is the story of seventy years of African adventure, danger, and romance. It re-creates the legary big-game safaris led by Selou...more

Paperback, 480 pages

Published June 1st 2001 by Holt Paperbacks (first published 1999)

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Jun 14, 2012 Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, hunting, animals, history, victorian, adventure

I was actually really annoyed by this book. It gets three stars only because it is a reasonable road map to further studies on the subject. But this isn't history. This is a series of book reports. It consists entirely of anecdotes culled from the memoirs of hunters, travelers and tourists, and brings nothing new to the table. There is no true synthesis whatsoever. The author occasionally tosses in an "As was typical in the African millieu of the time..." or "At the time, it was uncommon for..."...more I was actually really annoyed by this book. It gets three stars only because it is a reasonable road map to further studies on the subject. But this isn't history. This is a series of book reports. It consists entirely of anecdotes culled from the memoirs of hunters, travelers and tourists, and brings nothing new to the table. There is no true synthesis whatsoever. The author occasionally tosses in an "As was typical in the African millieu of the time..." or "At the time, it was uncommon for..." but there is virtually no commentary or valuation. It's like he sat down with a bunch of memoirs and typed out the weirdest bits. In fact, it comes across like he didn't retype, but clipped this stuff from Gutenberg and then paraphrased it. That seems likely, because of how intolerably long some of the anecdotes go on, long after it's become clear they're nothing more than anecdotes.

This approach is no more effective here than it was in Victor Ostrovsky's By Way of Deception, which I detested even more. Herne has done a much better job than Ostrovsky of relying on first-hand, supported accounts, and in qualifying them where they might be less than factual. But then, the events related in Herne's book are less critical in the details, since they're presented as "rousing good tales." I found them both rousing and good in quantities of one or two...as an entire book, they're neither.

It's a shame, too, because the topic of white hunters in Africa could be given a very interesting approach that incorporated synthesis of the times. Unfortunately, "the times" would have to be defined, which Herne doesn't bother to do. The book's marketing implies we're talking about Victorian and Edwardian hunters, but then Herne careens all over the 20th century, even into the modern era. Huh? If he was going to do that, he should have written AN ACTUAL HISTORY of white hunting in Africa, instead of a series of anecdotes. Otherwise, he should have stuck with one general era or a couple of them, and drawn parallels that help define the times. Instead, he just blathered on indefinitely, unable to pick out the unifying threads in what he'd written (or perhaps had his research assistants read for him).

In the social sciences, I am fond of saying, the plural of anecdote is not data. And the plural of anecdote is also not "history." The plural of anecdote is "mind-bending boredom."(less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Brax rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa

White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris is an adventure-history of the larger-than-life hunters (who were white Europeans) that roamed Africa killing big game trophies from the late 1800's until the 1970's. The book concentrates on the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and is filled with campfire stories about the white hunters and their famous clients, including Teddy Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Karen Blixen, Gregory Peck and Grace Kelly.

The stories are exciting, wi...more White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris is an adventure-history of the larger-than-life hunters (who were white Europeans) that roamed Africa killing big game trophies from the late 1800's until the 1970's. The book concentrates on the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and is filled with campfire stories about the white hunters and their famous clients, including Teddy Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Karen Blixen, Gregory Peck and Grace Kelly.

The stories are exciting, with elephants and rhinos charging, lions and leopards mauling, and buffalos goring, but they are short and after awhile become a little monotonous. I really enjoyed reading the book, but the string of anecdotes began to run into one another and the names kept changing every few pages. The large scope of White Hunters limits its depth, but it’s a good introduction to the litany of white hunters in East Africa. One major problem though is the confusing chronology. I often felt lost in time. Simply adding the date to certain paragraphs would alleviate this confusion.

Herne maintains that the white hunters were also the biggest conservationists. Certainly they had a financial imperative to make sure that the animals survived (so that they could charge rich Europeans and Americans to go shoot them) and generally they did respect the animals and love the land. It’s an odd dichotomy though, the hunter-conservationist, especially as the glorified tales of killings pile up throughout the book. With the recent extinction of the Western Black Rhino though, one has to wonder if regulated hunting might have improved the chances of the big game species, especially the elephant and the rhino. Hunters were expert policers of poaching.

Mid-20th century white hunters were mythologized by Hemingway and Hollywood, and Herne does nothing to change that. Nearly all of them are handsome and powerful rogues based in the Wild West town of Nairobi. Herne himself was a white hunter at the tail end of the glory days, and some of the best reading comes from letters and interviews with the old guard. The research was certainly extensive, with a nice bibliography and notes, but Herne writes with the unmistakable tone of admiration that keeps this book from being entirely believable. Not that Herne isn’t telling the truth, just that he is telling a one-sided truth, that of white Europeans who colonized a continent. I would like to have heard testimony from the African gun-bearers and servants at least, if not the farmers and nomadic herders whose land was taken away.

Herne ends White Hunters (published in 1999) with a look at conservation efforts at the end of the millennium. Overpopulation of people had pushed the animals into smaller and smaller areas, and poaching was still a problem.

Filled with great campfire adventure stories, White Hunters is a good introduction to the cast of characters hunting in East Africa over a one hundred year period. (less)

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Sep 05, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hunters

Shelves: africa

My first thought when I read this book was that I have a quiet life. I mean, I've never shot a charging lion point blank, then had it crawl all over me, maul me, and die right on top of me. On second thought, maybe it's a good thing I have a boring life.

To distill, this book is about different men traveling to different places and killing different things.

I did enjoy reading about the behavior of the various animals. You learn about how wounded lions, buffalo and elephant behave. For example,...more

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Jul 29, 2009 Rick West rated it 5 of 5 stars

As I read “White Hunters”, it was as if I was back in Africa
listening to tales while relaxing around the evening campfire
following a day-long safari on Kenya’s breath-taking Masai Mara.

“White Hunters” is a colorful collection of stories covering
seventy-years of hunting, exploring and photographing in East
Africa. These are the stories of the dashing and daring men and
women who lived during this incredible period.

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Jul 22, 2008 Otis Chandler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, nonfiction, history

I heard this book described as interesting but a little dry, so I was fully planning on just skimming a lot. But I ended up reading almost the whole thing! I have two biases though: one was I was in Africa at the time I read it, and the other is my grandfather did a lot of hunting in Africa in the 1960's, so I could almost picture him hanging out with the wild characters in the book.

What I loved were all the stories of hunts and the pioneer type hunters that led them. Numerous maulings and close...more

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Jul 02, 2011 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's pretty gut wrenching to read the parade of destruction rained down upon the "Big 5" (Water Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino), but they sure gave nearly as good as they got to the humans they managed to gore, crush, trample, or maul.

However, the colorful cast of characters (rogue's gallery?) of "white hunters" never really coalesces into a compelling narrative in this overview of European safari men of Africa's 20th Century

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Apr 18, 2013 Dinesh Mohan marked it as to-read

Apr 09, 2013 Signa Pendegraft marked it as to-read

Feb 20, 2013 Tom Kalinosky marked it as to-read

Feb 10, 2013 Wenzl Schollum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, africa

Jan 02, 2013 Raymond rated it 2 of 5 stars

Nov 25, 2012 Riaz Khan marked it as to-read

Nov 21, 2012 The Jackalope rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oct 21, 2012 Toryn Green added it

Dec 09, 2012 David Lucero rated it 4 of 5 stars

David Lucero I'm currently reading White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris for research on my next novel.

I personally deplore hunting for sport, but reali...more I'm currently reading White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris for research on my next novel.

I personally deplore hunting for sport, but realize its here to stay. Two of my favorite movies are The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Mogambo. They were not particularly about hunting, but did have an impact on romanticizing the lifestyle of the Great White Hunter.

I needed a book about the history of safaris, how white hunters came about, and the dangers faced. This book by Brian Herne is that and much more. He details how the hunting for ivory came to pass in the late 19th century. We learn who the first European hunters were and who very likely was coined the nickname 'White Hunter'. He writes in vivid detail life on safari, hunting elephant, lion, rhinoceros, and more. I had no idea how dangerous elephants can be and how lion were considered more of a menace rather than 'King of the Jungle.'

I found the description of how many lion were killed to be a disgrace on the human race. Menace or not, they (lion) have a right to live too. I did find some comfort in learning how regulations keep the hunting of lion and other animals from being pushed to brink of extinction. And I believe it to be a significant impression that many hunters work for game preservation to keep poaching from decimating wildlife.

Although this book does not focus on poaching, my own general knowledge of how dangerously close we are to wiping out species in Africa comes to mind. Elephant hunting was extremely popular in the early 20th century, and I found that to be disappointing considering how close-knit the species are. They have been known to grieve same as humans and deserve to be left alone.

That aside, I found the book highly informative and glad to learn that hunters do in fact respect the wildlife they choose to hunt for sport. We do after all like eating meat we buy in the grocery stores, and I'm certain much of the sport they kill (gazelle, elephant, and other wildlife) find their way to feeding many in Africa.

If you want to learn more about the history of safari life and hunting in Africa, I recommend this book to you.(less)
Oct 13, 2012 09:32am

Sep 26, 2012 Tim marked it as wishlist

Oct 16, 2012 Soarne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jul 08, 2012 Michael marked it as to-read

Jun 25, 2012 Patty is currently reading it

Jun 27, 2012 Adam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Apr 21, 2012 emily t. marked it as to-read

Feb 26, 2012 Ruth-Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Oct 04, 2012 Josiah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sep 21, 2011 Marc marked it as to-read

Shelves: want-to-read, non-fiction

Aug 18, 2011 Irina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jul 30, 2011 Jenna marked it as to-read

Jul 05, 2011 Joel Trout rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure-travel, africa

Feb 22, 2011 Trevor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Feb 17, 2011 MonkeyBusiness rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, travel, africa, safari, big, game, hunting

Jan 09, 2011 Jason Imboden rated it 4 of 5 stars

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