A Certain Curve of Horn: The Hundred-Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope of Angola

by John Frederick Walker

In A Certain Curve of Horn, veteran journalist John Frederick Walker tells the story of one of the most revered and endangered of the regal beasts of the giant sable antelope of Angola, a majestic, coal-black quadruped with breathtaking curved horns over five feet long. It is an enthralling and tragic tale of exploration and adventure, politics and war, the brutal realities of life in Africa today and the bitter choices of conflicting conservation strategies.

A Certain Curve of Horn traces the sable's emergence as a highly sought-after natural history prize before the First World War, and follows its struggle to survive in a war zone fought over by the troops of half a dozen nations, and its transformation into a political symbol and conservation icon. As he follows the trail of this mysterious animal, Walker interweaves the stories of the adventurers, scientists, and warriors who have come under the thrall of the beast, and how their actions would shape the fate of the giant sable antelope and the history of the war-torn nation that is its only home.

Genres: Africa, History, Angola, Natural History, Nonfiction, Animals, Conservation

496 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theoretically a natural history tome about the giant sable, found only in Angola, this book by journalist John Frederick Walker found it necessary to detail most of modern Angola's history, since the fate of Angola's unique wildlife is intertwined with its recent political history--that is, decades of war after 400 years of misrule by the colonial power, Portugal. The book's main centerpiece is of course, the giant sable, one of the rarest and most awesome of all African antelopes, an animal with distinctive horns that can reach five feet in length and curve backwards. "Discovered" in the European sense only in 1916, many naturalists treated the giant sable like the Loch Ness monster until trophies were brought back to England by railway engineer H.F. Varian and other big game hunters. Seriously endangered, the giant sable was able to survive hunters, Portuguese neglect and a 27 year old civil war. Much of the book is about the incredibly complex political maneuverings between the two main competing groups in Angola's civil war: the MPLA and UNITA, the latter backed by South Africa and the CIA and the former by the Soviets. The basic theme of the book is the attempt to restock Angola's shattered game parks and preserve the remaining antelopes, of which there are perhaps only 40 left. Long a symbol of Angola, the giant sable's future is unfortunately uncertain, but restoration efforts are hopefully moving ahead. Long on intrigue and less about nature than about the most dangerous creature on Earth: man.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book. Looking at the history and conservation attempts of the giant sable. The book covers early history of Angola and the discovery of the Sable and the attempts to have it classed as a separate sub-species. It moves through the frustration around trying to get into war torn Angola to verify whether the animal has managed to survivie the civil war. Also a good deal of information and research put into the civil war.



Ala in all the book was'nt what I had assumed it was about but had me spellbound throughout.

[Adam Strukel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a skim

Interesting book but it really felt like it was excessively padded out with unnecessary information. Honestly, I feel like it should’ve been about 2/3 the length because the latter half really started to drag. It certainly is pretty comprehensive on the giant sable though.

[James Whelan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preparing for a trip to Africa, I revisited this older story I had meant to read years ago. More political than nature-focused, the images of disparity in Angola will stay with me longer than the conservation theme.

[Maddy Barnard · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF this book was oddly memoirish and needed significantly more content about the actual animal.