A Jim Corbett adventure

I have been waiting for years for a book concerning Jim Corbett (c'mon Audible!!) and I thought this, at last, might be it. However I was left a touch disappointed. The book is certainly interesting and deals with Corbett (the hunter of man-eating Tigers and Leopards in India during the British occupation) and the build up to his hunt for the most prolific man-eating tiger known to exist. Yet the actual event itself, the hunting of the tiger, the climax, is in fact one of the least exciting of Corbett's many, many hunts.

Let me explain a little. For anyone who has read Corbett, his books and his life's work was not about 'hunting' it was about nature. It was about the beauty of India, the jungle, the hills and people as well as the wildlife, both in terms of hunting and natural history.

Jim Corbett's books were so wonderful because they were written with such understated intelligence and beauty and in terms of his man-eating adventures, building nerve-wracking excitement (I'll say it again; c'mon Audible, these are some of the greatest adventure stories ever told!). This book however, No Beast So Fierce, somehow manages to write in an exagerated, over-stated manner but the result is less exciting. There is a lot of background on the relationship and conflict between the people and tribes of people in the United Provences and the British, but the whole point about Corbett is that he was Indian-born and much admired by the people....so writing so exhaustively about the conflict is rather redundant and yet makes up a large part of the book.

I would say this book is, ironically, for people who have not previously read any Jim Corbett and would like to get a slightly long-winded introduction to him and, his undeniably dramatic first man-eater hunt, albeit a slight anti-climax. If it may interest...I might add that the much more dramatic story of the Thak Maneater can be heard in 'Best Hunting Stories Ever Told', also on Audible...better still, read Corbett's own books.

Ben Waddams

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1 person found this helpful

Exactly what was promised, nicely packaged and presented

This book is a good blend of history, crime and adventure. A very comprehensive history of tiger hunting in colonial India and Nepal the story shifted gears in interesting facets. For example emphasising with the Man eating tiger but showing sympathy to its victims.
It introduced me to Jim Corbett too. A man worthy of admiration.

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