Customer Reviews:
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 Enchanting adventures! April 16, 2004
I got this book under very odd circumstances my friend had a box full of old books and offered me a copy of Jim Corbett's wonderful novel. I toke it home and never touched it for over 2 years until my father found it my room and to both his and my surprised exclaimed this was his favourite novel when he was young. I read the book with no idiea or knowledge of hunting infact iam mainly against hunting espcially endangered species such as tigers. That night i was completely swept away in the land of India the novel is so well detailed and so descriptive you feel you are there with Corbett in the indian jungle. Corbett was a gentleman and a fantastic hunter though he was no arrogant man who relished in bloodshed. He respected these creatures and merely killed when no alternative was available and the animals had already become maneaters. The suspense is unnerving when you read that the tiger is somewhere close at hand and Corbett is sat in the pitch dark listening for his prey and you almost want to shout at Jim to look out! The charm of these books is the pure adventure and world the author creates and somehow knowing it's all true gives it even more thrills. Read this book it is a wonderful novel and each story has it's appeal this man was a noble gentleman who weaves his stories into something charming and exciting! No need to be a hunting fan to enjoy this great book simply have a love for adventure and different cultures for Corbett pays as much attention to the lands and people as his own ventures!
A Great man's great book March 16, 2004
After reading this book I have so much respect for Jim Corbett. He truly was a gentleman and a big-hearted at that. He had so much respect for the native people he lived with. Throughout his stories he gives credits for others and never to himself. Although he hunted all alone and on foot, he never claimed himself to be the "Greate white hunter". The stories are so interesting, feels like you are with him all the time. He has even inspired me thru this book. Its worth LOT more than its price. He was such a nice gentleman, he always cared for the victims of man-eaters. Time and again he shows his concerns. He makes sure he thanks them. He talks about their courage but never once writes about his courage. He is one big-hearted gentleman just like his tigers.
Great book by the legendary Jim corbett March 14, 2004
This is the most popular of Jim Corbett's books and has fascinating real life stories of the man-eating tigers, in the foothill of the Himalayas in northern India, and Jim Corbett's encounters with them. The basic theme of most of the stories is the same: a tiger or a tigress turns man-eater and kills a number of people, completely terrorizing the entire population in the surrounding villages; Jim Corbett is called upon to track and kill the man-eater(s), which he does every time using his amazing knowledge of the Jungle and the animals there in; and his unbelievable courage and determination.Jim Corbett's knowledge of the jungle was surpassed only by his compassion for the people he was trying to save, and the animal he was trying to hunt. In the Author's notes, he famously describes the tiger as "a large hearted gentleman with boundless courage", and warns against the indiscriminate hunting of tigers, which if not controlled would eventually deprive India of the finest of her fauna. His skills as a writer were no less admirable, as evident in this book where he describes his encounters with the man-eating tigers in the wild in blood-curdling details. Overall a very enjoyable book and highly recommended.
"Man Eaters of Kuamon" March 28, 2003
Creeping through the jungle with Jim Corbett following the blood trail of a man eating tiger will make the hair on your neck prickle! Magnificently written and modestly understated accounts of the most intense form of individual bravery imaginable leave you feeling as though you accompanied him all the way. It's as close as you can get without being there.
A Timeless Adventure Classic -- Tiger Tales (Tails?) October 19, 2002
Like many other reviewers, I read "Man-Eaters of Kumaon" many years ago, in junior high school (1951) to be exact. Corbett's book is truly unique in that it is not only a story of high adventure, hunting man-eating tigers in northern India, but it also places the reader in an era that is little-understood today: post-Victorian colonial India.
Just as fascinating as the tracking and killing of the tigers are Corbett's descriptions of the devastation of the poor Indian hill people wrought by tigers who preyed upon them. It is clear that he had respect for the helpless villagers who desperately sought his help as well as for the tigers which he was forced to kill. His writing also expresses a profound love for India.
One correction I must point out is that the hunts in this book took place in the northern hill country and forests, not in the "jungle." Jim Corbett was a keen observer of his surroundings, its wildlife, and its people. It is a window into an era that is now gone.
Hunting tigers is a dangerous game-- extremely so for man-eating tigers which have no fear of man. Alone, on foot, and armed with a double "express" rifle with only iron sights (no telescopic sights here!), the odds are stacked in favor of the tiger. To hunt a tiger once is to place one's self in grave danger but to do it again and again and again....? That takes incredible courage.
If you have never read this book, try it. It gives you a better look at hunting tigers than the old Stewart Granger movie "Harry Black and the Tiger."
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