- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: National Geographic Books; Reprint edition (27 Jun 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0792241002
- ISBN-13: 978-0792241003
- Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 1.9 x 22.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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- #92 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Africa > Kenya
Ghosts of Tsavo
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Review
"Ghosts of Tsavo makes for great summer reading."
Product Description
Ghosts of Tsavo: Stalking the Mystery Lions of East Africa is both a riveting adventure travel narrative and a modern-day scientific exploration. Caputo and his small corps of discovery - consisting of a photographer, two eminent scientists from the University of Minnesota and, sometimes, a few armed rangers supplied by the Kenya Park Service - prowl the forbidding plains of Tsavo and southern Kenya seeking close encounters with Africa's most efficient killers--the massive, hauntingly mysterious lions immortalized by the 1907 publication of John Patterson's The Man-Eaters of Tsavo. The book chronicled the bloody exploits of two such beasts that in 1898 killed and ate 140 workers who were building a railroad bridge over the Tsavo River. The seemingly unkillable man-eaters literally stopped the British Empire in its tracks during their yearlong reign of terror. The natives came to believe these body-snatching cats - and their ilk - to be incarnate spirits of African chieftains angered by the building of a railroad through their ancestral lands. The story inspired two feature films, Bwana Devil in 1952 and The Ghost and the Darkness in 1996. But the adrenaline rush of living for months in the shadow of such fearsome critters is only half of our story. Apart from Caputo's widely acclaimed gift for dramatic narrative, what lifts this story out of the category of a thrill-seekers travelogue is the mission of discovery element pursued by the writer with his two scientist companions. The mission: Is there any truth to the recent reports (by two scientists from Chicago's Field Museum) that these fierce mane-less lions could constitute a feline 'missing link' between modern lions and the prehistoric lions that preyed on our Pleistocene ancestors. So this, otherwise, great adventure story is larded with the gravitas of scientific quest, as Caputo traces the efforts of our two biologists to unlock the secrets of the maneaters of Tsavo.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Long fascinated with the subject of man-eating lions, Philip Caputo does not pretend to be an expert on them, the environment, or African affairs. In fact, his lack of expertise and his desire to learn give this book some of its appeal and make it totally accessible, even to the most scientifically challenged reader. Consulting experts from Chicago's Field Museum and from the University of Minnesota, before, during, and after two trips he makes to Kenya's Tsavo National Park, Caputo immerses himself in their research, familiarizing the reader, in the process, with the lions, their behavior, and their controversies.
Far more apt to attack and eat humans than are the Serengeti plains lions, the man-eaters of Tsavo are giants, much longer from nose to tail, much taller at the shoulder, and 100 - 150 pounds heavier than the plains lions, and the males are often maneless. Caputo's experts strongly disagree on whether these giant lions differ simply because they have adapted to the hotter climate of Tsavo and their need to kill Cape buffalo for food, or whether, in fact, they represent a missing link between modern lions and the maneless cave lions of the Pleistocene era, which roamed throughout the Near East and Africa.
Stories of famous man-eaters of the past hundred years, including two which killed 135 people in 1898, and one 550-pounder from 1991, add drama and excitement to the narrative. But Caputo also ranges widely into peripheral, more personal subjects--why he believes hunters are closer to nature than are photographers, why tracking a lion on foot for four days is a more divine experience than using a vehicle, evolution vs. creationism, cloning, science vs. faith, and even his nightmares. Ultimately, the book is as much about Caputo as about the lions, who remain a mystery. "The truth is," he admits, "I don't want to learn anything more about lions," a rather disappointing conclusion to what began as a fascinating study. Mary Whipple
Format:Paperback
I have loads of books on Africana, hunting and culture.
I bought this after reading the maneaters of Tsavo, on which the film "the Ghosst and the Darkness" was loosely based.
Its interesting and I learn't a few things, but its not my favourite book, on Africa or on Lions
I bought this after reading the maneaters of Tsavo, on which the film "the Ghosst and the Darkness" was loosely based.
Its interesting and I learn't a few things, but its not my favourite book, on Africa or on Lions
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
19 reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Engaging look at unusual lions
9 May 2003
Format:Hardcover
"Ghosts of Tsavo" is part travelogue, part natural history, part murder mystery, and part mid-life crisis for its author Philip Caputo. What it is as a whole is a fascinating, engaging look at the lions of Tsavo Park in Kenya. Caputo first became interested in these unusual lions as a result of a visit to the Field Museum in Chicago as a young boy. Therein were "Ghost" and "Darkness" two enormous males lions that terrorized constructions workers building a rail line through Tsavo. In fact terrorized may be too weak a word as they are credited with killing at least 120 people and literarily halting construction until they were eventually hunted down and killed by British Lt. Col. Patterson who was heading up the project. He recounted this effort in his famous memoir "The Man Eaters of Tsavo" and kindled a fascination with Kenya's lions that lingered with Caputo for half a century.
What sets the lions of Tsavo apart from the more familiar ones we know from nature documentaries, is that they are much bigger, and the males are either maneless of have very short manes, in either case nothing like the regal mountains of fur on their cousins from the Serengeti. In the first half of the book, Caputo explores reasons as to why this might by the case. It is possible that since Tsavo is much warmer than the Serengeti, manes are too expensive in terms of internal resources to grow. Another possibility is that the thick scrub brush and thorns of the region wear down manes before they ever become truly impressive.
However, it is a more controversial theory that makes for the most entertaining reading. Caputo encounters several scientists who argue that the lions of Tsavo are genetically distinct from the lions on the Serengeti. Moreover, they argue that the lions of Tsavo are in fact a throw back to prehistoric lions, quite literally walking fossils. The point to the lack of manes, the much larger height and girth and the fact that Tsavo lions hunt the enormous Cape Buffalo as justifications for this thesis.
Ultimately, Caputo, in three journeys to Kenya over the course of eighteen months (once as a tourist and twice with scientific expeditions) is never able to definitively state which hypothesis is correct. However, that in no way detracts from his rambling, conversational narrative. Caputo is not a scientist, and he in no way pretends to be one, although he does (and justifiably so) consider himself a well-informed observer. As such, he is not constrained by the rigors of academia, and can therefore transfer his passion for these lions and the mystery surrounding them onto the page. In fact, towards the end he grows weary of the scientific studies as they somehow detract from the powerful aura that surrounds the lions.
If you are interested in lions in general, or if the prospect of some spine-tingling tales of man-eating lions sounds appealing, "Ghost of Tsavo" is well worth reading. However, beyond the surface elements, Caputo has written a book that captures the raw spirituality of nature, and that bemoans modern man's detachment from the primitive. So it is entirely likely that even if you have no interest in lions at all, you may be drawn to Caputo's lament for something we don't even realize we have lost. Either way, "Ghost's of Tsavo" is well worth reading.
Jake Mohlman
What sets the lions of Tsavo apart from the more familiar ones we know from nature documentaries, is that they are much bigger, and the males are either maneless of have very short manes, in either case nothing like the regal mountains of fur on their cousins from the Serengeti. In the first half of the book, Caputo explores reasons as to why this might by the case. It is possible that since Tsavo is much warmer than the Serengeti, manes are too expensive in terms of internal resources to grow. Another possibility is that the thick scrub brush and thorns of the region wear down manes before they ever become truly impressive.
However, it is a more controversial theory that makes for the most entertaining reading. Caputo encounters several scientists who argue that the lions of Tsavo are genetically distinct from the lions on the Serengeti. Moreover, they argue that the lions of Tsavo are in fact a throw back to prehistoric lions, quite literally walking fossils. The point to the lack of manes, the much larger height and girth and the fact that Tsavo lions hunt the enormous Cape Buffalo as justifications for this thesis.
Ultimately, Caputo, in three journeys to Kenya over the course of eighteen months (once as a tourist and twice with scientific expeditions) is never able to definitively state which hypothesis is correct. However, that in no way detracts from his rambling, conversational narrative. Caputo is not a scientist, and he in no way pretends to be one, although he does (and justifiably so) consider himself a well-informed observer. As such, he is not constrained by the rigors of academia, and can therefore transfer his passion for these lions and the mystery surrounding them onto the page. In fact, towards the end he grows weary of the scientific studies as they somehow detract from the powerful aura that surrounds the lions.
If you are interested in lions in general, or if the prospect of some spine-tingling tales of man-eating lions sounds appealing, "Ghost of Tsavo" is well worth reading. However, beyond the surface elements, Caputo has written a book that captures the raw spirituality of nature, and that bemoans modern man's detachment from the primitive. So it is entirely likely that even if you have no interest in lions at all, you may be drawn to Caputo's lament for something we don't even realize we have lost. Either way, "Ghost's of Tsavo" is well worth reading.
Jake Mohlman
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Confronting the nightmare lions and oneself.
20 Jun 2002
Format:Hardcover
Long fascinated with the subject of man-eating lions, Philip Caputo does not pretend to be an expert on them, the environment, or African affairs. In fact, his lack of expertise and his desire to learn give this book some of its appeal and make it totally accessible, even to the most scientifically challenged reader. Consulting experts from Chicago's Field Museum and from the University of Minnesota, before, during, and after two trips he makes to Kenya's Tsavo National Park, Caputo immerses himself in their research, familiarizing the reader, in the process, with the lions, their behavior, and their controversies.
Far more apt to attack and eat humans than are the Serengeti plains lions, the man-eaters of Tsavo are giants, much longer from nose to tail, much taller at the shoulder, and 100 - 150 pounds heavier than the plains lions, and the males are often maneless. Caputo's experts strongly disagree on whether these giant lions differ simply because they have adapted to the hotter climate of Tsavo and their need to kill Cape buffalo for food, or whether, in fact, they represent a missing link between modern lions and the maneless cave lions of the Pleistocene era, which roamed throughout the Near East and Africa.
Stories of famous man-eaters of the past hundred years, including two which killed 135 people in 1898, and one 550-pounder from 1991, add drama and excitement to the narrative. But Caputo also ranges widely into peripheral, more personal subjects--why he believes hunters are closer to nature than are photographers, why tracking a lion on foot for four days is a more divine experience than using a vehicle, evolution vs. creationism, cloning, science vs. faith, and even his nightmares. Ultimately, the book is as much about Caputo as about the lions, who remain a mystery. "The truth is," he concludes, "I don't want to learn anything more about lions, but am content...to keep some blank spots blank; after all, those are what excite the imagination." Mary Whipple
Far more apt to attack and eat humans than are the Serengeti plains lions, the man-eaters of Tsavo are giants, much longer from nose to tail, much taller at the shoulder, and 100 - 150 pounds heavier than the plains lions, and the males are often maneless. Caputo's experts strongly disagree on whether these giant lions differ simply because they have adapted to the hotter climate of Tsavo and their need to kill Cape buffalo for food, or whether, in fact, they represent a missing link between modern lions and the maneless cave lions of the Pleistocene era, which roamed throughout the Near East and Africa.
Stories of famous man-eaters of the past hundred years, including two which killed 135 people in 1898, and one 550-pounder from 1991, add drama and excitement to the narrative. But Caputo also ranges widely into peripheral, more personal subjects--why he believes hunters are closer to nature than are photographers, why tracking a lion on foot for four days is a more divine experience than using a vehicle, evolution vs. creationism, cloning, science vs. faith, and even his nightmares. Ultimately, the book is as much about Caputo as about the lions, who remain a mystery. "The truth is," he concludes, "I don't want to learn anything more about lions, but am content...to keep some blank spots blank; after all, those are what excite the imagination." Mary Whipple
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Well done, both exciting and balanced.
28 Jun 2002
Format:Hardcover
Watch for The Ghosts of Tsavo to find a well-deserved spot on the best-seller lists. Caputo blends one bit travelogue with a splash of John McPhee, frappes it with some exciting writing, then serves it over the rocks of some hard scientific facts. This is a yarn, but a great one. The prologue is, hands down, the best story of someone hunting a man eating lion I have ever read. But this is not the "Jaguars Clawed My Flesh" school of big cat writing. His is a journey of exploration of the old school, similar to an expedition in the 19th Century from the Field Museum, which inspired Caputo as a child. Scientists will be happy to see he balances all of this with reason. Romantics will be happy to see he balances science with emotion. He has a gift, too, of beginning a personal rant on a point of politics and philosphy, and then doubling back on himself and to laugh at himself. He explores myths and explodes myths. Yet there is a romantic side to him that values them and the unknown. A good read, good reporting. Buy it, if the theme appeals to you at all, or if you ever looked up, as Caputo did as a child, at the great stuffed cats in museums.
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