Rating: 
Summary: courage beyond belief
Review: I am 43 years old. The first time I read this book was about 35 years ago. It belonged to my grand-dad who was a hunter and died 25 years ago. This book ranks right up there with Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe, the difference being reality verses fiction. Absolutely the best book I have ever read. The man, Jim Corbett has a love of nature and his fellow man, and the utmost respect and reverence for the quarry. Absolutely a book you cannot put down. I just aquired this book from my grandmother, who is 89 and it is just as spellbinding now as it was when I was young.
Rating:
Summary: A Legendary Classic
Review: I first read this book 30 years ago and since then it has been read by my children, my wife, and most of my extended family. Most people return the book with an expression of joy and wonder saying "Wow, did all of that really happen?" Corbett instilled in me my love for the out of doors and hunting. I only regret that the India of Jim Corbett is rapidly disappearing. Anyone of any age who loves stories of animals and nature spiced with the suspense of a good mystery will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Just essential jungle adventure
Review: I first read this book when I was 11 years old, at boarding school, and it's title has remained with me over thirty years later. Returning to it, and buying a copy for myself after all these years, I am in no doubt as to why I remember it so well. It's a riveting read, sensitively told as only Corbett can, and it will remain one of the best jungle stories of this century.
Rating:
Summary: Best adventure story ever written
Review: I first read this book when I was a child, and I loved it. I thought it was long out of print, and when I saw it was still available I bought a new copy and re-read it again. Like a good wine, it got better with time. This and the story of Shackleton's 'Endurance' expedition in 1914 have to be the most exciting adventure stories I have ever read - I sat up untill the early hours to re-read it again in one sitting. The writing is very descriptive and clear and the tension is unbeatable - Corbett literally came face-to-face with man-eating leopards and tigers, and by his reckoning the chances of surviving an encounter were about one in a hundred. The man must have had nerves of steel to run risks like that for thirty years. Corbett was a hero's heroe and he was a skilled observer and writer as well - he had great knowledge of the country and the animals he tracked and he knew how to record the information and present it so that the uninitiated can understand what is going on. A big attraction to me also for Corbett's writing is his humility and modesty about his accomplishments, there is not a hint of boastfullness. He writes about tracking a man-eating tiger that is stalking him as if the job is no more risky than going to a convenience store for a carton of milk. As a character, Jim Corbett has to be at the very top of the tree.
Rating:
Summary: Read and read again!
Review: I first read this book when I was about 12 years old. I have picked it up and lost myself in it many times in the last half century. For a hunter, Corbetts world is unique and, very sadly, gone from the face of the earth. Only Capstick comes close to these hunting stories.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most exciting books ever!!!
Review: I first read this book when I was about 8 years old. I can't even begin to estimate how many times I've read it since -- at least 25. Anyone who likes true stories of adventure told with sensitivity, modesty, and out of vast experience should love this! Great reading!!!
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting adventures!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Reveals how one could act with courage and ahimsa
Review: I had read and heard of ahimsa (loosely translated as non-violence) as preached and practised by Gandhi. I am also familiar with the much wider concept of ahimsa one finds in Hindu philosophy : a state of mind where you cease to differentiate your self from any other being. I had also read about yogis and mystics who had actually reached such a state of mind. Vedanta textbooks say that knowledge (of the ultimate reality) drives away fear. But in all these readings I was only vaguely aware of the inherent link between ahimsa and fearlessness until I chanced upon "Man-Eaters of Kumaon". How does Corbett overcome fear? Is it just a matter of cold reason? Is it just his intimate knowledge of the terrain, the knowledge of the ways of man eaters, his ability to understand and imitate the language of most of the animals that were to be found in Kumaon ? As a ten year old boy he had his first trophy when he first wounded and then stalked and finished off a full grown leopard. As a middle aged man, during an epidemic outbreak of cholera in Mokamah, where he worked as a railway contractor, he nursed back to life a cholera victim left abandoned by fellow travellers. His deep sympathy and love for those simple folk among whom he lived and worked is inseparable from the courage he showed when called upon to stand by them; one feeds on the other. These Kumaon stories are replete with instances where the victim's own folk had panicked on seeing (or even sensing) a man-eater , leaving the poor victim alone. In one instance a villager simply shut his door when he received no reply from his wife who had, a little while earlier, stepped out of her hut to relieve herself. Ironically enough most of the victims of the Kumaon "man-eaters" happened to be women. This should not come as a surprise because most of the work in fields or firewood collecting is done by the women. It is significant that the only instance of courage in the face of danger is due to a young woman who ran, shouting and brandishing her sickle, after! the tiger which was carrying off her sister. When the predator turned its attention on its pursuer she managed to run back to safety, but the shock left her completely speechless for about a year. About a year later Corbett managed to kill the tiger and on returning with the kill laid it first at her door step; when she ran out to inform the rest of the villagers she was seen shouting at the top of her voice! Whole villages were abandoned when a man eater was reported in the area; people feared to step beyond their courtyard even to relieve themselves so that these villages soon turned filthy and unhygenic. Against this backdrop of terror, which paralysed the life of villages for miles around, Corbett realized the need to instill courage in the hearts of men and help them get back to normal life; often he would stand guard as the villagers harvested their fields or collected water from nearby streams. The next step is to track down the man-eater and this requires immense hard work - not just skill and courage - and could take months. What sustains a shikari in such circumstances ? Surely not the prize money; one of the preconditions that he sets before the Government is that the prize money be withdrawn. Reading these stories one cannot help feeling that it is something much more than the mere thrill and adventure in the act involved, that motivates Corbett. And finally the act of killing and the words that describe it never betray a sense of ill will or hatred towards the prey; what else could be ahimsa even in the act of killing itself. Such a state of mind is the mind of a yogi - at once fearless and non violent.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best jungle story I have ever read.
Review: I have read many jungle story. This one is my favorit. When I start read it, I cannot put it down. Every page is full of excitement. It is just amazing that a man can experience all these close encounters with man-eater in one life time. With auther's explianation of the environment, I could almost imagine myself stalking the tiger in India jungle in 1920. Great book written by a great man. What more do I have to say. If you like jungle book, try this one. I am sure you will like it.
Rating:
Summary: The most exciting book i've ever read .
Review: I read this book cover to cover many times in my youth. I'm an avid outdoorsman and can only dream about experiencing the thrill of stalking an animal that has actually preyed upon a human being. I can vividly remember my hair standing on end while Corbette describe the stalk of a man eating tiger that actually was stalking him .
| 
