The Jim Corbett Omnibus

The most exciting and addictive writing I know of. He makes you feel as if you're right there with vivid description and obvious honesty. Too many life or death encounters, dire moments and decisions to cite. The real horror concerning the fate of man-eater victims is also brought to life. One Tiger having 436 victims! I recommend this book in complete confidence. Once I started it I simply couldn't put it down. The inherent danger of hunting down man-eating Tigers and Leopards brought to life.

I was mesmerized with this book and author when I was a kid in school in the 1960's, and read my mom's copy several times. That copy had gotten lost through the years and several moves, and I was thrilled to find out I could replace it through Amazon. Some of Jim Corbett's exploits while hunting man-eating tigers and leopards in the 1920's and 1930's, and some of the risks he took will scare the heck out of you, and his writing style will paint a detailed picture of all his adventures. Not recommended for tree huggers, but definitely a must read for anyone else who likes plain old hair raising adventure, and understands that the world was different back in those days.

This collection of true stories from the last century was surprising in that it was horribly gruesome material, but incredibly observant and sensitive. I don’t like scary stories, but these were told with such sincerity and even humor that i couldn’t put it down.

I loved these stories when I encountered them as a child in a very old book I stumbled on at the library...I've never been able to locate them before when I've looked, and so I was really excited to find the volume on Amazon. Amazon has been rejecting every review I've submitted today, and so I am reviewing this book as well to see if I can get any reviews through their system. It has been delightful to read Jim Corbett's wonderful stories again.

I've been reading--and rereading--Corbett for more years than I can remember. They not only tell the tales of his hunting man-eating tigers and leopards but tell of his wonderful love of nature, the land and the simple hill people of India. His descriptions and attention to detail are remarkable. You can practically smell the Himalayan foothills that he loved so much. Corbett, although "just" a public servant had an unusual combination of talents and virtues. His woodcraft was exceptional; his stamina phenomenal; his courage phenomenal; and his talent as a writer...unique. Corbett puts the reader in his own skin as he tracks beasts that would like nothing better than to sink their teeth in his throat. The reader is actually present as Corbett comes on the scene of a recent tiger kill as evidenced by the single shapely leg of a young woman. You feel his terror as a man-eating leopard, in the dead of night, rejects his goat bait and tries to rip Corbett from his machan high in a tree. You suffer with Corbett as he tries to maintain his lonely all-night vigil over a tiger-killed buffalo as malaria shakes his body apart and you rejoice with him as he fights the mighty mahseer from pool to pool in the icy waters of the Himalayas. You weep with Corbett as poor, frightened people thank him for ridding them of beasts that have destroyed lives and the economies of entire regions. At the same time you get to know Corbett the field biologist and nature lover. He bore no animosity for the man-eaters he hunted to death. He entirely recognized that they were a part of nature whose only "crime" was to develop a taste for the "wrong" kind of food. He speaks of the nobility of the tiger, the sinuous beauty of the leopard and bemoans the fact that these creatures were gradually being eradicated. Nevertheless he takes justifiable pride in saving the lives of so many people and is grieved that he couldn't have saved many more. Some people have questioned as to whether Corbett did all these things or whether, like Capstick, he was simply a gifted writer. I can't confirm the authenticity of all the stories but, all I can say, is that the government of India--that has no particular love for British colonialism--chose to honor this particular Englishman by naming a national park--a park containing many tigers and leopards--in his honor. Ron Braithwaite, author of Mexican Conquest novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"

So many merely good books get five stars. This book is not one of those: simply put it is one of the best books I have ever read. When I was a boy my mother read these stories to us at bed time and kept us enthralled. Hearing these tales is one of my favourite memories of my childhood. These dramatic stories of hunting man-eating tigers and leopards never grow old. Jim Corbett was so well loved by the people of India that after he died, the new Indian government named one of their national parks for him. Reading these stories you can see why, from his compassionate concern for the poor of India. The Man Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag especially was an amazingly devious and clever hunter and was stalking Corbett even as he was hunting the leopard. Corbett's self deprecating manner of narrative leaves little overt clue as to the tremendous courage he must have had to deal with the immense strain of a battle of wits in which one false move could mean his own death. These stories, together now in one volume, are simply some of the best stories of any type in the English language. In my opinion a must read for anybody who cares for adventure for really good writing.

I have read all three of the books included in this omnibus many times over the space of thirty years. Each is a superb read filled with suspense, observations on nature, and a genuine respect for India and it's people. These are not books about hunting for the sake of senseless slaughter. While Corbett vividly communicates a sense of suspense and excitement he continually returns to the theme of sympathy for the plight of the impoverished villagers who are terrorized by the man-eaters he hunts. There is no macho posturing in Corbett's accounts, there is heartfelt regret each time he pulls the trigger to end the rampage of another killer.

First off, this is a fantastic read and a great collection of Jim Corbett's stories. To get all three main books about his hunts of man-eating felines in the one book at a great price, I'm very happy with that. I had read one or two of his stories in a larger collection of stories by many authors, as a child, and they had always captivated my imagination. Jim Corbett had more real understanding or, and balanced sympathy to nature than most of today's 'climate activists' and 'eco-warriors'. He had what I would regard as a healthy and correct relationship to nature: he loved it, understood his environment deeply and could read it like a book in a way few can today, lived in it all his life, but also understood when human intervention was necessary and that human life trumped animal life when a hard choice had to be made between the two (something else today's eco-warrriors get backwards most of the time), yet was never wantonly cruel towards animals, perhaps because he understood them so well. Towards the end of his life he traded the gun for a camera and shot film instead of bullets, but still tracking his 'prey' with the same vitality in a way that reminds me of when Sioux warriors used 'count coup' on an enemy by getting close enough to touch them with a coup stick in a non-lethal way that still demonstrated their prowess and bravery. He helped establish one of the first nature parks in India. These books should be on the shelves of every zoo, animal reserve gift shop and other place where the proprietors claim to 'promote nature'. So much for the book, what about this particular version of Corbett's collected stories? Frankly it 's not the best production of it, probably, and the cheapness shows in several ways: 1. Other buyers have commented on the very thin paper used in the pages. It's true, the pages are so thin that the images and text from the other side of the page often show through (see pic). In some ways this can be a nuisance, making the text challenging to read at time if the light is angled on it the wrong way, or shines through a page (eg don't read it outdoors in sunshine for example, or with a lamp in front). But if the light falls squarely on the page I think the effect is not so pronounced and not so annoying. Very thin paper also means a much lighter, thinner book than it would otherwise be: nearly 600 pages in this omnibus. Heavy books look great on the coffee table but are not practical or comfortable to hold steady and read in bed, or on a flight. So, in a way, thin pages are actually an advantage here. 2. There are a number of typos and mispellings found throughout the text that suggest it was not properly proof-read, but on the whole, these are few enough to not interfere with the flow of the story. They are just evidence of a hurriedly-made and printed product. 3. Likewise, the same limited stock of illustrations are often repeated throughout the text, sometimes the same illustration used to accompany totally different stories, or stock images of the jungle, a tiger and so on - and often out of context, such as a pencil sketch of a tiger in the middle of a story about a leopard as if the publishers thought 'well, it's something to do with big felines anyway'. The artist was probably paid to produce 'X' number of pictures and the publishers just used these over and over. The quality of the pictures is often rather mediocre: the artist can't have ever seen a real gun, or how one is held when fired, though surely examples must be available in real life, museums or online to draw inspiration from? Once again, if you are forgiving, these don't stop you from enjoying the story. That said, given that this is supposed to be an Oxford University Press production, it's a rather poor effort overall. It is the New Delhi branch of the Oxford University press. Other buyers have said their copy had pages loose as well, though I bought two copies of this particular omnibus and thankfully neither had this problem. However, the sequel (second omnibus) did, which will deal with in a separate review. My verdict: well worth the money if you're buying this to read for yourself, but I wouldn't buy it as a gift for anyone eg for a birthday, Christmas etc and try and find a better quality production instead.

A beautiful account of a man eaters terror reign and his ultimate end at the hands of the author Jim Corbett

Sono nato negli anni '50 e da bambino nella biblioteca di famiglia vi erano sia "Le mangiatrici di uomini del Kumaon" (Longanesi, 1947) che, in seguito, "Il leopardo che mangiava uomini" (Mondadori, 1967, I Record Mondadori n° 36, ristampa economica della prima edizione rilegata del 1951) di Jim Corbett (Titoli originali Inglesi: "Man-Eaters of Kumaon", "The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag"). Ho passato Infanzia ed Adolescenza a leggere e rileggere quei volumi ed occasionalmente anche in età adulta. Il classico "Cacciatore Bianco"? Il "Sahib" del mondo coloniale che fu? Certamente no. Pur essendo il completamento ideale degli scritti di Kipling (Kim in particolare), l'opera di Corbett si muove in un mondo reale ed affascinante che ha giustificato il proverbio: "La realtà supera la fantasia" e sembra motivato, non da sete di sangue e di trofei, ma da più complessi e condivisibili moventi. Lo stile è asciutto e stringato, dimesso e modesto, tanto che a volte può sembrarci una "posa" di chi è invece ben conscio della propria fama e delle proprie doti. Un mondo che fu: oggi per trovare una tigre si deve forzatamente rivolgersi ad una riserva ed il paese è più densamente popolato del Regno Unito, del nostro, o della Cina, con tanti laureati da esportarli, come altri paesi esportano la canna da zucchero o il caffè. Oggi chi volesse leggere quegli unici volumi tradotti in italiano si dovrebbe rivolgere al mercato dell'usato o del collezionismo (anche qui su Amazon). Vi è stata una ristampa a cura dell'editore Neri Pozza nel 2002/2005 de "Il leopardo che mangiava uomini" di Mondadori, ma anche questa è esaurita. Per il resto le ultime ristampe dei libri risalgono alla fine degli anni '70. Chi però conosce l'inglese, può, facilmente procurarsi questo libro omnibus degli scritti di Corbett ed anche il secondo omnibus, tramite Amazon, avendo tutti gli scritti di Corbett e fruendo della spedizione gratuita per ordini sopra i 19 Euro. L'edizione della Oxford University Press è molto bella e curata, i due splendidi volumi sono rilegati con copertina rigida e sovracoperta con risvolti, pieni di disegni ed illustrazioni, ottima carta, insieme si hanno a casa con meno di 24 Euro. Chi però volesse solo il primo omnibus, il più grande, con gli scritti più famosi, risparmierà poco più di 10 Euro, tenendo presente che se non si è abbonati "Prime" bisognerà abbinare un altro acquisto per raggiungere almeno 19 Euro ed avere così la spedizione gratuita. Ci dice Wikipedia, l'Enciclopedia libera: ... " ... Edward James "Jim" Corbett (Nainital, 25 luglio 1875 – Nyeri, 19 aprile 1955) è stato un cacciatore e cercatore di piste britannico di fama quasi leggendaria, noto per le sue battute di caccia grossa ai mangiatori-di-uomini in India, poi "convertitosi" all'ambientalismo e divenuto scrittore, studioso di storia naturale ed attivista. ... " ...

I love Jim Corbett’s writing style. You feel like you are right next to him, walking through the jungles of India, on edge because you never know when a man eater will leap out at you. There’s a subtle heroes journey within these pages, as Jim moves from hunter to conservationist(which is probably why he has a National Park named after him). You can see why he became the inspiration for Michael Douglas’ character in “The ghost and the darkness”. I recommend this as the book to sink into and snuggle under the blankets on a cold winters day. Valé Jim Corbett.

Jim Corbett schreibt bescheiden und mit sehr viel Empathie sowohl für Tier als auch für die indische Bevölkerung. Unheimlich mitreißend. Gibt sehr gute Einblicke in das Leben der Zeit. Man kann sich richtig vorstellen wie das damals gewesen sein muss als unsere vorfahren noch von Säbelzahntigern umgeben waren