Corbett was also an author of great renown. His books on the man-eating tigers he once tracked are not only established classics, but have by thenmselves created almost a separate literary genre. Man Eaters of Kumaon is the best known of Corbett's books, one which offers ten fascinating and spine-tingling tales of pursuing and shooting tigers in the Indian Himalayas during the early years of this century. The stories also offer first-hand information about the exotic flora, fauna, and village life in this obscure and treacherous region of India, making it as interesting a travelogue as it is a compelling look at a bygone era of big-game hunting.

You won't get any fluff or exaggeration with Jim Corbett. He was the REAL DEAL and his chess matches against these infamous man-eaters are legendary. From the 50 mile roadmarches to the 2 day stakeouts to the high suspense tracking of wounded killers, this man was tough as nails.

This book is one of his best and a must for any hunting/adventure collection.


A hunter, a humanitarian, a lover of nature   March 7, 2006
neurotome (San Luis Obispo, CA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

A lot of tigers and leopards die in this book. If you belong to PETA, then, this isn't the book for you. Jim Corbett begins with the premise that tigers and leopards who kill humans must be killed.

But he then begins his exposition with the story of the Champawat man-eating tigress, and how he first undertook to hunt such a beast. As I followed him into the jungle, I couldn't help but marvel at his recounting of his fear, his missteps, his eventual triumph.

But what I loved most of all was his keen eye for detail. Corbett isn't satisfied to say, "I shot the man-eater;" he must explain why that tiger's old paw injury forced her to substitute humans for her natural prey. And as you go on in the book, you begin to sense that Corbett is not a hunter who kills to bolster an inadequate ego; rather, his great joy springs from his natural affinity and long years of association with tigers, leopards, and the other denizens of the jungle.

It's probably worth knowing that in his later years, as the wilds of India became overrun with people, he turned to photo safaris; he wished to share his experiences of viewing these animals in their native habitat with the entire world, without doing any harm. If you, then, can sympathize with such a perspective, I wholly recommend this book; you'll come away with a new fascination with the great creatures we share our planet with.


Man-Eaters of Kumaon   December 23, 1999
Mike DiSalvo (Iowa - USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Corbett was the finest hunter of man-eating felines ever to walk the planet. He could tell more from a bent blade of grass and some misplaced dew, than most people could if they read a book. Discover why he thinks of a tiger as a large-hearted gentleman. He was a expert naturalist as well, knowing all of the animl calls and signs in the jungle. Go with him as he creeps within 12 ft. of the Thak man-eater, who was asleep (imagine the skill needed to stalk within 12 ft of a tiger! ). Discover the fear as he faces his 1st man-eater. Corbett killed many tigers and leopards, but he wasn't blood thirsty of kill crazed, he did it so people would not be killed. Corbett had everything you could have wanted in a hunter, intelligence, skills, and above all absolute confidence is his ability. Why else would he stalk tigers who had killed 100's of people in the jungle alone, and come out the victor?


A Bloody Good Read   December 1, 1999
daniel smith (Tennessee)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This book is about man-eating tigers in India and the man who hunted them. Jim Corbett was born in India, the son of a British colonial postmaster in the foothills of the Himalayas. As a boy, Corbett spent most of his time wandering in the jungle, and became not only an expert on tigers, but on all of the jungle animals and birds.When there was a man-eating tiger about, the government officials would always ask Corbett to track down and kill the man-eater (The tigers had HUNDREDS of victims!). It was a very dangerous business, and Corbett was almost killed many times. He would sit up all night over a human kill, waiting for the man-eater to come back. This book is a very suspenseful, exciting page-turner and a bloody good read!--Daniel Smith, 5th grade homeschooler


A MAN---AND A WRITER--- WITHOUT PEER   January 13, 2005
Jack Of Alltrades (Loth Ethtadoth Unidoth)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Corbett's writing is a rare thing. It is spare and exact as any literary reader could want, and at the same time as exciting as any adventure novel---and every word is fact.
Corbett was a man of decency, honor and humanity. To read his writing is to see into his soul, and to see what man can be, yet seldom is. In this age of braggadocio and bluster it is good to remind oneself that men can be more. Few of us have such dangerous work as did Corbett, but we may all choose to live as decently and honorably and, most of all, humbly.
Corbett was also an ecologist, biologist and lover of nature, as odd as that may seem for a big game hunter. He both loved and respected the tigers he killed, and did much to stop their destruction. Too often, environmentalists know nothing of what they seek to preserve. Corbett knew the forests of India, the fauna and flora both.