The Jim Corbett Omnibus: Man-eaters of Kumaon; The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag; The Temple Tiger and More Man-eaters of Kumaon

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.

I read this book, or should i say all three books at the time, when i was a teenager and was captivated by them, due to the wonderful, descriptive writing of Jim Corbett who has captured all the elements of 1920/30's North East India and the way things were, both good and bad. Over 55 years later, i am still captivated by the stories of these magnificent predators, which are fast disappearing in this shallow world of materialism. The book still sent shivers down my spine as he desribes the hunting of these maneaters, and one can feel the terror of the villagers at not only the sight of these predators but just the knowledge that they were close by. In addition, one gains the respect of this hunter 'par extrodinaire', who had previously hunted these tigers and leopards as a sport but had the greatest respect for them and became a vocal conservationist. When i was 17, i lived in the heart of the bush(Jungle) in the then West African country of ' The Gold Coast' and to get to the nearest tarmac road was a walk of nearly 8 miles in the rainy season and i was up at 5.00am every morning doing manual labour in the cocoa and rubber plantation. Sometimes our diet just consisted of rice and fish caught in a river but they were days that will remain the best ones of my life. The sights and sounds of the bush will remain with me forever and i will always be grateful for those hard but rewarding days. This book has reinforced how wonderful were those days of a simple but hard working life. The Jim Corbett Omnibus is a book that all students should read and all serious book lovers have in their library.

Really interesting true stories about man eating animals with a revealing picture of life in India would have liked photos rather than sketches but still very enjoyable

This is a fantastic story about a many with incredible courage and insight of the floral and fauna of the Indian continent. His story weaves in the people and customs of the land and the times. Just an wonderful story of days gone by.

A great story, told in a factual style from a time gone by. Atmospheric and extremely frightening. A thoroughly recommended read!

The author has a wealth of knowledge of animals, and the people who live near them. Mr Corbett describes the mountainous terrain brilliantly.

Husband has not stopped talking about this book....loves it.......took a time to come but well worth it

This is a book that should be in every school library; the stories are gripping - the more so as they are all true - and the prose is excellent' A must read for any adventure-lover!!

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.

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

El libro era para mi padre y le ha gustado mucho. Libro muy entretenido.