Reviews for The Man-Eaters of Tsavo

The average rating for The Man-Eaters of Tsavo based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-02-24 00:00:00 Jeff Caudron An account by Colonel John Henry Patterson of his time in Africa - while I expected a focus on Tsavo, it's in fact only about the first third of the book that deals with his time there and travails brought on by the titular pair of man-eating lions. Written around the dawn of the 20th century (covering events from 1899 onwards), it's absolutely a product of it's time. "Natives" are described just as many of the game animals, and range from "low sorts" to those who welcome missionaries and as a result "are quickly becoming the most civilised natives in the country". One trap for the lions of Tsavo was even designed to be used with coolies as bait! But though a very colonial attitude does exist, it's certainly not completely clear cut - Colonel Patterson spends all of the first nights since building the man-bait trap performing as said bait himself, speaks several languages, and doesn't hesitate to offer his own cabin as shelter when one of the camps believe themselves stalked by the lions. He may see zebras, and as they're so uncommon, immediately move to shoot them; but he's also reluctant to harm such "rare and graceful" creatures as the pair of giraffe he happens upon. In short, go in expecting to find some very archaic thinking, but it's a short and interesting read for anyone interested in an account of some truly dangerous times in colonial Africa.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-08-26 00:00:00 Rhonda Pfaff The account of a big-game hunter and builder of the Mombasa railway, Col Patterson, who was also the guy who took on the notorious man-eating lions of Tsavo. These two lions are possibly the biggest man eaters in history, killing maybe 140 people and bringing the railway construction to a halt because of their nightly attacks on the workers' camps, and by Patterson's account were near-supernaturally cunning and deadly. A fabulous story, even with Patterson's truly weird decision to pause the story of the MAN EATING LIONS for entire chapters while he discusses his railway construction (which said, that railway pretty much created a country and allowed British domination of East Africa, so.) Obviously this is a book by a British empire builder of the turn of the century, for good and ill. The attitudes to race and culture are a lot more interesting and gnarly than the stereotypes might lead you to suspect (Patterson is all about the White Man's Burden and reeks of British entitlement but he also sets to learn Swahili, already speaks Hindustani, and undeniably puts his own life at risk against the lions attacking his men). It's full of unintentionally hilarious quotes (eg on zebras: "This was the first time I had seen these beautifully marked animals in their wild state, so I selected the largest and fired." So. That tells you everything.) Plus the story of the lions is genuinely jawdropping, particularly the bit where one of them gets into the railway carriage where three hunters are lying in wait.