Horned Death by John Burger
daverichey November 30th, 2008
TITLE: Horned Death
AUTHOR: John Burger
PUBLISHER: Safari Press
DISTRIBUTOR: Safari Press, 15621 Chemical Lane, Building B, Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1506
CONTACT: Safari Press, 15621 Chemical Lane, Building B, Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1506
WEBSITE: Safari Press (contact or detailed information on this or and other Safari Press books)
eMAIL: info@safaripress.com
PHONE: 1 (714) 894-9080
ISBN #
COST $35 + S/H These books are not sold through other stores but must be order directly from the publisher.
The name John Burger has always been linked with the African buffalo because the author shot more than 1,000 of these animals during his many years in Africa, and he had more experience with these cantankerous critters than any man who ever hunted them.
The Cape buffalo has a nasty disposition, and it doesn’t take much to tip them over the ragged edge and into a rage. They tend to take their anger out on the closest thing, and if it is a hunter the buff sees, he plans to ambush you or charge from a distance. In any case, if the buffalo catches the hunter, the animal will hook the victim, bounce it into the ground, throw the person into the air, and otherwise rearrange that poor soul’s anatomy in such a way that few attack victim can survive.
Burger, after all the buffalo he had shot, considered this animal one of the most dangerous animals on earth. This book has everything needed to make it a fun but frightening read.
Burger seemed to have a wonderful sense of humor, and in one chapter describes how he and a friend lassoed a Cape buffalo although both men were injured in the fracas. In another account he described spending some time with a murderer and robber, who was eventually hauled off to jail.
This isn’t all about hunting Cape buffalo. It also deals with elephants and other game, but make no mistake about it: after reading Horned Death, and how dangerous this animal can be, a person will develop a new brand of respect for them.
Twenty-eight chapters, and 348 pages with numerous black-and-white photos, and Burger covers hunting this animal in grand fashion. His respect for the dangers of guiding hunters on a Cape buffalo hunt shows through.
The dust jacket cover, with its bold and haunting cover, sets the stage for what is inside. The cover features a red-eyed buffalo, and if that doesn’t grab you attention about this animal, nothing short of a buffalo attack will do the trick.
This is a book for the hardcore African hunter, a person who is willing to stand his ground, aim for the brain and hope the bull dies farther away than one buff the author shot. It died five steps away from him.
This is a book as pertinent to current buffalo hunters and hunting as it was after the turn of the 20th Century when Burger began killing Cape buffalo to feed the natives working to build railroad tracks across much of the African continent. Hunters may never experience all of the scenes that Burger describes, but if they experience just one charge during a hunt, they will be happy to have read this book before heading for Africa.
It is a very good read, and this is a legendary hunting title.
