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Death in the Long Grass: A Big Game Hunter's Adventures in the African Bush
As thrilling as any novel, as taut and exciting as any adventure story, Peter Hathaway Capstick’s Death in the Long Grass takes us deep into the heart of darkness to view Africa through the eyes of one of the most renowned professional hunters.
Few men can say they have known Africa as Capstick has known it, leading safaris through lion country; tracking man-eating leopards along tangled jungle paths; running for cover as fear-maddened elephants stampede in all directions. And of the few who have known this dangerous way of life, fewer still can recount their adventures with the flair of this former professional hunter-turned-writer.
Based on Capstick’s own experiences and the personal accounts of his colleagues, Death in the Long Grass portrays the great killers of the African bush, not only the lion, leopard, and elephant, but the primitive rhino and the crocodile waiting for its unsuspecting prey, the titanic hippo and the Cape buffalo charging like an express train out of control. Capstick was a born raconteur whose colorful descriptions and eye for exciting, authentic detail bring us face to face with some of the most ferocious killers in the world underrated killers like the surprisingly brave and cunning hyena, silent killers such as the lightning-fast black mamba snake, collective killers like the wild dog.
Listeners can lean back in a chair, sip a tall, iced drink, and revel in the kinds of hunting stories Hemingway and Ruark used to hear in hotel bars from Nairobi to Johannesburg, as veteran hunters would tell of what they heard beyond the campfire and saw through the sights of an express rifle.
Few men can say they have known Africa as Capstick has known it, leading safaris through lion country; tracking man-eating leopards along tangled jungle paths; running for cover as fear-maddened elephants stampede in all directions. And of the few who have known this dangerous way of life, fewer still can recount their adventures with the flair of this former professional hunter-turned-writer.
Based on Capstick’s own experiences and the personal accounts of his colleagues, Death in the Long Grass portrays the great killers of the African bush, not only the lion, leopard, and elephant, but the primitive rhino and the crocodile waiting for its unsuspecting prey, the titanic hippo and the Cape buffalo charging like an express train out of control. Capstick was a born raconteur whose colorful descriptions and eye for exciting, authentic detail bring us face to face with some of the most ferocious killers in the world underrated killers like the surprisingly brave and cunning hyena, silent killers such as the lightning-fast black mamba snake, collective killers like the wild dog.
Listeners can lean back in a chair, sip a tall, iced drink, and revel in the kinds of hunting stories Hemingway and Ruark used to hear in hotel bars from Nairobi to Johannesburg, as veteran hunters would tell of what they heard beyond the campfire and saw through the sights of an express rifle.
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First published January 1, 1977
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About the author
Peter Hathaway Capstick
27 books93 followersPeter Hathaway Capstick was an American hunter and author. Born in New Jersey and educated at (although did not graduate from) the University of Virginia, he walked away from a successful Wall Street career shortly before his thirtieth birthday to become a professional hunter, first in Central and South America and later (and most famously) in Africa. Capstick spent much of his life in Africa, a land he called his "source of inspiration." A chain smoker and heavy drinker, he died at age 56 from complications following heart surgery.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
November 9, 2022
'My' students want books about hunting.
They do not know that I grew up in WV, and that if my father was not at a shooting match, he was hunting. When I was in school, I'd steal all of his outdoorsy books and Capstick was one of my favorite authors, with DEATH IN THE LONG GRASS being one of my favorite books.
I got this copy for the classroom, but I decided I should read just a little bit, to be sure my memory served me well. It is actually much better than I remembered! Capstick's sly humor was over my head then, whereas it is much appreciated today. The details of the African jungle and its wild-life are as crystal-clear and engaging as I remembered. I'm excited to see what the students think.
They do not know that I grew up in WV, and that if my father was not at a shooting match, he was hunting. When I was in school, I'd steal all of his outdoorsy books and Capstick was one of my favorite authors, with DEATH IN THE LONG GRASS being one of my favorite books.
I got this copy for the classroom, but I decided I should read just a little bit, to be sure my memory served me well. It is actually much better than I remembered! Capstick's sly humor was over my head then, whereas it is much appreciated today. The details of the African jungle and its wild-life are as crystal-clear and engaging as I remembered. I'm excited to see what the students think.
December 15, 2011
Overwritten, with prose purple in the extreme, by an author of questionable moral character as a hunter and someone who was at best a serial exaggerator and possibly an outright plagiarist. All that said, this is one hell of a book. I haven't picked it up in years and I can still remember the opening line: "In four hot, still hours dawn will hemorrhage like a fresh wound in the sky over the eastern Muchingas..."
Capstick was a New York bond trader who left it all behind to become a "professional white hunter" (an actual title) in East Africa. His stories of derring-do, hunting game big and mean enough to hunt you back (usually featuring a hero none other than himself) ought to be an anachronism, ought to be unreadable, in fact. Instead, they are ridiculously entertaining; you will find yourself interrupting friends' conversations to share what happened with the leopard, or to the young couple on their honeymoon. The very definition of a rip-roaring good read.
Capstick was a New York bond trader who left it all behind to become a "professional white hunter" (an actual title) in East Africa. His stories of derring-do, hunting game big and mean enough to hunt you back (usually featuring a hero none other than himself) ought to be an anachronism, ought to be unreadable, in fact. Instead, they are ridiculously entertaining; you will find yourself interrupting friends' conversations to share what happened with the leopard, or to the young couple on their honeymoon. The very definition of a rip-roaring good read.
March 5, 2011
Peter Capstick was a big game hunter in Africa during the 70's, and probably longer, but the stories in this memoir cover mostly the 70s.
This book feels like a collection of campfire stories, each tall tale as exciting as the last. One tends to believe most of the tales that Capstick tells, but only because he sounds straightforward, honest, and pragmatic. Even so, one could easily get the idea that Capstick was among the best hunters ever (as told by Capstick). How seriously you take the stories is up the reader, I suppose.
The book is divided up into sections, each section about a different huntable or encounterable animal in the Africa wilderness. Capstick usually tells a few stories about hunting that animal, combined with a little natural history about that animal, while making sure to communicate, in detail, how that animal might relish killing you (in gory, but not terribly explicit, detail). He covers lions, elephants, hippos, leopards, and other smaller/miscellaneous animals.
While interesting, the book does become a bit repetitive, yet it still manages to keep the reader interested by way of the suspenseful story telling.
One thing I appreciated about this memoir was that Capstick gave careful thought to completely represent all of Africa's animals as well rounded creatures, and not just mindless killers or trophies. Capstick, while a hunter, is also often quick to point out the conservationist aspect to hunting. Safaris and big game hunting is not about the wanton slaughter of animals (that would be called poaching) but is rather a skilled hunt of respect towards the animal, and often the large fees and expensive licenses one is required to pay in order to hunt each individual animal does much to pay the wages of game wardens, upkeep of the animals, and to buy land for ecological preserves. A hunter wishes to hunt an animal, and for that to happen the animal must exist, so the irony that most animal activists fail to realize is that hunters actually do the most to preserve the magnificent African wildlife.
I would say to pull up a log and enjoy a few tall tales and learn a few things about Africa's most famous animals as told my a man who knows the field quite well.
This book feels like a collection of campfire stories, each tall tale as exciting as the last. One tends to believe most of the tales that Capstick tells, but only because he sounds straightforward, honest, and pragmatic. Even so, one could easily get the idea that Capstick was among the best hunters ever (as told by Capstick). How seriously you take the stories is up the reader, I suppose.
The book is divided up into sections, each section about a different huntable or encounterable animal in the Africa wilderness. Capstick usually tells a few stories about hunting that animal, combined with a little natural history about that animal, while making sure to communicate, in detail, how that animal might relish killing you (in gory, but not terribly explicit, detail). He covers lions, elephants, hippos, leopards, and other smaller/miscellaneous animals.
While interesting, the book does become a bit repetitive, yet it still manages to keep the reader interested by way of the suspenseful story telling.
One thing I appreciated about this memoir was that Capstick gave careful thought to completely represent all of Africa's animals as well rounded creatures, and not just mindless killers or trophies. Capstick, while a hunter, is also often quick to point out the conservationist aspect to hunting. Safaris and big game hunting is not about the wanton slaughter of animals (that would be called poaching) but is rather a skilled hunt of respect towards the animal, and often the large fees and expensive licenses one is required to pay in order to hunt each individual animal does much to pay the wages of game wardens, upkeep of the animals, and to buy land for ecological preserves. A hunter wishes to hunt an animal, and for that to happen the animal must exist, so the irony that most animal activists fail to realize is that hunters actually do the most to preserve the magnificent African wildlife.
I would say to pull up a log and enjoy a few tall tales and learn a few things about Africa's most famous animals as told my a man who knows the field quite well.
April 21, 2019
I bought this book from Book Club Associates, a division of WHSmith, I believe, when I was a teenager many moons ago. Published in 1977, Death in the Long Grass relates stories of big game hunting in Africa, as told by the hunter himself. He must have been a ‘larger than life’ kind of guy, and I certainly would have liked to have spent a couple of hours around a campfire listening to him, though I probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep much afterwards. His Goodreads biographical note says this:
'Peter Hathaway Capstick was an American hunter and author. Born in New Jersey and educated at (although did not graduate from) the University of Virginia, he walked away from a successful Wall Street career shortly before his thirtieth birthday to become a professional hunter, first in Central and South America and later (and most famously) in Africa. Capstick spent much of his life in Africa, a land he called his ‘source of inspiration’. A chain smoker and heavy drinker, he died at age 56 from complications following heart surgery.'
Big game hunting still goes on and is arguably even more controversial now than it was then when the movement to protect wild animals and the danger of extinction of several important (aren’t they all?) species had only been in the public eye for, perhaps, fifteen to twenty years.
As an aside, I am sure that the book and film Elsa the Lion/Born Free had a significant impact on public perceptions of lions in particular, and all wild animals in general. In fact, the author here disparagingly mentions Born Free, blaming the film for making lions seem just like big pussycats when in fact they are ruthless killers. I guess when you have seen firsthand what a lion can do to a human (and you earn your living hunting them), it colours your perspective.
On the other side of the coin, check out a short video on YouTube of ‘Christian the lion’. In the 1960s it was still lawful to own wild animals in England. A couple of young guys bought a lion cub (from Harrods, no less!) and kept him in their fashionable shop in London, where he was a ‘pet’ to them and their upmarket customers. When Christian got too big, they entrusted him to George Adamson (the Born Free guy) who took Christian to Africa and released him. His former owners travelled there a year later to see if Christian would recognise them. The video shows you what happened when they found him. Don't worry, there's no blood.
Returning to controversy for a moment, the author claims that the people who want to hunt big game in Africa, i.e. lion, elephant, leopard and others, have to pay enormous sums in order to obtain a licence to shoot one of each and that the money is ploughed back into protecting the animals, also ensuring that local people have enough of an income that they don’t engage in poaching, thus ensuring survival of those species. I have no idea how much of that was true in 1977 or is now but, given the notorious amount of corruption in several African countries, I have my doubts; in addition to my overall desire not to see wild animals shot for no reason other than that some affluent dentist/stockbroker wants to get close to danger. Having said that, I can understand why people want to hunt; it taps into our ancient instincts. After all, several thousand (or is it tens of thousands?) of Americans go out into the boonies every weekend to shoot deer, quail, doves, pigeons, racoons and goodness knows what else, and wealthy Europeans stalk deer and shoot grouse in Scotland and elsewhere. As the author puts it:
'What, after the fat is boiled away, is the essence of hunting big game? In a word, it is challenge in its most elemental form, the same challenge that provided the drive that brought the hairless, puny-toothed, weak, dawn-creature that became man down out of the trees to hunt meat with his rocks, clubs and pointed sticks. This daring still lives, in varying degrees of mufti, under the flannel breast of the meekest shoe clerk although, like every other primaeval drive that elevated early man, it has been watered down in direct disproportion to our rising self-estimation.'
I believe this to be true. As a boy, I shot at sparrows with an air rifle, much to my mother’s disgust. It wasn’t that I wanted to kill anything, but I wanted to see if I could get close enough to hit the little blighters before they flew away. Now, of course, I am older, wiser (I hope) and don’t do it any more. Likewise, computer games involving war, combat, shooting at things and beating a dangerous opponent are all extremely popular and profitable so we cannot deny our heritage.
At that time and place, big game hunting was done ‘the old-fashioned way’, by which I mean you had to get up close and personal with the animal you wanted to shoot. This made it a very dangerous proposition, as Mr Capstick goes to great lengths to explain: an angry, scared-stiff and wounded ‘any animal with large claws & teeth or tusks and large feet’ in your local vicinity is not something you want to remain close to. He explains it thus in his foreword:
'In hunting big game, facing danger is the height of the hunting ethic. Any bloody fool can, without encountering the smallest modicum of risk, murder a bull elephant at 200 yards with a lung shot. This is not elephant hunting but elephant killing. Yet, to walk for a week, thirsty and footsore over hot, dry thorn-spiked terrain, disappointed a dozen times by small or broken tusks, frightened witless by a female of the species or seemingly unshootable bulls, and then finally to track down a big tusker in heavy cover for a confrontation at less than fifteen yards–well that is elephant hunting. That is man against himself, the last and purest form of the challenges that made us men, not animals.'
So much for why men (and some women) want to hunt – on to the book. The nine chapters are set out by animal, named thus: Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Hippo, Crocodile, Rhino, Snakes and Underrated Killers. The book is, in essence, a series of hair-raising stories where people are mauled, eaten, injured or merely killed by the various wild beasts in the vicinity (their own backyard, it has to be said – none are set in downtown Nairobi). Many involve local people being the unfortunate victims, necessitating the animal concerned being removed in case they do it again. In those situations, Capstick was working unpaid for the government – something the big game hunters had to do to remain on good terms with the authorities issuing their licences. The other stories relate to hunting with clients: the hardships, the mistakes, the adrenalin rush, the fear and ultimate success.
They are not all Peter Hathaway Capstick's personal stories, many are re-tellings of those of other hunters and how they met their demise. Some come across, therefore, as tall tales, exaggerated tales and/or sensationalised, but they are universally fascinating and make avid reading. This is in large part because the author writes well and injects a good deal of ‘black humour’ into the narrative. His descriptive powers are well-developed, and he has a knack for making you feel ‘OMG, what would I do in that scenario?’ (in addition to wetting my pants). As you read each chapter, you decide that, no, maybe lions are not as dangerous as elephants, then, hmm, leopards seem more dangerous than elephants, and finally, it makes no difference, the thing that gets you is the most dangerous.
Despite my desire not to condone big game hunting, I have to say I love this book. It is highly entertaining and quite sobering if you are about to go on a camera safari – don’t get too close! Don’t read it if you are a sensitive soul that will get overly upset by passages describing how someone got her arm chewed off or was trampled into something resembling small roadkill by an angry elephant, but if you love adventure, getting close to the action and you enjoy entertaining writing, put aside your moral convictions for a little while and enjoy something different. Wilbur Smith does it (so well) in fiction, but this is the real thing – mostly.
'Peter Hathaway Capstick was an American hunter and author. Born in New Jersey and educated at (although did not graduate from) the University of Virginia, he walked away from a successful Wall Street career shortly before his thirtieth birthday to become a professional hunter, first in Central and South America and later (and most famously) in Africa. Capstick spent much of his life in Africa, a land he called his ‘source of inspiration’. A chain smoker and heavy drinker, he died at age 56 from complications following heart surgery.'
Big game hunting still goes on and is arguably even more controversial now than it was then when the movement to protect wild animals and the danger of extinction of several important (aren’t they all?) species had only been in the public eye for, perhaps, fifteen to twenty years.
As an aside, I am sure that the book and film Elsa the Lion/Born Free had a significant impact on public perceptions of lions in particular, and all wild animals in general. In fact, the author here disparagingly mentions Born Free, blaming the film for making lions seem just like big pussycats when in fact they are ruthless killers. I guess when you have seen firsthand what a lion can do to a human (and you earn your living hunting them), it colours your perspective.
On the other side of the coin, check out a short video on YouTube of ‘Christian the lion’. In the 1960s it was still lawful to own wild animals in England. A couple of young guys bought a lion cub (from Harrods, no less!) and kept him in their fashionable shop in London, where he was a ‘pet’ to them and their upmarket customers. When Christian got too big, they entrusted him to George Adamson (the Born Free guy) who took Christian to Africa and released him. His former owners travelled there a year later to see if Christian would recognise them. The video shows you what happened when they found him. Don't worry, there's no blood.
Returning to controversy for a moment, the author claims that the people who want to hunt big game in Africa, i.e. lion, elephant, leopard and others, have to pay enormous sums in order to obtain a licence to shoot one of each and that the money is ploughed back into protecting the animals, also ensuring that local people have enough of an income that they don’t engage in poaching, thus ensuring survival of those species. I have no idea how much of that was true in 1977 or is now but, given the notorious amount of corruption in several African countries, I have my doubts; in addition to my overall desire not to see wild animals shot for no reason other than that some affluent dentist/stockbroker wants to get close to danger. Having said that, I can understand why people want to hunt; it taps into our ancient instincts. After all, several thousand (or is it tens of thousands?) of Americans go out into the boonies every weekend to shoot deer, quail, doves, pigeons, racoons and goodness knows what else, and wealthy Europeans stalk deer and shoot grouse in Scotland and elsewhere. As the author puts it:
'What, after the fat is boiled away, is the essence of hunting big game? In a word, it is challenge in its most elemental form, the same challenge that provided the drive that brought the hairless, puny-toothed, weak, dawn-creature that became man down out of the trees to hunt meat with his rocks, clubs and pointed sticks. This daring still lives, in varying degrees of mufti, under the flannel breast of the meekest shoe clerk although, like every other primaeval drive that elevated early man, it has been watered down in direct disproportion to our rising self-estimation.'
I believe this to be true. As a boy, I shot at sparrows with an air rifle, much to my mother’s disgust. It wasn’t that I wanted to kill anything, but I wanted to see if I could get close enough to hit the little blighters before they flew away. Now, of course, I am older, wiser (I hope) and don’t do it any more. Likewise, computer games involving war, combat, shooting at things and beating a dangerous opponent are all extremely popular and profitable so we cannot deny our heritage.
At that time and place, big game hunting was done ‘the old-fashioned way’, by which I mean you had to get up close and personal with the animal you wanted to shoot. This made it a very dangerous proposition, as Mr Capstick goes to great lengths to explain: an angry, scared-stiff and wounded ‘any animal with large claws & teeth or tusks and large feet’ in your local vicinity is not something you want to remain close to. He explains it thus in his foreword:
'In hunting big game, facing danger is the height of the hunting ethic. Any bloody fool can, without encountering the smallest modicum of risk, murder a bull elephant at 200 yards with a lung shot. This is not elephant hunting but elephant killing. Yet, to walk for a week, thirsty and footsore over hot, dry thorn-spiked terrain, disappointed a dozen times by small or broken tusks, frightened witless by a female of the species or seemingly unshootable bulls, and then finally to track down a big tusker in heavy cover for a confrontation at less than fifteen yards–well that is elephant hunting. That is man against himself, the last and purest form of the challenges that made us men, not animals.'
So much for why men (and some women) want to hunt – on to the book. The nine chapters are set out by animal, named thus: Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Hippo, Crocodile, Rhino, Snakes and Underrated Killers. The book is, in essence, a series of hair-raising stories where people are mauled, eaten, injured or merely killed by the various wild beasts in the vicinity (their own backyard, it has to be said – none are set in downtown Nairobi). Many involve local people being the unfortunate victims, necessitating the animal concerned being removed in case they do it again. In those situations, Capstick was working unpaid for the government – something the big game hunters had to do to remain on good terms with the authorities issuing their licences. The other stories relate to hunting with clients: the hardships, the mistakes, the adrenalin rush, the fear and ultimate success.
They are not all Peter Hathaway Capstick's personal stories, many are re-tellings of those of other hunters and how they met their demise. Some come across, therefore, as tall tales, exaggerated tales and/or sensationalised, but they are universally fascinating and make avid reading. This is in large part because the author writes well and injects a good deal of ‘black humour’ into the narrative. His descriptive powers are well-developed, and he has a knack for making you feel ‘OMG, what would I do in that scenario?’ (in addition to wetting my pants). As you read each chapter, you decide that, no, maybe lions are not as dangerous as elephants, then, hmm, leopards seem more dangerous than elephants, and finally, it makes no difference, the thing that gets you is the most dangerous.
Despite my desire not to condone big game hunting, I have to say I love this book. It is highly entertaining and quite sobering if you are about to go on a camera safari – don’t get too close! Don’t read it if you are a sensitive soul that will get overly upset by passages describing how someone got her arm chewed off or was trampled into something resembling small roadkill by an angry elephant, but if you love adventure, getting close to the action and you enjoy entertaining writing, put aside your moral convictions for a little while and enjoy something different. Wilbur Smith does it (so well) in fiction, but this is the real thing – mostly.
March 24, 2022
This is without a doubt the most entertaining piece of non-fiction I have ever read. It reads like fiction and each chapter focuses on a different animal. This is an unbelievable adventure. The sheer amount of death this man saw, be it the animals he was hunting or people he was taking hunting. It’s unbelievable how many people and animals died around this man. It’s just a very wild story.
September 13, 2012
What most people don't understand about big-game hunting in Africa is that the animals have a much better chance against the hunter than one might expect. The late Peter Hathaway Capstick was born in New Jersey but realized his boyhood dream of becoming a big-game hunter and safari guide in Africa. Each chapter in DEATH IN THE LONG GRASS examines a different big-game animal by explaining why it is dangerous and telling stories about contests that the animals won. Once you've read Capstick's first book, you will want to read his others. Nobody has written as colorfully or gut-wrenchingly as Capstick about stalking and being stalked by African big-game animals. (My favorite Capstickism: "The things you see whenyou don't have a rifle...") Recommended for open-minded adults and college and secondary school students who are willing to question the Disney view of animals in the wild.
June 3, 2008
Peter Hathaway Capstick wrote books about big game hunting in Africa and I wish he hadn't. I've always been a fan of hunter/writers and had hoped Capstick would be a worthy successor to the long line of great hunting ones...J. A. Hunter, Karamojo Bell, Robert Ruark, Ernest Hemingway, Nash Buckingham and the greatest of all, Jim Corbett. I was shocked by the work Capstick foisted upon us. It's been several years since I read this book and I'm surprised I kept it in my library. I'll remedy that situation ere long.
This is a book of hunting stories; the problem is whose? Capstick was long suspected of embellishment and outright inability to see where a story's bona fides came from.
The main thing I enjoyed about this book was the title.
This is a book of hunting stories; the problem is whose? Capstick was long suspected of embellishment and outright inability to see where a story's bona fides came from.
The main thing I enjoyed about this book was the title.
June 16, 2022
I haven't had this much fun reading a book in a long time. Fascinating content - hard to believe this is a true-to-life memoir of an actual real person. (Were Capstick still living, he would certainly be on my dinner-party invitee list.) Clever writing style with understated humor, gripping personal stories, and actually interesting factual information.
November 21, 2022
A lot more of Africa gets into your blood than the malaria, you know.
I do not agree with big game sport hunting but I found the stories in this book interesting and learned about the animals. The misogyny I could live without, though.
I do not agree with big game sport hunting but I found the stories in this book interesting and learned about the animals. The misogyny I could live without, though.
December 10, 2024
Terrifying tales told by a big game hunting guide.
February 21, 2021
This book covers a controversial topic, professional hunting or Game hunting, in Africa. I personally belong to the Disney crowd that author derisively describes in the book, who dislikes killing animals for fun. However, he gave a new perspective of life in the wild Africa and how the roles of hunter and prey can change quickly. A great (and sometimes gory) narrative that sure will send shivers down your spine next time you see a Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Crocodile and even a harmless looking Hippo or Antelope.
October 13, 2025
This was an incredible read. Peter Capstick has a rare gift for turning his time as a professional hunter and safari leader into something both terrifying and magnetic. Each chapter focuses on a different animal such as lion, leopard, elephant, crocodile, or Cape buffalo, and by the end you understand the title completely: death truly waits in the long grass.
Capstick’s writing captures the danger and unpredictability of the African bush. He recounts close calls and near-fatal encounters with remarkable calm and vivid detail, showing how experience and instinct often meant the difference between walking away or becoming another statistic. His storytelling flows effortlessly, pulling the reader into the tension of each hunt, the quiet before a charge, and the relief that follows survival.
Beyond the hunts themselves, Capstick manages to romanticize a world that has largely faded. There is something deeply evocative about the image of him lighting a cigarette under the shade of an acacia tree, watching the savanna stretch endlessly before him. It isn’t just nostalgia, but a deep reverence for the land, the animals, and the rawness of life there.
What stands out most is his balance between adventure and reflection. He doesn’t hide from the brutality of hunting, yet he reminds readers that these expeditions play a pivotal role in conservation efforts, a truth often ignored in modern discussions.
If you want to step into the world of classic safari tales, full of grit, danger, and respect for Africa’s wild heart, Death in the Long Grass is the perfect journey from the safety of your couch.
Capstick’s writing captures the danger and unpredictability of the African bush. He recounts close calls and near-fatal encounters with remarkable calm and vivid detail, showing how experience and instinct often meant the difference between walking away or becoming another statistic. His storytelling flows effortlessly, pulling the reader into the tension of each hunt, the quiet before a charge, and the relief that follows survival.
Beyond the hunts themselves, Capstick manages to romanticize a world that has largely faded. There is something deeply evocative about the image of him lighting a cigarette under the shade of an acacia tree, watching the savanna stretch endlessly before him. It isn’t just nostalgia, but a deep reverence for the land, the animals, and the rawness of life there.
What stands out most is his balance between adventure and reflection. He doesn’t hide from the brutality of hunting, yet he reminds readers that these expeditions play a pivotal role in conservation efforts, a truth often ignored in modern discussions.
If you want to step into the world of classic safari tales, full of grit, danger, and respect for Africa’s wild heart, Death in the Long Grass is the perfect journey from the safety of your couch.
December 25, 2022
I imagine the author's stories come across better in person. The best of them can be amusing and impressive. Too often, though, the heavy fictionalization feels insulting.
January 11, 2012
OK, so this Peter Capstick is an incredible writer. He can write a scene of a man being eaten by a lion like no one else. You feel every crunch of the powerful jaws of the man-eating monster....But his attitude is so Victorian -- all about faithful helpers with names like Silent from the indigenous population, the fatalism of the African, and the importance of a stiff drink at the end of the day when you're ready to recall all the animals you've slaughtered -- in loving detail. Had this book been written by Sir Richard Francis Burton in the late 1800s, it would have been understandable. But by a guy from New Jersey in this era? Come on, Peter has a screw loose somewhere. At the very least, he was born in the wrong era.
September 23, 2009
I kind of hate this author. He seems to be a responsible hunter and a conservationist, however he also seems kind of full of himself. Initially, it seems self deprecating, but then eventually it's just annoying. The stories are interesting though (if you can get past the bullet and killing talk). A view of what for me is the 'other side' of the African tourism coin...and to be fair it is also the part that in some countries has a large (postive) impact on the preservation of wilderness and wildlife.
May 17, 2012
I'm not a hunter, and although I'm not squeamish about killing animals when necessary, I don't find sport hunting appealing in the least. That said, this book is a riveting account of some of the scariest animals on the plant. Capstick shares stories gleaned from his own experiences on safari in Africa in the 1970s and seasons them with a rousing wit and a lot of fun.
March 21, 2022
Page 123. Will not finish.
June 19, 2025
A complete guided hunting expedition, our White Hunter immerses you in the danger of the long grass. You can feel the sun’s heat, your cold clammy hands, and the adrenaline of seeing a man-eater through the scope. Capstick deserves recognition for creating a time capsule of Central Africa in a time when African wildlife had populations so large they couldn’t be estimated, and humans were only beginning to steal land for themselves.
With the same ethos of ‘A Modest Proposal’, Capstick reflects on human expansion and the subsequent elephant cropping by saying “Might it not make a lot more sense if we were to crop a few excess people-for their own good, of course-and give the elephants a bit more room?” A reminder to reflect on if the destruction of nature is truly worth the cost of agriculture.
With the same ethos of ‘A Modest Proposal’, Capstick reflects on human expansion and the subsequent elephant cropping by saying “Might it not make a lot more sense if we were to crop a few excess people-for their own good, of course-and give the elephants a bit more room?” A reminder to reflect on if the destruction of nature is truly worth the cost of agriculture.
October 6, 2024
Capstick, a master storyteller and big game hunter, shares thrilling tales of both life and death that blends humor with horror.
His own experiences and the personal accounts of his colleagues brings the African savanna to life, showcasing the beauty and brutality of nature.
His anecdotes and close to death encounters makes you feel as if you’re right “in the long grass” with him.
Despite the danger each animal possesses, Capstick’s respect for the animals and the environment shines through.
This book is a great blend of adventure and introspection. I especially liked it because Augustine loves it, who can also be credited for this book recommendation.
An African safari has been on my bucket list for years but I think it needs to happen sooner rather than later:)
p.s. (the lion, elephant, jaguar, and snake chapters were my favorite) 🦁🐘🐆🐍
His own experiences and the personal accounts of his colleagues brings the African savanna to life, showcasing the beauty and brutality of nature.
His anecdotes and close to death encounters makes you feel as if you’re right “in the long grass” with him.
Despite the danger each animal possesses, Capstick’s respect for the animals and the environment shines through.
This book is a great blend of adventure and introspection. I especially liked it because Augustine loves it, who can also be credited for this book recommendation.
An African safari has been on my bucket list for years but I think it needs to happen sooner rather than later:)
p.s. (the lion, elephant, jaguar, and snake chapters were my favorite) 🦁🐘🐆🐍
February 4, 2024
An Adventure!
I've never had a desire to do a safari or go to Africa, and now I'm more certain I never will. Having said that, this was interesting and educational and very well written.
I've never had a desire to do a safari or go to Africa, and now I'm more certain I never will. Having said that, this was interesting and educational and very well written.
February 5, 2017
Heart pounding action straight from the true experiences of the author. Not for the squeamish. In his line of business the loss of innocent lives is common place and the details are brutal.
January 18, 2023
Riveting stories of hunting the Big 5 and other dangerous animals in Africa. My only critique is the occasionally over-the-top writing style; but there is not one boring page in this book!
February 8, 2024
A comical yet gruesome view of a hunter’s experiences with dangerous game in Southern Africa. Former Wall Street whiz turned Professional Hunter, Capstick delivers an entertaining look into life centered around big game with a knack, and in some cases preference, for making the unwary very dead. A good read for anyone interested in why people hunt, or what can go wrong at the slightest indescretion.
July 29, 2025
Listed as an audiobook, very entertaining and captivating
September 4, 2020
Captivating!
Let me preface my thoughts by saying that I am not a hunter. I have never shot an animal. I have on,t caught 3 fish in my entire life. This book was written in such a way that none of that matters! I really could feel and sense the expeditions as the author masterfully described them. Obviously the lions and elephants are amazing, but the animals that truly captivated me were the leopard and the Cape buffalo. Amazing animals indeed. I remain against the idea of sport hunting, but the author really did reshape my thinking in regards to endangered species. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I recommend it to you. Enjoy.
Let me preface my thoughts by saying that I am not a hunter. I have never shot an animal. I have on,t caught 3 fish in my entire life. This book was written in such a way that none of that matters! I really could feel and sense the expeditions as the author masterfully described them. Obviously the lions and elephants are amazing, but the animals that truly captivated me were the leopard and the Cape buffalo. Amazing animals indeed. I remain against the idea of sport hunting, but the author really did reshape my thinking in regards to endangered species. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I recommend it to you. Enjoy.
April 30, 2024
A classic. I originally read this in 2008 and it fired me up then. Just finished re-reading, and it is just as good.
June 15, 2020
DEATH IN THE LONG GRASS
Good Reads Review
by
Stormrider
Capstick, Peter Hathaway. 1977. Death in the Long Grass. NY: St. Martin’s Press.
I keep binders filled with my reading notes. If something is not worth annotating, then for me, following the advice of my academic mentors, Mortimer J. Adler and Harold Bloom, on the process of reading, it is not worth reading. Normally my reading notes are scribbled on a page or two. With Capstick’s book, I took fourteen pages of notes.
As a former Special Operations soldier, I found it fascinating that many of the techniques we used for stealth movement and surveillance in enemy territory were the same ones employed by Professional Hunters going after big, dangerous game in Africa. The same adrenalin rush and fear experienced when closing with an enemy was described the same way by Peter during hunts for game that can and will kill you. “You do to have to live in the African bush surrounded by dangerous and potentially dangerous game very long before you develop a sixth sense that may mean the difference between life and the alternative” (38).
I saved the first chapter, “Lion”, for the last to read. The entire book was an exciting and enthralling read, but the chapter on lion hunting was absolutely mesmerizing. Without something to compare hunting dangerous game to, such as close quarters combat, or the actual hunting of the game able and willing to kill you for your one, last mistake, inhabitants of the modern, civilized world really have no idea just how terrifyingly dangerous these magnificent animals can be. It is not only the ferocity of their attacks, but also the unbelievable speed with which they happen. The lethal efficiency of the natural weapons of wild animals is truly terrifying. Chapstick describes the claws of a lion as ”naked linoleum knives” (4).
The book devotes chapters to lion, elephant, leopard, cape buffalo, hippo, crocodile, rhino, snakes, underrated killers such as the wild dog, hyena, antelope and gazelles.
Capstick explains the distinction between preservationists / environmentalists and conservationists. His case for the necessity of ethical hunting to preserve all wild game is made without any of the warm and fuzzy nonsense of the environmentalist Bambi crowd. Like Capstick, better just for the knowing that black rhinos, and killer lions still wander the wild places. He states his position with directness as he observes, sadly, the necessary “cropping” of hundreds of mother and calf elephants to ensure adequate room and forage for a healthy elephant population; “Maybe we’re going about this whole thing wrong. Might it not make a lot more sense if we were to crop a few excess people—for their own good, of course—and give the elephants a bit more room?” (104).
Capstick is what Hemingway wanted to be.
High Lonesome, AZ.
15 June 2020
475 words
Good Reads Review
by
Stormrider
Capstick, Peter Hathaway. 1977. Death in the Long Grass. NY: St. Martin’s Press.
I keep binders filled with my reading notes. If something is not worth annotating, then for me, following the advice of my academic mentors, Mortimer J. Adler and Harold Bloom, on the process of reading, it is not worth reading. Normally my reading notes are scribbled on a page or two. With Capstick’s book, I took fourteen pages of notes.
As a former Special Operations soldier, I found it fascinating that many of the techniques we used for stealth movement and surveillance in enemy territory were the same ones employed by Professional Hunters going after big, dangerous game in Africa. The same adrenalin rush and fear experienced when closing with an enemy was described the same way by Peter during hunts for game that can and will kill you. “You do to have to live in the African bush surrounded by dangerous and potentially dangerous game very long before you develop a sixth sense that may mean the difference between life and the alternative” (38).
I saved the first chapter, “Lion”, for the last to read. The entire book was an exciting and enthralling read, but the chapter on lion hunting was absolutely mesmerizing. Without something to compare hunting dangerous game to, such as close quarters combat, or the actual hunting of the game able and willing to kill you for your one, last mistake, inhabitants of the modern, civilized world really have no idea just how terrifyingly dangerous these magnificent animals can be. It is not only the ferocity of their attacks, but also the unbelievable speed with which they happen. The lethal efficiency of the natural weapons of wild animals is truly terrifying. Chapstick describes the claws of a lion as ”naked linoleum knives” (4).
The book devotes chapters to lion, elephant, leopard, cape buffalo, hippo, crocodile, rhino, snakes, underrated killers such as the wild dog, hyena, antelope and gazelles.
Capstick explains the distinction between preservationists / environmentalists and conservationists. His case for the necessity of ethical hunting to preserve all wild game is made without any of the warm and fuzzy nonsense of the environmentalist Bambi crowd. Like Capstick, better just for the knowing that black rhinos, and killer lions still wander the wild places. He states his position with directness as he observes, sadly, the necessary “cropping” of hundreds of mother and calf elephants to ensure adequate room and forage for a healthy elephant population; “Maybe we’re going about this whole thing wrong. Might it not make a lot more sense if we were to crop a few excess people—for their own good, of course—and give the elephants a bit more room?” (104).
Capstick is what Hemingway wanted to be.
High Lonesome, AZ.
15 June 2020
475 words
December 28, 2024
Simba is not a cuddly singing cartoon. He will kill you.
Everything in Africa will kill you. Lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, hippos, flies, other guys with malfunctioning firearms, hyenas. Probably a lot of other things.
Exciting stories.
Everything in Africa will kill you. Lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, hippos, flies, other guys with malfunctioning firearms, hyenas. Probably a lot of other things.
Exciting stories.
October 19, 2013
I selected Peter Capstick's book as research for my own next book. I needed to learn about what life is like in Africa during the golden age of African safaris. This book does more than tell me about lifestyles, it leaves the reader feeling as though they were right there trudging along through the tall grass with Peter and gunbearers.
Capstick writes with uncanny humor about the dangers of safaris, as well as the challenges that draw persons to the Dark Continent to hunt. He describes the cunning and intelligence of many animals such as the Fisi (hyena), the Tembo (elephant), the Nyati (Cape buffalo), and the Chui (leopard). He describes these animals and their prowess as forces to be reckoned with and one slip will find yourself mounted on a wall as a trophy.
My book will describe how a professional hunter comes to grips in a life and death situation against a terrible beast summoned by a Jabilo (witch doctor). For this I needed to know how a white hunter thinks, acts, and hunts. Thanks to Peter Capstick's book I'm certain I've got the story nailed. If you want to learn about African wildlife, then this is your book. Peter Capstick writes with much respect for the animals on God's good earth, and whether you hunt or not (like me, because I don't hunt), you will enjoy this book. It has adventure, action, suspense, humor, the man proves he is not only a good professional hunter, but a damn good writer.
David Lucero, author
Capstick writes with uncanny humor about the dangers of safaris, as well as the challenges that draw persons to the Dark Continent to hunt. He describes the cunning and intelligence of many animals such as the Fisi (hyena), the Tembo (elephant), the Nyati (Cape buffalo), and the Chui (leopard). He describes these animals and their prowess as forces to be reckoned with and one slip will find yourself mounted on a wall as a trophy.
My book will describe how a professional hunter comes to grips in a life and death situation against a terrible beast summoned by a Jabilo (witch doctor). For this I needed to know how a white hunter thinks, acts, and hunts. Thanks to Peter Capstick's book I'm certain I've got the story nailed. If you want to learn about African wildlife, then this is your book. Peter Capstick writes with much respect for the animals on God's good earth, and whether you hunt or not (like me, because I don't hunt), you will enjoy this book. It has adventure, action, suspense, humor, the man proves he is not only a good professional hunter, but a damn good writer.
David Lucero, author
January 24, 2020
I have watched innumerable documentaries on widlife in the Serengeti, Masai Mara, Kruger Park, Okavango, Namib, Sahara, Kalahari deserts, etc. I am a big fan of those documentaries. But yet, I learned a LOT of mind-blowing facts that I did not know before.
The only reason that I am giving one star less rating is, the writing seems to be a bit dense for me at times and also that, it involves taking life for mostly unneccessary reasons. I will defend my position this later.
The author's humor is simply fantastic. Almost every paragraph has a sarcastic undertone.
Four decades have passed since the time this book was published(?). Now its highly frowned upon to indulge in game hunting, as we see occasionally on the media about some rich mostly White people, and majority of them Amercans, posing with their "trophies" in the game preserves in Africa where they paid 50,000 USD to be allowed to murder an animal, generally one of the Big Five, from a long-range rifle. But then, I also come across people defending this sort of hunting as neccessary to somehow preserve the genetic well-being of the species hunted and also that the money generated helps conservation efforts. These are almost the same arguments put forth by the author in the book when he defends the work of people like him.
The only reason that I am giving one star less rating is, the writing seems to be a bit dense for me at times and also that, it involves taking life for mostly unneccessary reasons. I will defend my position this later.
The author's humor is simply fantastic. Almost every paragraph has a sarcastic undertone.
Four decades have passed since the time this book was published(?). Now its highly frowned upon to indulge in game hunting, as we see occasionally on the media about some rich mostly White people, and majority of them Amercans, posing with their "trophies" in the game preserves in Africa where they paid 50,000 USD to be allowed to murder an animal, generally one of the Big Five, from a long-range rifle. But then, I also come across people defending this sort of hunting as neccessary to somehow preserve the genetic well-being of the species hunted and also that the money generated helps conservation efforts. These are almost the same arguments put forth by the author in the book when he defends the work of people like him.
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