How the Rhino Lost His Horn: Cautionary Tales from Appalachia to Africa

by Jack Rathmell

Growing up, Jack had heard all about the supposed virtues of the modern world. Connectivity, convenience. But from where he stands in small-town America, those promises ring hollow. With college (and a lifetime of debt) looming, he goes with the oldest trick in the quarter-life-crisis-haver's If in doubt, go to Africa to save the children. What could go wrong?
Quite a bit, it turns out. In Cape Town, he's thrown into a backwards, lawless world, one of bloodthirst and betrayal - and that's just among his fellow volunteers. (The local wildlife, meanwhile, don't turn out to be much more welcoming.)
Yet something about this place keeps pulling him back. Jack's adventures over the next few years challenge everything he thought he knew, revealing the forces shaping both South Africa and the world at large.

398 pages, Paperback

Published January 13, 2026

Reviews

[Michael Doane]

How the Rhino Lost His Horn is a compelling and culturally rich collection that reminds readers why cautionary tales have endured across centuries and continents. Jack Rathmell weaves together stories rooted in both Appalachian and African traditions, revealing how vastly different cultures often grapple with remarkably similar human truths greed, pride, wisdom, loss, and moral consequence.

What makes this collection especially engaging is its scope. By placing regional folklore in conversation with stories from across the globe, Rathmell highlights the shared human instinct to teach through narrative. Each tale feels purposeful, offering not just entertainment but insight into the values, fears, and lessons that shape communities.

The book succeeds as both a literary and anthropological experience. Readers are invited to slow down, reflect, and rediscover storytelling as a means of preserving cultural memory and ethical wisdom. Thoughtful, imaginative, and quietly profound, How the Rhino Lost His Horn stands as a reminder that stories no matter where they originate remain one of humanity’s most powerful tools for understanding itself.

[Travel Books and Movies · Rating 3 out of 5]

In How the Rhino Lost Its Horn, Jack Rathmell reflects on his time in South Africa, both as a volunteer and as a student, offering a personal account of travel, growth, and self-discovery. His stories certainly brought me back to my own younger adventures—those moments of being brave, carefree, and willing to leap into unfamiliar places without fully understanding what lay ahead. (And all of the fun characters you meet along the way...)

The book weaves together observations on travel, politics, class, and racism, and while these insights are often thoughtful, they were sometimes difficult to follow. I didn’t always feel confident that I fully understood the author’s point, which occasionally pulled me out of the narrative. That said, Rathmell excels at description, painting vivid portraits of his life in South Africa and the people he encountered, from locals to fellow travelers.

This is a reflective, sometimes challenging read that will resonate most with readers interested in travel memoirs that grapple with complex social issues, even if the execution isn’t always perfectly clear.

Title: How the Rhino Lost Its Horn
Author: Jack Rathmell
Genre: Memoir / Travel Writing
Setting: South Africa
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (rounded down)

**I was given a free version of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Mindbuck Media.

[AR bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good first book, written as an American student’s personal recollections of the area and cultural dichotomy of Cape Town, South Africa. There is reasonably good flow to the narrative, though disjointed and rambling at times.