LawDog had the honor of representing law and order in the Texas town of Bugscuffle as a Sheriff's Deputy, where he became notorious for, among other things, the famous Case of the Pink Gorilla Suit. But long before he first put on the deputy's star, he grew up in Nigeria, where his experiences were equally unforgettable. In THE LAWDOG FILES: AFRICAN ADVENTURES, LawDog chronicles his encounters with everything from bush pilots, 15-foot pythons, pygmy mongooses, brigadier-captains, and Peace Corp hippies to the Nigerian space program.
THE LAWDOG FILES: AFRICAN ADVENTURES are every bit as hilarious as the previous volume, as LawDog relates his unforgettable experiences in a laconic, self-deprecating manner that is funny in its own right. Africa wins again, and again, and again, but, so too does the reader in this sobering, but hilarious collection of true tales from the Dark Continent.
I just don't see how anyone who grew up in the country can fail to recognize the truth of these stories. His environment may have given him more opportunities to handle explosives, and the wildlife he encountered may have been a bit more lethal, but with practically every adventure he recounts, I'm thinking "you know, Butch and I did something like that."
And Mark Twain did NOT pull the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn out of thin air.
Here's the deal: you take two small boys, parents who have an expanded view of childhood safety, and place them in a frontier environment, and you WILL get stories like these:
15 foot pythons in the bedroom, hiding from a four ounce mongoose. Traders accepting a deal because Madame is going to get her machete. Lizards setting fire to the world. Bowling ball cannon and corrupt officials. Lizards who drink alcohol. American cops who encounter expectations of small children raised in Third World economies.
You will ALSO get the reflections of those small children, now of a certain age, and gifted by the variety of their experiences, when they encounter the blatherskite who waxes profoundly about things of which they are profoundly ignorant.
As icing on the cake, there are little snippets of brilliance, intended to follow the signature line in an online post. (I proudly proclaim that I am a member of a/the forum that first brought LawDog to prominence; alas, I joined much later than he, and missed a lot of the good stuff.) I think of these as re-telling of the fairy tales, if they had been written by an advocate of 2nd Amendment rights. Actually, I posted the rest of these on my Facebook page last week, leaving this for the review: “Plan A is to ask the ogre to change into a mouse. I eat the evidence, no muss, no fuss, no body” said Puss-in-Boots as he screwed the silencer onto his HK Mk 23. “Plan B gets messy.” Lawdog, D.. The LawDog Files: African Adventures (Kindle Locations 1157-1158). Castalia House. Kindle Edition. Plenty of cautionary tales, here: don't hook your nose with a fishing lure; don't expect your cat to run for help. always know where your Kevlar gloves are (and wear them).
This is NOT meant to be a criticism, but as an observation. In the previous book, Lawdog Files, his experience with humanity in their worst hours brought forth some sweetly painful stories. Here, he is just funny. He makes the pain funny. He has followed the sage advice of his grandfather in THIS volume, and told the stories in ways designed to amuse.
And boy, do they amuse!
Preferably, theses stories should be portioned out, a bit at the time, in order to give us something to look forward to. However, they are quite delightful when taken in a single serving, although digestion may suffer.
Following up on his debut book, LawDog has come out with his second work, African Adventures. The book contains his stories of growing up in Western Africa, including the multi-chapter Ratel Saga, which tells the tale of the time he and his brother ‘captured’ a rather aggressive example of African wildlife. My favorite, though, was the tale of when one of the village peddlers presented LawDog’s mother with a rather slithery example of said wildlife, which brought the family mongoose to fits of excitement.
African Adventures gives us a more personal side of the author’s life than what we saw in the first installment of the LawDog Files. The author comes alive, as does his family, their pets, and all of their adventures.
This is a fast, easy read, told in a conversational tone that makes you want to know what happens next. Read it in an environment where giggles, chuckles, and outright bursts of laughter will not be frowned upon. This is definitely going to go on my list of books which will be read over and over.
Almost all of my book reviews are for books that I loved and think that others should read. This book is no exception. I read this book immediately after reading The LawDog Files and was instantly sad that he hasn't published another book of his memories. His stories of his childhood mis-adventures in Africa were warm, touching, and funny. I have never been to Africa, but these stories paint a bright and vibrant picture of an almost magical childhood land. As with many true stories of the sort things that imaginative, creative and intelligent children get into, it is always amazing that they survived. I alternated between laughter and amazement at the tales, plus a few moments when a detail would remind me of an event in my own youth or that of one of my kids.
From "that one about the snake" to the infamous honey-badger episodes, Law Dog delivers another irresistible series of short stories, most reminiscing about his childhood in Nairobi. A must have for any collection, and a great gift to give to friends and family.
This is the second book of Lawdog's tales, most of them are from his childhood in Nigeria, and then some more modern tales of his work as a law officer in the US.
The tales themselves are quite funny, and you can imagine the fun he and his brother had growing up.
I look forward to reading more of his adventures, if he ever writes them.
Please don't read this in public as the loud cackling will disturb others and require constant explanations of the characters and stories. OMG did I laugh along with the authors stories and life experiences.
These tales were mostly familiar, as I read them first on Dog's blog. They were then and remain now utterly delightful, full of life and humor, and highly recommended.