A View from a Tall Hill: Robert Ruark in Africa

by Terry Wieland, Thomas McIntyre (Foreword by)

Overview

africa; hunting; short stories; sporting

Robert Ruark was perhaps the most renowned safari writer of the twentieth century. As a respected columnist and author during his lifetime, his writings have influenced thousands of hunters to travel to Africa to see the places that Ruark immortalized in his writings.

Despite his impact, Ruark only wrote for a period of fifteen years, but it was a time where he lived his life to its fullest potential. He travelled all across the world in order to see and do everything he could dream of, but it was in East Africa that he came to find a spiritual home. As the area became increasingly independent of colonial rule, Ruark predicted the economic, social, and political ruin that has since been the daily reality of the region.

In this detailed account of Ruark’s life, Terry Wieland has written a definitive book on Ruark, the restless traveler, and the times in which he lived, as well as his lifelong fascination with Africa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510737143
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	05/19/2020
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Terry Wieland is shooting editor of Gray’s Sporting Journal and a recognized authority on fine firearms. He is also a columnist for Rifle, Handloader, and Safari Times. He has traveled and hunted extensively around the world and written several books on fine guns and hunting. He lives in Fenton, Missouri, but spends several months each year in Africa.

Tom McIntyre has written hundreds of articles appearing in Sports Afield, Field&Stream, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Petersen’s Hunting, American Hunter, Men’s Journal, Outdoor Life, Bugle, Sporting Classics, Fly Rod&Reel as well as in a score of anthologies. Tom is on the mastheads as a contributing editor of both Sports Afield and Field&Stream magazines. He resides in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Terry Wieland is shooting editor of Gray’s Sporting Journal and a recognized authority on fine firearms. He is also a columnist for Rifle, Handloader, and Safari Times. He has traveled and hunted extensively around the world and written several books on fine guns and hunting. He lives in Fenton, Missouri, but spends several months each year in Africa.

Table of Contents

Foreword Thomas McIntyre i

Preface to the 2020 Edition vii

[Ruark Column] xvii

Preface to the First Edition xxiii

Acknowledgments xxix

Introduction xxxiii

1 Life Among the Giants 1

2 The University of North Carolina 11

3 Learning the Ropes 19

4 Gone to Sea 33

5 Trials of Babylon 69

6 The Hard True Life 97

Safari: Horn of the Hunter 109

7 Kenya in Black and White 119

8 Robert Ruark Among the Mau Mau 147

Mau Mau: Something of Value 187

9 Home No More 199

10 Miles and Miles of Bloody Africa 231

11 Ruark & Hemingway 255

12 Exploration & Farewell 269

Winds of Change: Uhuru 281

13 Bwana Bob 293

Other Days: The Old Man and the Boy & The Old Man's Boy Grows Older 305

14 The Lion at Twilight 315

Self Portrait: The Honey Badger 337

15 Ruark & Selby 365

16 A Tusk and a Book 379

Epilogue: A View from a Tall Hill 391

Bibliography 417

Index 423

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“. . . sad, fascinating, and he finest tribute that Robert Chester Ruark will ever have.”
—David E. Petzal, Field & Stream


“Wieland brings Ruark to life with equal measures of sympathy and honesty. The result is an unusually perceptive literary biography and a great tale told about a fascinating figure.”
—Christopher Camuto, Gray’s Sporting Journal

“Wieland’s fascinating and vibrant biography of Robert Ruark, the other Hemingway, is something of value indeed.”
—Bruce Buck, Shooting Sportsman