Covers the man, his work, and hunting in Africa

books:

	• A View from a Tall Hill Terry Wieland Countrysport Press, 2004 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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A book I wish I had not read

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Robert Ruark's 'The Horn of the Hunter'. Then, I read this book. It is a little long; it is a little tedious; but it is an accurate biography. The slayer may lack the wit and style of the giant, but he nails him: dead. 'The Horn of the Hunter' is a great book when you do not know too much about the author. If you want to know about Ruark read this book. If you want to keep the magic of the 'Horn', don't.

New angle on ruark

Wieland has presented a new angle on Ruark, mainly focusing on his African era (the 15 yrs beginning with his first safari until 1965). At least this is how Wieland describes his intentions in the Preface & Introduction, etc.

Its probably a good goal. Decent Bio's of the enigmatic Ruark have already been written; of course their accuracy is subject to debate as are all such bio's. Wieland seems to understand this well. He also points out the melancholy fact that the people who really knew Ruark's later life are rapidly leaving us now, if not gone already. Those who knew Ruark, even secondhand, in his childhood and early adult years are already gone of course.
Its those earlier years up to Africa that interest me most, and unfortunately Wieland's book is too short to cover that. He does look at it, but its "spotty"; i.e. there are gaps and the reader is left wanting to know more about the "Old Man" grandparents and Ruark's "well educated" mother, as well as her later addiction problems. Wieland leaves you tantalized but unsatisfied in this regard.

I'm about halfway thru the book (I'll update this post if my opinions change) and I have one serious critique: in the hardback copy I recently received, Wieland spends almost 25 pages discussing WW2's Battle of the Atlantic - background info, convoy operations, U-boats, etc, but with absolutely NO mention of Ruark - presumably to lead up to some sort of epic chapter (no pun intended) in Ruark's war years.... Then what follows is about 10 pages about Ruark's war experience, loosely detailed, which amounted to discussing one scary convoy and then Ruark's uneventful transfer to the Pacific, where he was injured in a Jeep vehicle accident. In other words, the whole war buildup chapter just petered out into nothing...
This sort of writing is immature, in my opinion. At its best its incomplete, as Wieland never seems to develop his themes very far. At its worst, its a waste of money for anyone buying the book and expecting serious biographical scholarship.

I'm uneasy at what I'll find when I get to the bona-fide African chapters. If it follows the same format as above (scratching the surface of possibly important themes in RR's life, jumping here and there, and including useless information as filler), then this book is worthless. Regretfully, this may be why the book was not on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Borders in Charlotte NC - it's just not that good. I had to order it on-line.

I'll post an update when I finish it - but I wanted to offer this immediately for potential buyers.

Update 26 June '08:
I can't quite get thru this one. Finally put it down about 2 weeks ago and haven't touched it since....I also ordered "Ruark Remembered" by Ritchie, and it too transitions rapidly from his early years to safari/scandal/scotch days of fame...I dunno; just can't find a true BIOGRAPHY on this guy, with some photos maybe (?!?) of his childhood, parents, etc etc...If anyone has suggestions, please post me a Comment. Thanx.

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Good Read

Not a great deal of new information but there are gems that are not commonly presented or known. The focus is substantuly Ruark and Africa. Much better, fuller book than Someone of Value.
This book is somewhat disorganized and backtracks quite a bit along with some double presentations of information. The author wanders about on the trail and seems at times not to know exactly which direction he intends to go or what his intended destination is.
Despite its shortcoming View is a book that Ruark fans should have on the shelf.

Covers the man, his work, and hunting in Africa

A View From A Tall Hill is an outstanding, unique selection for any avid reader of safari hunting material in general and for those already familiar with Robert Ruark's safari writings in particular. Ruark was an author, columnist, and hunter in the latter 20th century: though his career lasted less than fifteen years, he traveled extensively throughout Africa and produced newspaper reports which enlightened the world. His biography covers the man, his work, and the special attractions of hunting in Africa. Lively and revealing.

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Robert Ruark was the most influential safari writer of the latter 20th century. He was a nationally renowned columnist and author, who inspired both hunters who traveled to Africa and those who could only dream about it. This is a biography of Ruark--about his work, the times in which he lived, and the strange allure that Africa held for him.