Reviews of WITH A GUN IN GOOD COUNTRY

Amazon Books
By Steve Williamson (New Orleans, LA United States) June, 2001
Ian Manning's safari memoir would have benefitted greatly from a better editing job. While many of the anecdotes are entertaining, the book is nothing more than a string of them in roughly chronological order. There is no theme, no pacing, and every event is treated with equal weight, whether it is a drunken prank or a tragic death. The book reads like a virtually unedited journal, except that Manning is fuzzy on so many details that he obviously isn't working from a complete contemporaneous diary. But Manning isn't a professional writer, and perhaps he shouldn't be held to too high a standard; his ediitors have no such excuse. If you like safari yarns, and you already have a shelf full of Selous, Baker, Finaughty, Ruark and Capstick, you might want to add this one to your collection, but all the above are much better writers.

Safari Bookshelf (Safari Times Africa, January 2001)
Although Ian Manning, the author of With a Gun in Good Country, has ceased his professional hunting and fishing careers, he is still active in the conservation field and involved with the CITES implementation programme in South Africa.

Although everybody is qualified to write a book about his or her own experiences, Manning as a former professional hunter and fisherman and with experience in the fie1d of conservation consulting and advising, is eminently qualified to not only write on these topics, but also to comment on them.

With a Gun in Good Country starts out without the customary introduction by some or other well-known person, just the preface by the author himself. I kind of liked it. Although introductions are wonderful tools in old books to provide the reader with details he would not otherwise have had any knowledge about, in modem books it has often degenerated into a lot of praise about the author, who everybody should know, is just another fallible human being like the rest of us.

With a Gun in Good Country starts out with the normal background about how the author ended up in the business he was writing a book about. Having had the privilege of meeting and dealing with the well-polished and gentlemanly Ian Manning a number of times, his adventurous streak and the rough and tumble of his early days came as quite a surprise.

Typically Manning, the 295-page book is written in an easygoing style. It is a joy to read. Appropriately spiced with humour where it needs it, it really is a book easily enjoyed. The account of Macleod and Savory's Horse being one such instance. Another that I enjoyed immensely was Manning's account of him as captain abandoning his boat Fiji and then ending up ashore long after his boat. His statement to the awed crowd that a repeat performance would follow the next day at 10 a.m. is a rea1 classic. The book sports a lot of photos, amongst them many of the renowned and late Johnny Uys. The photos are inserted into the text.

Towards the end of the book Manning changed the emphasis from hunting accounts to events and facts that have a different slant. This part of the book conveys a message about hunting practices, African events and policies and a number of other issues affecting our continent and our sport. This a tendency becoming increasingly apparent as authors like Manning and Pires have started to call a spade a spade and te1l the truth rather than sweeping it under the carpet. It is hoped that this will serve our sport and conservation well.

With a Gun in Good Country can be ordered for US$ 85 plus postage from Trophy Room Books, PO Box 3041. Agoura. CA 91301, USA. Tel: +1-818- 889-2469/ Fax: 889-4849