A little over 100 years ago, East Africa was terra incognita to most whites: a land largely unmapped, sparsely settled by Europeans, and teeming with wildlife. It was the hunter-adventurer’s paradise, and by the early 20th century a small, lionhearted clan of explorers and big-game hunters began leading safaris there for money. They became the legendary White Hunters, men who led manifold adventurers in pursuit of the world’s biggest, most dangerous, and most sought-after game.
White Hunters is a nostalgic and densely-packed history of these men and their adventures, from the turn of the century until the 1970s, when politics, a growing population, civil strife, and concern about species destruction intervened.
Brian Herne was the youngest professional hunter ever licensed in East Africa, and has had a career spanning thirty years. He is one of only seventeen individuals awarded the Shaw and Hunter Trophy—known as the “Oscar” of the African hunting world. Mr. Herne has also received awards for his photography, including Japan’s prestigious Asahi Pentax Award. The founder of the international professional hungers’ magazine Track, he has written for numerous outdoor and hunting magazines. A second-generation Kenyan, Mr. Herne now lives in southern California.
Simon Vance is a critically acclaimed narrator who has recorded over eight hundred audiobooks and has received over fifty Earphones Awards. A twelve-time Audie Award winner and frequent finalist, he has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice, an AudioFile Best Voice, and the first Booklist Voice of Choice. A former BBC Radio presenter and newsreader in London, he currently lives in California, where he also pursues stage and television acting.