Robert Ruark Adventurer

[sestoppelman]

The great thing about bookfinder is it covers all the other places so you don't have to go all over the place, just bookfinder.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I haven’t seen this before. Brings back great memories reading his articles in “The Saturday Evening Post” at my grandmother’s house. She would make me read before I could have any of her brownies or chocolate morange pie. These articles/essays got me interested in reading a book...”The Old Man and the Boy”...my first to completely read by myself. After that one of his books could always be found on my bedside table for maybe the last 60 years.
I just reread “Horn of the Hunter” a few months ago.

Monish, thanks for this great reminder of one fine writer!

 

[Jon G]

Thank you guys. Appreciated.

Jon

 

[JPmbogo]

I am late getting into this thread, but I have also been curious what Ruark was drinking when he talked about "pink gin." I remember a passage, I believe from the Honey Badger, where Ruark states: "I'll have another one of these silly little pink things." (Actually he often had way too many of the "silly little pink things.") Most commentators believe it was simply gin and bitters, but I have never been able to substantiate that. Have never seen it in any cocktail book either, but then it maybe too simple for such books. Hemmingway like gin and Compari, but I never read where he referred to that drink as "pink gin." Today, there are some fruity, foo foo gins out there called "Pink Gin," but I doubt that any thing like that existed in Ruark's time, and I am sure he would not stoop to consuming same.

 

[Red Leg]

I am late getting into this thread, but I have also been curious what Ruark was drinking when he talked about "pink gin." I remember a passage, I believe from the Honey Badger, where Ruark states: "I'll have another one of these silly little pink things." (Actually he often had way too many of the "silly little pink things.") Most commentators believe it was simply gin and bitters, but I have never been able to substantiate that. Have never seen it in any cocktail book either, but then it maybe too simple for such books. Hemmingway like gin and Compari, but I never read where he referred to that drink as "pink gin." Today, there are some fruity, foo foo gins out there called "Pink Gin," but I doubt that any thing like that existed in Ruark's time, and I am sure he would not stoop to consuming same.

I also tend to think that it was Gin and bitters. A gin and tonic is still the quintessential hot season drink, and a dash of bitters makes it complete. Tonic would have been difficult to maintain for weeks at a time during a 50's era safari. But a single bottle of bitters would see even Ruark through the heat of East Africa.

Another example of his discerning taste was that he despised Pimms and a Bloody Mary. Pimms in particular, he considered a drink for "Toffs" and once wrote in referring to it,

"I resent vegetables in booze," Ruark proclaimed in 1949. "I do not think a cucumber should be included in alcoholic beverage, any more than you order gravy with ice cream."

Besides, the classic recipe for a "Pink Gin" cocktail is:


Simple version:

1. 
   1Add the bitters to a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Roll the bitters around the sides of the glass until an inch or so of the bottom is evenly coated.
2. 
   2Measure the chilled gin into the glass, stir briefly, and serve.

A chilled old fashion glas would have been rare along the Northwest frontier, but the gin and bitters would have been easy.

 

[JPmbogo]

Looks good, except why measure the gin - just pour it!!

 

[Trophyhunter01]

All his books are great reads.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Here is an old classic movie of the Riark and Selby safari. Take note of their plane trip routing, makes today's journeys look like a breeze.

 

[JPmbogo]

I live on the west coast of Washington State. I can only imagine the time and difficulty of getting to East Africa in the days before air travel, not that 24 to 36 hours in a metal tube is all that great either!

 

[Red Leg]

I live on the west coast of Washington State. I can only imagine the time and difficulty of getting to East Africa in the days before air travel, not that 24 to 36 hours in a metal tube is all that great either!

Ruark hunted post WWII and thus flew. But absolutely true for most between the wars.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Actually 1953. Their trip began in New York, then to Paris, Rome, etc, seven stops in all to Cairo. Then to Asmara, Addis and I presume finally Nairobi. Looks like a combination of Constellation and DC3. Certainly several days in all with hotel stops in between. So yes, it was the romantic age of safari, but as Ruark says, it was hard work. Even when we do our little emulation of their safaris with the Land Rovers and tents it is hard work for the six days, they did three months! If you were to ask me I think we are in the platinum age of safari now; you can get anywhere on earth in a day, or choose stopovers. You can stay in luxurious lodges, or under canvas in a fly camp. Book a period experience as we do, or fly in to camp and roam in an air conditioned Land Cruiser from there. Big budget, slim budget (relatively), casevac on call and insurance galore. With so much latitude to plan there is opportunity to engage the imagination and get a really rich experience out of it. What more could one want?

 

[sestoppelman]

Yeah, '53, year I was born!! On my first trip over I hunted some of those areas he did in Tanzania. I have a DVD of that hunt movie he made, pretty entertaining.

 

[JPmbogo]

Actually 1953. Their trip began in New York, then to Paris, Rome, etc, seven stops in all to Cairo. Then to Asmara, Addis and I presume finally Nairobi. Looks like a combination of Constellation and DC3. Certainly several days in all with hotel stops in between. So yes, it was the romantic age of safari, but as Ruark says, it was hard work. Even when we do our little emulation of their safaris with the Land Rovers and tents it is hard work for the six days, they did three months! If you were to ask me I think we are in the platinum age of safari now; you can get anywhere on earth in a day, or choose stopovers. You can stay in luxurious lodges, or under canvas in a fly camp. Book a period experience as we do, or fly in to camp and roam in an air conditioned Land Cruiser from there. Big budget, slim budget (relatively), casevac on call and insurance galore. With so much latitude to plan there is opportunity to engage the imagination and get a really rich experience out of it. What more could one want?

I agree completely. I just finished reading "White Hunters" by Brian Heard. Overall a great read on the so-called "golden age of safaris." However, toward the end of the book Heard makes it sound like safari hunting in Africa was done (book published in 1999), which obviously could not be further from the truth. My wife and I were on a photographic safari with none other than Glen Cottar and had a wonderful time with Glen and his gracious wife, Pat. Later we were on both a hunting and photographic safaris with Jaco Oosthuizen (now of Game Trackers Africa) handling the hunting portion. Another great trip to Africa. We attended DSC in January with the intention of returning, which of course, right now is unfortunately on hold. Point here is that it is all still there and maybe better in some respects, certainly accessibility.

 

[sestoppelman]

Brian Herne, not Heard. Good story teller, Uganda Safari's his first book is a must read.

 

[JPmbogo]

Brian Herne, not Heard. Good story teller, Uganda Safari's his first book is a must read.

My bad, was on my second or third martini (can't recall which) when I wrote this post - just trying to identify with Ruark.

 

[sestoppelman]

Trying to do that will be dangerous to your health! His liver literally melted down inside him, thats how he died.

 

[JPmbogo]

Yeh, but think about how much fun he had getting there? Besides, I already beat him by a quarter of a century in age. I believe it was James Thurber who wrote on martinis: "One is two many and three are not enough." There is another version comparing same to women's breasts, but I will leave that for another time.

 

[sestoppelman]

"The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long".

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Ah, but to burn bright spreads warmth, what joy comes from a dim old crusty codger? Life's greatest reward is to burn bright and burn long.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Those Land Rovers that Ruark so ignominiously refers to as 'jeeps' are Series 0 80 inch wheelbase versions. They would have had the early 1.6 litre petrol engine, good thing they were still fairly new, brave indeed to venture into the interior with those.
This is our Series 0, 1950, named - the Harry Selby! The lorry is an Austin and the car in the car park is a Humber I think. All frightfully British as you would expect from East Africa, Ker and Downey must have been doing well.