OUT IN THE MIDDAY SHADE: MEMOIRS OF AN AFRICAN HUNTER 1949-1968. By William York.

# 2000 1st edition reprint. 8vo (160 x 235mm). Ppxiv,287. B/w photographs and illustrations, patterned end-papers. Blue cloth, spine titled in black.

# When he was only sixteen, William York traveled to the Sudan, seeking an adventurous life hunting exotic animals. By the time he turned eighteen, he had already shot 250 elephant! This determined youngster criss-crossed the southern Sudan on his own, with only a small band of hired help, and made a living from ivory hunting before he was even eligible to vote! Read about how he learned to feed his men after his cook was eaten by a lion; how he traversed the Lado Enclave eschewing big tuskers in favor of bulls with smaller tusks so his caravan could carry them; and why he was arrested and flogged in Uganda. After this exciting chapter in his life was finished, he went back to Great Britain for a short period. On his return to Africa he joined the Kenyan police. But the lure of the wild was still strong, so York gave up police work to become a professional hunter and mercenary. Some of the exciting adventures from this period in his life include an incident with a boomslang (tree snake) that started chewing his shoulder while he held two live cobras in his hands; in another adventure his wonderful sense of humour shows itself when he describes the time he wore a tuxedo while stalking cattle-killing lions! Robert Ruark got his inspiration to write Uhuru while he was in York's bongo camp. This is the fascinating true-life story of a born adventurer.