THE BIG FIVE. By Anthony Dyer.

(1973) 2003 3rd edition. 4to (205 x 270mm). Ppvi,233 + 3pp ads. Five colour paintings by Bob Kuhn, sepia photos, line illustrations, photograph end-papers. Grey cloth with tipped-on plate, upper board and spine titled in dark green.

A new and updated edition of the scarce "Classic African Animals: The Big Five" (1973). "'The Big Five' is the collective term we use for the elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard. This book is about these animals as they live in Africa in the year 2003." A long time big-game hunter and conservationist, the author describes the world in which elephants are as much part of the day to day backdrop of life as rabbits are here: "a hungry peasant and a well-fed academic will have different attitudes towards wild animals. A small farmer fears and possibly hates wild beasts. The city-dweller has no idea of what it is like to share the same grazing areas, trails and water supplies with large and fearsome creatures. ...In this book I will try to tell you how it is to be on your own feet in the lands of the Big Five." Five colour paintings and many superb line drawings by Bob Kuhn, with many new photographs by Anthony Dyer and by the publisher, Harald Wolf. A handsome high-quality production. Publishing history: First trade edition Winchester Press 1973, together with a large-paper de luxe edition, limited to 375 copies. Second edition, limited to 1000 copies, Trophy Room Books 1996. Third (revised) edition, limited to 1000 copies, Haari Times, 2003.