A Certain Curve of Horn: The Hundred-Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope of Angola - Softcover

Walker, John Frederick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802140688 ISBN 13: 9780802140685

Publisher: Grove Press, 2004

Synopsis

In A Certain Curve of Horn, veteran journalist John Frederick Walker tells the story of one of the most revered and endangered of the regal beasts of Africa: the giant sable antelope of Angola, a majestic, coal-black quadruped with breathtaking curved horns over five feet long. It is an enthralling and tragic tale of exploration and adventure, politics and war, the brutal realities of life in Africa today and the bitter choices of conflicting conservation strategies.

A Certain Curve of Horn traces the sable's emergence as a highly sought-after natural history prize before the First World War, and follows its struggle to survive in a war zone fought over by the troops of half a dozen nations, and its transformation into a political symbol and conservation icon. As he follows the trail of this mysterious animal, Walker interweaves the stories of the adventurers, scientists, and warriors who have come under the thrall of the beast, and how their actions would shape the fate of the giant sable antelope and the history of the war-torn nation that is its only home.

About this title

Review:

"Walker casts a wide and authoritative net in a story that is part rich history of Southern Africa, part natural history of the giant sable, and part journalistic first-person adventure tale."

Synopsis:

A fascinating story of exploration and environmental devastation chronicles the precarious fate of the endangered sable antelope in Angola over the course of the twentieth century. Reprint.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0802140688
• ISBN 13: 9780802140685
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 496