The Measure of Peter Capstick's Books

You can count me as a fan of Peter Hathaway Capstick. I don't apply the term 'fan' to myself very easily, either. I prefer to define myself on my own terms rather than in relation to other people's creative output.

I still haven't read the complete works of Capstick but I've read enough of his books enough times over that I feel qualified to write about them as a literary critic. It helps a bit that the man is dead, since I would probably never have the nerve to say any of this to his face.

His first book, 'Death in the Long Grass,' is a classic that I have written about before. I discovered that book and Capstick's work in general while browsing at a book store in the hunting section. I saw this brand new book with a dust jacket that screamed '1970's design' at me. And I thought to myself that if this book had been written over 30 years ago and was still in print as a hardback then there must be something to it. 'Death in the Long Grass' was Capstick's best book, though some of his later books came very close to that greatness. '

'Death in the Long Grass' had a real impact on the way that I wrote about hunting and I think that some of that language might have made it through the editorial process for 'Eating Aliens' (launching in August of 2012). Capstick throws out these magnificently over-the-top metaphors which I want desperately and shamelessly to steal every time I read them. A kudu or cape buffalo is not just 'dead' when Capstick shoots it. It is 'dead as fair play', or 'dead as courtesy,' or 'dead as nickel beer.'

Having now written a couple of books myself, I look back on DITLG and am really impressed with the work that the editor must have done on that book. A lot of editors would have taken that text and struck out half of the language that I love in it on the basis that its "too over the top," or that the slang might be unfamiliar to most Americans. Then the descriptions of some of the kills would be toned down and silenced by many. Capstick's ornery political judgements might have been muted. Most editors would probably have ruined Capstick's first book in the interest of printing and shipping a very safe, politically correct book which nobody would even remember today. Instead, someone had the backbone to let Capstick's voice really shine and the rest was history.

However, in practical terms DITLG was a tough act for Capstick to follow. In that first book he had told the best stories of his years to date working as a professional hunter. It had skipped around from one year and species to another, going pretty much wherever the stories were. As Capstick wrote book after book he seems to have run out of material.

Capstick solved this problem for a few books by writing beautifully about other hunters' careers. One of my favorites is 'The Last Ivory Hunter,' about an old ivory hunter friend of Capstick's who had a genuinely fascinating and unique life in Africa. I often wish that he had written some more books in that vein and perhaps he would have done so had he lived longer than his 56 years (chain-smoking and drinking like Hemingway were probably what caused the heart troubles that ultimately killed him).

There was a long series of 'Death in the...' sequels. 'Death in a Lonely Land,' 'Death in the Silent Places,' etc. Many of these are worth reading. I think that the worst of the lot was probably 'Sands of Silence.'

'Sands of Silence' was a dangerous book for Capstick to write because it tells the story of one particular safari that he took in Namibia well after becoming established as a writer. Because he had a camera crew along for the safari it is very clear that he went out there with the express intent of writing a book and making a film about this one trip.

I say that this was a dangerous book to set out to write because he appears to have boxed himself into a corner. He had to produce this book for his publisher, and I would bet money that he had a fat book advance riding on it. Regardless of whether this particular safari was especially interesting he had to write a book about it.

As it happened, nothing especially interesting took place. Or at least nothing that was all that interesting to Capstick. It would have been very difficult for him to write about leopard hunt number 873 (or whatever it was) with fresh eyes at that point. Yet he still had to produce this book about it all. I know the feeling after just wrapping up the final edits on 'Eating Aliens.'

While writing that book there were a great many trips that I took in order to hunt and fish for all sorts of odd things. In many cases there were species that were must-haves for the book, yet when I got out there and went after them I found that there just wasn't a story worth telling about it. Its always a good yarn when I get either lost, stabbed, or stranded somewhere along the way. Preferably with alligators or stingrays involved. But I am in fact writing non-fiction and so everything I write has to actually have happened and one can not always contrive to bump into alligators or get lost and stabbed. Sometimes I came home after a lot of time and expense on the road and I had to shrug it off and move on to the next species.

So I certainly have a good bit of sympathy for Capstick at that point of his career. He'd already told his best old stories and even while he was trying to create new ones he was subject to the vagaries of reality. I don't think it helped that he seems to have been pretty comfortable, financially. The description of his trip in 'Sands of Silence' sounds entirely too comfortable for drama. Hot showers, plenty of staff, and well-maintained vehicles. Nothing was left to chance and so nothing much could happen by chance. And where is a story going to come from like that?

I can't really tell whether there even was an editor for 'Sands of Silence.' It was reading this book that really impressed what a good job the editor of 'Death in the Long Grass' had done. In Sands of Silence, one suspects that Capstick's established name and excellent book sales might have put him in a position where he could wave away any sort of editorial interference at all. And brother, did he ever need it!

Capstick's snappy style was dead as the balanced budget amendment by the time he got around to 'Sands of Silence.' He'd always had a slightly annoying habit of over-using ellipses at the ends of sentences (an ellipsis is one of these things in punctuation: ...). Here, its totally out of control. There is no rhyme or reason to when he uses an ellipsis rather than a period and it isn't clear to me that he has any idea what that punctuation is even for. An editor with half a brain -- or at least some backbone -- should have done something about this.

Not only was Capstick lacking in a story but he didn't know how to tell it any more, either. On page 53 he sort of punted and wrote: "If I could describe the terrible heat, you wouldn't believe me."

C'mon, Capstick! That's what your job consists of. Just describe the terrible effing heat already, ok? Tell me that it was as though Satan had left the door open or something.

'Death in the Long Grass' was like a story told by a campfire over a meal of sliced rhino heart s'mores. By the time that Capstick got around to 'Sands of Silence,' it feels like your boring great-uncle and aunt forcing you through a slide show of their 50th anniversary trip to Niagara Falls.

Is there advice here for outdoor writers? Man, I hope so. This is what I have learned, as an outdoor/hunting writer, from reading the full spectrum of Capstick's work:

1. Don't box yourself into a corner where you contractually have to write a whole book about one expedition.

2. Accept the fact that a good editor can make your book better than you did.

3. Comfort and security are the enemy of adventure.


I will really try to take these lessons to heart. As an aside, I was reading over Capstick's biography and I realized that it bears an uncanny resemblance to my own thus far. I'm from Charlottesville, Virginia, and Capstick is an alumnus of the University of Virginia right here in Charlottesville. He had a respectable career as a stock broker before deciding to walk away from it all at the age of 30 to become a professional hunter. I spent 11 years as a wholesale insurance broker before leaving that career to become a full-time professional hunter and outdoor writer at the age of 32. Capstick's first book was better than mine was but I think I'm getting better as I go along.

Not being a smoker or a heavy drinker, I hopefully have fair odds of living longer than Peter Capstick did, although doing things like guiding clients on bear hunts and planning a documentary film in Sierra Leone later this year probably won't do much for my life expectancy.