People question whether or not Beryl Markham was the actual writer of this book. Regardless, it is a beautifully written piece. ( )

Memoirs of the author's childhood on her father's horse farm, and later her own work training race horses as the first woman licensed to do so in the country. Her writing is beautiful and poetic, the words ones to savor and turn over in your mind. Besides some lovely passages about horses, there is a lot about the African countryside and its wildlife. As a small child, Markham was attacked by a semi-tame lion that lived about the horse ranch. When older (but still very young) she went on hunts for warthog, lion and elephant, accompanied by native tribesmen and her loyal dog Buller. Many times the hunted beasts turned against thm, in some hair-raising situations. The wild countryside, broad and nearly untouched by man, is nearly a personality itself in her pages. Accounts of her flights over desolate country, through darkness and storm and across the Atlantic in a record-breaking trip, grace the beginning and end of the book. This book is one that should not be forgotten, it is such a treasure to read.

more at the DogEar Diary ( )

It is hard to decide whether the best part of this book is the writing or the story. On the first page Markham claims to be no weaver but I disagree. She is a marvelous weaver of words creating pictures of Africa and the time in which she lived. I have read and reread several of the chapters and am hungry for more of her writing and her adventures. ( )

One of my favorite books. ( )

Beryl Markham's compelling memoir of growing up in British East Africa. She is best known for flying solo from England to North America and she ends her book with this story. But the rest is about running wild on her father's farm as a child, learning to hunt and having lion-centered adventures; becoming a professional horse trainer at 17; and her life as a bush pilot in Africa between the wars.

The audio version was particularly enjoyable. ( )