Tiger Fire: 500 Years of Tigers in India

I love to read about tigers, especially from Valmik Thapar and Jim Corbett

This is a sad book in that we have almost DESTROYED one of nature’s most beautiful creatures. But a enjoyable read from all of the different stories

Lots of stories about the tiger in history, with some accounts of man eaters in India. I highly recommend this book.

This book is so good I bought two hard cover copies of it. I will give the books to my sons when they are older. Much of the book is short stories of historical accounts of experiences people have had with Tigers. Exact historical accounts are reprinted as originally written by the original authors. There are many beautiful photographs of tigers. There are also awesome color and black and white pieces of art depicting scenes with Tigers. Overall, this book is almost if not as good as the two volume set by John Batten titled “The Best of Tiger Hunting”. I also have a copy of the John Batten set. I hope this book gets reprinted again in a special enlarged leather bound collectors edition signed by the author. I would definitely purchase a copy. Many of the stories are blood curdling and frightening. The Tiger is my favorite wild animal. This book reminds us that we need wild places free from human intrusion so Tigers can exist in the wild free and natural. The world is a much better place because Tigers still roam in the wild.

Good quality and very fast delivery to Israel.Thanks!

Gran trabajo, como todos los de Valmik Thapar, tengo entendido que es una edición mas reducida que la original de tapa dura por lo tanto en un principio esperaba mas, pero de todas formas es un gran libro como todos los del autor!

This large very heavy book was first published in 2013, has 582 pages divided into 5 books, numerous beautiful colour, B/W pictures, drawings and sketches and 1 map of India showing the Tiger Reserves. VALMIK THAPAR's 40 years of observations of the tiger reports on tiger hunts, attacks on humans, fights between tigers, rearing their young, finding mates, bonds with humans and fights with leopards, bison, wild dogs, boar and elephants. The tiger stories start in the 16th century with Mughal Emperor Babur to the wild tigers of today.BOOK I:-deals with the origins and evolution of the tiger. The tiger evolved from extinct treetop carnivores called MIACIDS 50 million years ago and were the first to diverge, before the lion, leopard and jaguar. The 1st tiger entered India at the end of last ice age about 12 thousand years ago.BOOK II:-deals with the writing on the tiger from 16th to the 20th century. The Mughals like Babur and Akbar wrote tiger stories 500 years ago, followed by the British hunters at the start of 1800. The stories of the Mughal Kings are translated with very colourful pictures of that time. Many stories of the tiger hunts by various British and Indian hunters, since 1727, during the British Raj, are narrated with beautiful B/W and colour drawings. Most of these hunts were done from elephant backs. When the elephant smells the tiger, it tries to stab the tiger with his tusks. The author summarises many short stories from various books on tigers and added illustrations to the storyline, enriching the stories. On page 150, this book has a drawing showing how tigers carry their prey on their backs. The early visitors to India were mainly hunters, but many others were sympathetic to wildlife and just observed and photographed. As the pen and camera replaced the gun, the tigers became easier to observe and a new generation of tigers had grown up, by 1980.BOOK III:-deals with the secret life of the tiger, with best of the early writings by Valmik Thapar. In 1976, aged 22, Valmik Thapar left crowded Delhi to Rajasthan and 39 years later, is still there. After watching his 1st tiger in Ranthambhore, Thapar got hooked to the tiger. He gets many sightings of tigress with cubs and mating tigers.BOOK IV:-is called 'Tiger Fire', showing some of the wonderful photographs ever taken in the wilds of India. Tigers had but out grown their natural shyness in the presence of humans and allowed themselves to be photographed.BOOK V:-is on 'the last tigers' and author's plea to everyone concerned to save the tiger. He thinks the tiger will be lost forever, if we don't double our efforts. Very few people- 'Tiger Wallahs' have given their lives to protect the tiger and its habitat. When ever the need of wildlife service is raised in India, the bureaucrats and politicians manage to block it. Tigers have even vanished from tiger Reserves and National Parks.Valmik Thapar takes some best short stories out of many books on tigers and these make a very good read. The whole book is well laid out and those wonderful drawings, paintings, pictures - Ah - you could watch them again and again. Having visited Kanha National Park on tiger safari in 2010, we appreciated the beauty of the forests and its wildlife there, and even managed to see 3 tigers from the elephant back and from our jeep.Some other books of interest are:-(1) With Camera in Tigerland, FW Champion 1927(2) Wild Animals of Central India, AAD Brander 1927(3) In the Grip of Indian Jungle, GH Knowles 1932(4) The book of the Tiger, RG Burton 1933(5) Man-eater of Kumaon, Jim Corbett 1944(6) Call of the Tiger, ANW Powell 1957(7) The Tiger of Rajasthan (One Man and a Thousand Tigers), Col Kesri Singh 1959(8) The Tiger Roars, Kenneth Anderson 1967(9) The Deer and the Tiger, GB Schaller 1967(10)The World of the Tiger, Richard Perry 1964(11)Tiger Haven, Billy Arjan Singh 1973(12)Tiger, K Sankhala 1978(13)Face of the Tiger, McDougal 1977(14)Spell of the Tiger, SY Montgomery 1995Having born in Kenya, I enjoyed reading this book and watching those fantastic photos.

Shri Valmik Thapar is one of India's and the world's most knowledgeable wildlife experts on the Indian Tiger! His authorship of over twenty books on the Indian Tiger form a historical record of this legendary yet enigmatic super predator! In 1986, when I was in my late teens, I fell in love with Indian Tigers, chiefly due to Shri Thapar's first book titled 'Tiger:- Portrait Of A Predator (Co-Author Shri Fateh Singh Rathore; Photography Guenter Zeisler)! In exactly the same way, today as I hold Shri Thapar's latest book in my hand, I feel that this enormous volume is even more informative, in the sense, that it covers 500 years of the best write-ups by various authors including kings and common people, all of them brilliant pieces on the Indian Tiger! The photographs are equally great masterpieces, having been created by some of the best wildlife photographers - pretty well known in India and across the world! The editorship is superb, the language equally lucid, the information encyclopedic, the book design masterly! One look over the book reminds me of the precision achieved by two other books on the Indian Tiger: (1)Shri Valmik Thapar's first authored book; name given above and (2) Through The Tigers Eyes authored by Stanley Breeden & Belinda Wright!! In brief, a compulsive addition for all people who are seriously involved in the whole-hearted pursuit of wildlife conservation of Indian Wildlife! Every Indian wildlife lover should be justly proud of Valmik Thapar extensively notable contributions to the conservation of Indian Tigers, their ecology and the forest environment - an eternal torch-bearer! Almighty God Bless His Soul Forever! Indian Wildlife Denizens also probably know that as long as such Die-Hard Indian Citizens are alive around, they stand a good survival chance, else .... !? Possess this tome, read this tome! This volume will inject you with fresh enthusiasm and zest for fighting and preserving Indian Wildlife! More Power To Valmik Thapar's Masterpiece Created For Eternity!

A bit heavy-going compared to some of this author's other works and this is not really 'all his own work'; relies significantly on the input of others. But it provides a fascinating overview of issues related to this species.

Good