John Blashford-Snell

The elephants didn't have anything to do with mammoths, they were just odd looking, big asian elephants. Hiding this information somewhere in the middle of the book and splashing 'mammoth' all over the cover was an annoying kind of come on.Still, I would have enjoyed the book if there had been more about the elephants and less going on endlessly about all the executives, dog walkers, nurses, etc. who signed up for the expeditions... most of them were hardly mentioned after they'd been introduced, so what was the point of it? Maybe because they'd paid to join the hunt they had to be included. And the way he kept bringing up the products his sponsers had given him. Product placement?Something about the fact that these were executives running around the jungle as part of some sort of odd manager development program ruined the atmosphere of the book. It was a bizarre juxtaposition, made it difficult to take seriously. If they'd been adventurers, or scientists, conservationists, or even just plain nuts... But they were employees paying for a program to improve their management skills.Maybe that's why the age of adventure is passed.And the fact that it's so hard to find a trackless jungle to be adventurous in. The ones that are left are threatened, not threatening. The biggest danger the parties had was probably bus crashes.… (meer)