No Beast So Fierce

The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Animal in History

By: Dane Huckelbridge

Narrated by: Corey Snow

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

American Sniper meets Jaws in this gripping, true account of the deadliest animal of all time, the Champawat Tiger - responsible for killing more than 400 humans in Northern India and Nepal in the first decade of the 20th century - and the legendary hunter who finally brought it down.

At the turn of the 20th century, in the forested foothills of the Himalayas between India and Nepal, a large Bengal tiger began preying on humans. Between roughly 1900 and 1907, the fearsome beast locals called the Champawat Man-Eater claimed 436 lives. Successfully evading both hunters and soldiers from the Nepalese army and growing bolder with its kills, the tiger - commonly a nocturnal predator - prowled settlements and roadways even in broad daylight. Entire villages were virtually abandoned.

Desperate for help, authorities appealed to Jim Corbett, a then-unknown railroad employee of humble origins who had grown up hunting and tracking game through the hills of Kumaon. Like a police detective on the trail of a human killer, Corbett questioned villagers who had encountered the tiger and began tracking its movements in the dense, hilly woodlands - while the animal began to hunt Corbett in return. When the big cat attacked a teenager and dragged her away, he followed the blood trail deep into the forest - a harrowing, dramatic chase that would ultimately end the man-eater’s long reign of terror and turn the young Corbett into a living legend.

In this rip-roaring adventure and compelling natural history, Dane Huckelbridge recreates one of the great adventure stories of the 20th century, bringing into focus a principled, disciplined soldier, hunter, and conservationist - who would later earn fame for his devotion to saving the Bengal tiger and its habitat - and the beautiful, terrifying animal he patiently pursued. Written with the thrilling immediacy of John Vaillant’s The Tiger, Susan Casey’s The Devil’s Teeth, and Nate Blakeslee’s American Wolf, No Beast so Fierce is an enthralling depiction of a classic battle between man and animal, human encroachment and wild nature that resonates today.

©2019 Dane Huckelbridge (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Needed more tiger

I guess I was expecting more of a Jaws with a tiger, but instead, No Beast So Fierce, delves into the history of colonialism in India and its impact on the environment and the populace. It was all interesting, and parts were extremely well written. You'll definitely gain a newfound respect for the power of these beautiful and deadly predators. The lead-up to the actual Champawat tiger is very gradual, and then suddenly it's all over and the books winds down with an epilogue about the man who shot her, Jim Corbett, who later went on to defend tigers and advocate for their protection in the wild.

Nostalgic,profound, enriching, well researched page-turner

With an immense sense of childhood nostalgia and profound feeling of gratitude, while driving kids back and forth from San Diego, I finished reading/listening to this book - “No Beast so Fierce” over the weekend. Such a great read - took me back to the good old past - my childhood - when life was hard yet simple and stories were so fulfilling. Jim Corbett and his stories like ‘Man-eaters of Kumaon’ did carry the idea of adventurism, literary enrichment and vivid animation to my childhood. Being an integral part of my growing up, I felt the warmth of the Shikari stories, noblesse oblige as I fondly read thru this page-turner by Dane Huckelbridge. I will not consider it as a mere mortal story about a blind hunt but a work written with compassion and empathy - a complete package describing way beyond the incidentals on the flora, fauna, animals of the times. In one brush stroke of imaginative fact-filled penmanship, this well researched work takes you thru the biodiversity, history and geography of India and its forests - along with the changing attitudes of its cats and people that co-inhabit and co-inherit them.

Now My rating 5/5 as a portion of proceeds from purchase of this book will go towards Tharu cultural Museum and wellbeing of a Tharu people.

Excellent.

I have read all of Jim Corbett’s books and as they were all written by him, I figured that was the final word on the matter and that there could be nothing else worth looking at. Well, I was wrong. At least as far as this book is concerned. I learned A LOT. This is well researched and arranged. The author is, above all, a gifted writer who has the ability to put you in the moment of confrontation, whether between the tigress and her victims or between the animal and Corbett when they encounter one another in the field. The author has also provided a thorough background to the story of the conflict between man and beast that goes a long way to providing the big picture to the times in which to two existed and to the situation of the present day. I couldn’t be happier with the time spent listening to this book. And now, a word about the narrator. In an earlier review, an individual left a negative commentary about the narrator’s abilities. If you saw it, you know the one that I’m referring to. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. The gentleman reading this book was probably among the best of choices for the job and his talents most definitely made a substantial contribution to the overall quality of the story.

Better then I expected

Not only does it detail out jim Corbett’s ordeal to hunt down the tiger , but it’s also gives a detailed look into tigers in general , very well researched , written and narrated, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the genre

Fascinating Foray Into An Incredible Time

Incredible. The evocation of time and place is immediate and vivid. The historical research is extensive and utterly fascinating. With almost surreal desciptions of aberrant tiger behavior and insanely visceral man-eater-hunting set pieces, No Beast So Fierce is a can't-miss tale of evolution, empire, and ecology. Highly recommended!

Just read man-eaters of Kumaon.

The book is does a good job of setting up the historical placing of kumaon , by giving you an overview of British and Indian's relationship at the time. After that however its mostly the author talking about his own interpretations of British imperialism. this was annoying, but the biggest issue in my opinion was the errors in the story. There are several deviations and embellishments that the author makes from Corbetts firsthand account. If you want to know what hunting the Champawat man-eater was truly like read the book written by the man who did it, not an embellished book report that takes liberties with the source material.

Hunting classic

Very well done..... would like to see all of Corbetts Works on here!!!!!👍Great narration

Outstanding history

With as much historical accuracy as possible, the author tells the tale of the hunt for a man eating tiger at the turn of the 20th Century. Much worthwhile detail is given about the hunter's life and legacy as a conservationist, along with the effects of environmental degradation on the relationship between tigers and humans. The story is exceptionally well told. An excellent audiobook, even, and maybe especially for those who would normally avoid such a subject.

Historical and fascinating.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was more than just a story of a man eating tiger and captured life in the jungle in India in the early 1900s. Well read and extremely well written

This was an amazing book!

Really great information about India's Culture and the struggles that they faced along with great story telling and awesome narration.