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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
At age 19, Australian-born Allison headed to Africa for challenge and adventure, planning to stay no more than a year; having found work as a safari guide, he's still there some 13 years later. In this fun, fearless memoir, Allison shares his experiences taking "guests" through the African wilderness, trips that often don't go quite as planned-due especially to the unpredictability of the animals around them. Allison is a skilled, funny and vibrant storyteller, dishing arcane bits of wisdom like an expatriate Alligator Hunter: "I understand a little bit of monkey language, and 'kwe' is a sound I listened for. It was an alarm... full blown monkey conniptions were reserved for leopards." A hilarious chapter recounting a troubled thousand mile trek through the Kalahari Desert finds Allison trying to wave down a passing truck in the middle of the night: "I realized that the driver would have seen what looked like a very animated sage bush with pasty white hands growing from it... he'd probably go straight to a witch doctor... and ask if there was a curse on him." Along the way, Allison examines his fellow guides, the struggle with exhaustion, getting lost and the temptation to make frequently visiting animals into pets, as well as some poignant asides on love and death.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Allison's infectious enthusiasm for both the African bush and his job showing its wonders to tourists is readily apparent." --Booklist
"His misadventures make Whatever You Do, Don't Run an absorbing read. . . . The material is rich, and Allison is a gifted storyteller. And the only thing stranger than African fiction is African truth." --National Geographic Adventure
"After reading this entrancing memoir, an African safari may move to No. 1 on your travel wish list. The only catch is you'll want the author as your guide." --Chicago Sun-Times
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm glad he stood still.,
By Reader (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide (Paperback)
This book was hard to put down! Each adventure is nicely tucked into each chapter, giving the reader snapshots of a life lived in the rugged African environment. Not only was it educational, it was extremely entertaining! Unlike many travel writers who simply have stories to tell, this author also has a knack for writing. Through swamps of hippos, plains of lions, and tree-eating ellies, it was a pleasure to experience Africa again through his words.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gloriously entertaining!,
By
This review is from: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide (Paperback)
This book kept me smiling from beginning to end. The author has a magnificent way of story telling. It is pure magic and evokes the beauty of Africa in a harsh and very realistic way. I can smell the woodsmoke from the camp fires as he writes of his adventures.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (110 customer reviews) 25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good, quick read. Enjoyed it a lot.,
By Chris Baldwin - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide (Paperback)
While I haven't been on safari, I'm guessing that this book should be required reading for anyone who is able to make the trip. Peter Allison's book was a nice, quick read filled with lots of great stories about his experiences. All in all, I would recommend this book highly. Several stories made me laugh out loud.Enjoy. 27 of 31 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bald-headed men beware! (Oh, just kidding.),
By Debra Hamel - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide (Paperback)
Beginning in the mid-1990s, Peter Allison worked as a safari guide, primarily in Botswana. In Whatever You Do, Don't Run, Allison tells stories about his life in the bush. There are animal stories aplenty--a herd of elephants clustering protectively around its calving matriarch, a giant Python intent on crushing the life out of the author, an infestation of mice so desperately hungry they took to chewing on bald men's heads. But guides have to deal with paying guests as well as wild animals, and Allison does not shy from criticizing the spoiled and stupid among his tour groups.In the hands of a more witty writer (think J. Maarten Troost's The Sex Lives of Cannibals), the material at Allison's disposal might have resulted in an unputdownable read. Allison's book isn't, but his stories are cute and amusing, and the author himself is likable and agreeably self-deprecating. Most interestingly, Whatever You Do, Don't Run gives readers a glimpse of an unusual llfestyle that most of us will probably not have given much thought to before: what's it like, day-to-day, to lead tourists around herds of impala and crocodile-infested rivers? If the subject matter is of interest, or if you like to browse the lives of people with jobs far different from yours, Allison's book is worth a quick read. -- Debra Hamel 34 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you feel like laughing,
By Love to learn "Lisa" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide (Paperback)
Mr. Allison's, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T RUN is filled with hilariously funny sometimes irreverent stories about his experiences as a safari guide in Botswana. The title is what drew me to his book, only food runs! You can't put it down, it is laugh out loud funny and you don't want it to end. Please write more! I can't wait for your next installment.
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