Horn of Africa

by Philip Caputo

Book Overview

When Vietnam veteran and foreign correspondent Charlie Gage is recruited by the shadowy Thomas Colfax to assist with something called Operation Atropos, he has no idea he is about to be enlisted for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0030421365
• ISBN13: 9780030421365
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Holt McDougal
• Length: 487 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Superior work

Caputo here gives us Conrad in a modern context--and in a way we of the Pepsi generation can understand. Herein we find supposedly civilized men thrust into a primitive situation; but then, what is war, anyway? Who are the savages? Lines drawn by rationalism are blown away by the winds of the moment. The story will grab you by the neck, and you will see man as he naturally is.

Blowing My Horn For Caputo

A well-written, descriptive, metaphorical voyage into the heart of darkness. Three mercaneries are hired to run guns to a guerilla group in Africa and train a rebel Moslem tribe. The three men are abandoned there to work out their own differences and personal salvations. Civilization as we know it did not exist, and the dark side of human nature is exposed; the side without restraint, pity or conscience. This is another stellar piece of writing in Caputo's body of work. The Voyage and Rumor of War are also strongly recommended.

good book

A wonderful novel. The story is interesting, the characterizations are outstanding. I really enjoyed the way Mr. Caputo handled the conversations between the characters - it seems extremely realistic, you feel as though you are there yourself. Why oh why is this book out of print?

Superb, dark story of violence and irregular warfare

Why is this great book out of print? This is a modern classic, a superb, dark story of violence and irregular warfare in Northern Africa. Powerfully evocative of place and time, with three unforgettable main protagonists.

A huge Rudyard Kipling tale deserving of a movie

Horn of Africa is an overwhleming story of fate, irony and the fall of man set against a backdrop of African revolution. It is the best of the Bridge over the River Kwai and Gunga Din. Too bad it never was made into a movie . . . yet.