Items related to The Red-Eye Fever
Synopsis
WRITER'S DIGEST, who has selected "The Red-Eye Fever" for its 2003 Book Award, Life Stories category, says, "...More than just a tale of a crocodile hunt, it ("The Red-Eye Fever") is a peek at a slice of time now gone. The look at the Congo as it stood on the verge of independence makes for fascinating reading. The author also wisely focuses her story, just dealing with her stay in the Congo. This narrowing of the topic adds power to the story. The writing reflects sensitivity and thoughtfulness, with the author providing example stories, dialogue and rich details to illustrate the general point that she is making. In looking at the style of writing, it is clear that this author has a talent for telling stories. The look of the book is also compelling, tying in with the idea of life in another time." Cleveland Moffett, book reviewer for THE BULLETIN, (the newsweekly of the capital of Europe, Brussels, Belgium, June 5, 2003, issue) writes, "The Red-Eye Fever, Adventures in the Belgian Congo" is a memoir by Elise Dallemagne-Cookson of her life in the Congo on a Foreign Service assignment that lasted from 1959 to the eve of the colony's independence a year later. "Dallemagne-Cookson tells what sounds like a very tall story about crocodile hunting with convincing relish. She had not been long at her new job when she accepted the challenge to take a plunge into the jungle to track down the formidable 175-year-old crocodile El Diablo. The sassy young New Yorker takes him on and lives to tell the tale. The cover photograph shows her with a gun in one hand, her foot on El Diablo's scaly back."
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From the Publisher
New York Woman Kills Legendary Man-eating Crocodile
New Memoir Details One Woman’s Adventures in the Former Belgian Congo
Cherry Valley, NY– January 2003 – Direct descendents of the dinosaur, crocodiles have been around for nearly 150 million years and are still making news. Recently one was found on a bus in Australia. Another bit off the arm of a botanical garden caretaker in Florida. An Indonesian woman jumped into a pit of them to commit suicide and was quickly devoured, as a crowd watched in horror. The public continues to be both fascinated and frightened by this ancient beast. And now comes The Red-Eye Fever: Adventures in the Belgian Congo, the true story of how a young woman from New York, sent to the Congo in 1959 on a Foreign Service assignment, manages to kill an 18-footer.
The Red-Eye Fever, Elise Dallemagne-Cookson’s fourth book, is about crocodile hunting in the former Belgian Congo – the author’s first African adventure. Fresh from New York, Ms. Dallemagne-Cookson begins by slaying the famous El Diablo, a 175-year-old crocodile that was known to have consumed at least 50 people during its reign of terror.
Among her other amazing escapades, the author uses crocodile hunting as a lens through which to focus on the Congo prior to becoming independent in 1960, the first sub-Saharan country to do so. Ms. Dallemagne-Cookson, who married a Belgian rancher, examines the lives, beliefs, and customs of the Congolese people, as well as the hurried preparation for the country’s sudden, unexpected independence. An eye-witness to this page in history, she also attempts to dispel myths about the Belgian colonists living there at the time. In contrast to other African colonial powers such as the French and British, Ms. Dallemagne-Cookson describes the Belgian settlers as refugees from World War II, who fled their war-torn country where many had been in German labor camps or who, as young boys, hid out in the woods during the war. The text of the book is illustrated with many photographs taken at the time, which have traveled the world, were lost, and were recovered several times.
From the Author
This is a true story, transcribed from notes I made at the time the events described occurred. In addition, it is illustrated with photos taken at the time. These are historic photos which have led a life of adventure of their very own. They have been lost 4 times during my travels around the world but they always managed to find their way back to me.
I began my Congo career in 1959 by participating in the slaying of the monster crocodile of the Kwango River, known as El Diablo, who had been preying on the people for many years and who had eaten many of the inhabitants of the surrounding area - both in the Congo and in neighboring Angola. This adventure was to be followed by many others in that country, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It tells of the extraordinary people I met and the expeditions into the interior that I participated in when the Congo was preparing to take its place in African history as the first colony south of the Sahara to win its independence.
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- PublisherXlibris Corp
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 1401071767
- ISBN 13 9781401071769
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages192
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