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Just about the time that famous lion hunters like Ernest Hemingway and Denys Finch Hatton were meeting their ends, a young Portuguese boy and his family landed on the coast of Mozambique to establish a farm in the Portuguese colony. It wasn't long before Adelino Serras Pires cut his hunting teeth, on a hunt for a pride of man-eating lions who had been victimizing a local population made vulnerable by an epidemic of sleeping sickness. Soon,
The smell of the bush after the rains ... the feel of a campfire's warmth after an exhausting day spent following elephant spoor on foot, the sound of lion in concert on a kill, and the taste of guinea fowl over the coals had turned me into a cultural hybrid with a permanent longing for change, for wild places and challenges.
Pires would turn his passion into a promotion of the safari hunting industry in Mozambique, leading European aristocracy, heads of state, astronauts, wine barons, and other members of the international elite into the untouched bush in pursuit of "the big five." He would also become one of the most controversial figures in safari hunting. An outspoken man with an indomitable will, he fought the Frelimo guerrillas who engulfed the country while also roundly criticizing Portuguese rule, ultimately becoming the enemy of both. After Mozambique's independence, Pires jumped from Angola to Rhodesia to Zaire setting up hunting shop, only to be forced out as independence movements and superpowers battled. Just when permanency seemed possible in Tanzania, he found himself a hostage in a horrifying game of betrayal, torture, and international collusion.
Pires tells his life story with the intensity with which he lived his life and with the fury and bitterness of a man who has lost all he loved. Whether or not you agree with his assertion that trophy hunting is the best way to preserve African wildlife ("if it pays, it stays"), it's impossible not to be deeply affected by his portrait of an Africa torn apart by the inside and out, or to feel nostalgia for an Africa now destroyed. --Lesley Reed
From Booklist
A rather different portrait of Africa emerges in Serras Pires' memoir. Born in Portugal but raised in Mozambique, the author became a major safari organizer, attracting royalty and celebrities from Europe, the U.S., and Africa itself. His family lost their lands and safari concessions in Mozambique after independence, and he moved on to run safaris in Angola, Rhodesia, Kenya, and the Sudan. But shifting political sands in these nations and Serras Pires' anger at "African perfidy" prevented long-term relationships. Serras Pires clearly loves Africa and the continent's wildlife, and he demonstrates sincere concern for the people of the countries where he worked. But the author also has strong opinions about African governments: he helped white-run Southern Rhodesia evade sanctions, was brutally abused as a possible spy by the Tanzanian and Mozambican governments, and ultimately represented Mozambique's Renamo rebels (formed and funded by apartheid South Africa and Western governments) in Europe. A historically useful but far from objective narrative of hunting and politics in Africa in the twentieth century. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"This is not your standard-fare safari memoir. The Winds of Havoc tells it like it was (and, in some cases, still is)...Adelino Pires and Fiona Capstick deserve much praise for preserving this previously little-publicized phase of the history of Africa's hunting and politics."--Bill Quimby, Safari magazine
"A fascinating and gripping personal tale of betrayal, treachery, and testimony of the 'madness which has swept away all order, all stability, and hope' from large tracks of a once-great continent."--George B. N. Ayittey, associate professor at American University and author of Africa Betrayed and Africa in Chaos
Review
"This is not your standard-fare safari memoir. The Winds of Havoc tells it like it was (and, in some cases, still is)...Adelino Pires and Fiona Capstick deserve much praise for preserving this previously little-publicized phase of the history of Africa's hunting and politics."--Bill Quimby, Safari magazine
"A fascinating and gripping personal tale of betrayal, treachery, and testimony of the 'madness which has swept away all order, all stability, and hope' from large tracks of a once-great continent."--George B. N. Ayittey, associate professor at American University and author of Africa Betrayed and Africa in Chaos
Book Description
When eight-year-old Adelino Serras Pires first arrived on a boat from Portugal in 1936, Mozambique was a tropical paradise, where native tribes and Portuguese colonists lived in harmony, and vast jungles held the promise of endless excitement. A few months into Adelino's new life, his father took him along on a successful hunt for maneating lions that had been terrorizing the countryside. From that point on, Adelino's destiny was sealed: He would spend his days in the African bush, hunting for a living, and living for adventure.
After a childhood wrought with thrilling episodes, Adelino became a major safari organizer with a client list comprised of African royalty, European dignitaries and wealthy Americans alike. Soon, though, tribes across the continent began to rebel against European control. In Mozambique, the Frelimo party, bent on ousting the Portuguese colonists, launched guerilla attacks throughout the land. Such attacks resulted in the violent death and injuries of several safari clients, and Adelino was forced to pack up his operations.
What follows is a frightening look at a continent under siege. As Adelino moved throughout sub-Saharan Africa-- each time resuming his life's ambition-- he repeatedly witnessed the violence and horror of civil war. Like a hunter stalking its prey, it was only a matter of time before the forces of revolution brought him down, too.
That day came when Adelino, his son, his nephew, and a fellow hunter were abducted in Tanzania and turned over to the secret police in now-- Frelimo-controlled Mozambique. In hair-raising detail, Adelino recounts months of torture and interrogation in a Mozambique prison, which almost cost him his life, and the traitorous circumstances that landed him there.
The Winds of Havoc is the story of Adelino's steady disillusionment, as the beauty of Africa slowly gave way to political turmoil and corruption. But more than that, it's a moving portrait of a life and time that are now gone forever.
Download Description
When Adelino Serras Pires first arrived on a boat from Portugal in 1936, Mozambique seemed to be something out of a dream: It was a tropical paradise, where native tribes and Portuguese colonists lived in harmony, and the vast jungles teeming with wildlife held the promise of endless excitement. A few months into Adelino's life, his father, a local magistrate, took him along on a hunt for man-eating lions that had been terrorizing the countryside. From that point on, Adelino's destiny was sealed: He would spend his days in the African bush, hunting for a living, and living for adventure. After a childhood wrought with new experiences and thrilling episodes, Adelino became the primary safari organizer for the internationally acclaimed Safrique expeditions, where he conducted safaris for African royalty, European dignitaries, and wealthy and famous Americans alike. At the same time, the Uhuru movement took hold of Africa. Tribes across the continent began to rebel against European control. In Mozambique, the Frelimo party, bent on ousting the Portuguese colonists, launched guerilla attacks throughout the land. One such attack resulted in the violent deaths and injuries of several Safrique customers, and soon the Safrique days were over, and Adelino moved on. What follows is a frightening look at a land under siege.
About the Author
Adelino Serras Pires was born in Portugal in 1928. He has organized hunting and photographic safaris in several African countries. He is now retired and resides in South Africa.
Fiona Claire Capstick was born in South Africa, where she became an officer in the armed forces, seconded to the military intelligence division as a multilingual translator and interpreter. She is currently serving as a sworn translator to the High Court of South Africa. Her late husband, Peter Hathaway Capstick, was the author of highly acclaimed safari accounts such as Death in the Long Grass and Safari: The Last Adventure.
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