Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide

My husband and I both read this and loved it. I kept laughing out loud as I read. Great story teller.

I love travel/adventure memoirs and this is a good one. The writing is lively and the stories exciting, laugh out loud funny, and touching. Most interesting is how the author brings the wildlife to life. Recommended.

Peter's suggestion that guests were the main component of the stories is not entirely accurate. There was not much in the way of embarrassing events by guests. Most of the stories were about his experiences with animals and the descriptive method of his writing made this book easy to read but quite vivid. I have a much better appreciation for the experience i am about to have in Africa. I recommend this book.Oct 2014 updatehaving been to Botswana now i can say this book is even more insightful. the stories are ok but the knowledge of how animals communicate is valuable. it was obvious when the elephants did the low rumble that signaled it was time to move and that identified the matriarch of the group. the alarm calls were easy to spot, tracking was easier. sure we had guides but it was nice to be able to know some of what they were about to say and participate in the conversation and ask good questions. i credit this book with that.also worth noting that prior to our trip when i told my wife of these stops she quickly said i am not going to africa to see birds. i though i was sunk. on the contrary, the wetland experience is fantastic, not dusty (duh) and the birds are not what you might imaging if you are not a birder. they were graceful nd beautiful and spectacular. we n=both loved the birds and we saw plenty of other stuff in Botswana. elephants and hippos were everywhere, you could not escape them and in the delta you ken get right up to them, literally, in boats. Botswana was amazing. the river and the delta. if you go to Botswana do both. there is nothing like it on the savanna or even in the bush. unique.

I really enjoyed this book. Peter describes the bush in a light and funny way whilst still appreciating its beauty (and danger). His stories are easy to read and he is knowledgeable

Just brilliant. The ending is chef’s kiss too!Highly recommend this read. Can’t wait to go on safari in a few months.

Peter Allison worked as a safari guide in sub Saharan Africa for a number of years. During that time he accumulated a bunch of tales involving animals, tourists and, perhaps zaniest of them all, the tour guides who are foolish enough to deal with both at once.Now let's be up front about this book - it's not going to make any dents in the reputation of Tolstoy. But that's not why you buy a book like this. You buy it for its' breezy style, the short sharp action sequences and the laugh out loud moments of bipedal and quadruped stupidity. From charging lions to painful bird watchers this book has a number of snippets of life on the dirt roads of Africa. The authors obvious love of his job and the animals shines through and it's his enthusiasm for quite happily including stupid things he himself has done that avoids any pretension on his part to be above the general weirdness.And in between the furiously paced stories one also gets a glimpse that the safari guides life is neither well paid nor quite as glamorous as one would dream of. And sometimes the loneliness and the mental instability that can lead to is alluded to. None of which takes away from the books rollicking style and for me personally it added to it. And while you are smiling while you read it the actual danger in some of the situations is also nicely conveyed. It all makes for the kind of book you'll read in a weekend.So if you are a lover of travel literature you really have to get this. If you are a real life or armchair fan of Africa you need to pick this up. In fact even the most po-faced academic should get something out of this book, a light hearted break from meatier fare. Two thumbs up.

Peter Allison was 19 when he left his suburban home in Australia to follow his dream and backpack around Africa. He soon ran out of money and found himself bar tending in a South African safari resort. He moved up the ranks to a safari guide in Botswana where he stayed for the next seven years running a camp and taking daily jeep rides with tourists from around the world out into the bush.Allison knew nothing about animals of Africa when he started. Much of the charm of the book is Allison's self-deprecating English humor as he makes mistake after mistake. His amateurism is a parody of the serious African adventurer; yet paradoxically his amateurism gives his account a sense of authority, we are able to see his wayward mistakes as a sign of his own expertise. Amateurism also provides Allison with a form of self-protection from the dangers of the bush; like a Mr Magoo stumbling into bad situations, it is his recognition of bad decisions that enable him to escape (unlike a "professional" who might not be as flexible in admitting a mistake)._Whatever You Do, Don't Run_ is written in the travel literature tradition of the wayward English gentleman bumbling through situations with campy humor, similar to  A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush . The idea is to de-throne the serious, to present a comic vision of the safari world that promotes harmless entertainment; but this also has the effect of disengagement and detachment - the safari guests from Germany, Japan and elsewhere become props to hang global stereotypes or moral outrages. It also serves as cover for Allison - behind the facade of wry humor and aestheticism is a sense of moral and cultural superiority; the self parody hides his own role and responsibility.

I really really enjoyed this book is fellow has a gift for telling a story and I’m really glad that he took the time to do that. His daredevil and foolish choices kept me on the edge of my seat I’ll have to find some more of the his stories.

Peter Allison’s love of wildlife is infectious, from the first page of this book he hooks you right in & takes you on a journey like no other. Many times he had me laughing out loud, bit scared at other moments & I also must confess I had the odd tear. What I really respect about this guy is his respect for the majestic animals he encounters. Loved every page of this & am exited that he’s written 2 more. Bring ‘em on.

As someone who grew up in a civilised, first world country and then had the pleasure of spending a couple of years in the bush with some of Africa's iconic animals, I figured this book would be an interesting read. What an understatement! The narrative is compelling and insightful - take me back! If you've ever been or wanted to go on safari, this is the back story to to some of the things you only see when an African Bush camp is your home.

I loved this book and thought it was fantastic! From the stories I read Peter Allison had some very interesting experiences as a Safari Guide and it sounded like he was very good at his job. You can tell he has a true passion for wildlife. For any animal lover like myself who hasn't read this book I would highly recommend it.

Peter Allison takes you on a whistle stop tour of his time in Africa. His stories come from the heart, he obviously fell in love with the continent, it's wildlife and it's people. I also found myself in South Africa in 1976 as a 19 year old, arriving at jansmuts airport wondering where all the lions and elephants were.Having been away from Africa for many a year now, I found this book a delightful read not to heavy and just enough provanonc to give it credibility.A most enjoyable read.

I love Africa, have done a few safari s in South Africa and Kenya. The stories kept me turning the pages and not wanting it to end. I felt like I was there and felt a pang for Africa and a pain in my gut the guide would have felt with his dangerous situations. Laughed, cried, chuckled all the way. Super read from an amazing guide.