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Kestrel Books, Published 1975. Hardcover, 276 pp.; 23 cm; new abridged edition; abridged by Dolores Fleischer; illustrated with line drawings throughout by E. Caldwell, a color frontispiece, and endpaper maps of the Transvaal Lowveld region.
In Very Good condition with a Good dust jacket. Dull orange paper-covered boards with gold lettering to the spine. Mild shelf wear with bumping to edges and corners. Binding is tight. Pages mildly toned along edges, otherwise unmarked. The illustrated dust jacket (painted scene of Jock the bull-terrier standing before an ox-wagon and campfire) shows a few nicks and tears under three-quarters of an inch, light creasing along the edges, mild overall edge wear, and some scuffing to the back panel. Price clipped. Now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover.[From front flap] 'It must be all true! And don't leave out anything!' It was to meet this demand of a youthful but exacting audience that the author first told the story of Jock's life in the hunter's paradise of the African bush. Jock is a bull-terrier. When he is born he is the ugliest of a litter of six; but he grows up to be the wisest and bravest of them all. With his master he shares the excitement of a transport rider's life in the early days of the Transvaal gold rush; they become close companions and all Jock's skill and intelligence are needed in many thrilling and dangerous encounters with big game. Through the story of Jock and his master a vivid picture of the bushveld unfolds as together they discover its birds and beasts and men. This tale has become a classic among animal stories and today it is as fresh and exciting as when it was first told. It is published here in a new abridged edition to enable the younger reader to enjoy the book fully on his own without adult help or explanation. The original marginal illustrations have been retained but their layout is different. The illustrations at the end of the book have been added.Contents: The Background; Jess; The Pick of the Puppies; Jock's Schooldays; The First Hunt; In the Heart of the Bush; Lost in the Veld; The Impala Stampede; Jock's Night Out; The Kudu Bull; Jim Makokel'; The Allies; The Berg; Paradise Camp; The Leopard and the Baboons; Buffalo, Bushfire and Wild Dogs; Snowball and Tsetse; Jock's Mistake; Jantje; Monkeys and Wildebeeste; The Old Crocodile; The Fighting Baboon; The Last Trek; Our Last Hunt; Our Various Ways; His Duty; Bushveld Words and Pictures; Note on the Abridgement.