Life on the Edge
Tristan Voorspuy's Fatal Love of Africa
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Quiller Publishing Ltd
Published:14th Apr '23
Should be back in stock very soon
'Tristan Voorspuy was one of a kind. A charismatic, towering figure, he cut a swathe through society, the British Army and, above all, East Africa...'
Described by the actress, Joanna Lumley, as "the man with no fear", Tristan spent his whole life living up to the legend. This book tells the story of a life lived on the edge of the Great Rift Valley – and one cut tragically short on his own beloved Kenyan nature reserve in March 2017 when he was shot and killed by armed herders invading the land.Once described by Joanna Lumley as “the man with no fear”, Tristan Voorspuy spent his life living up to the legend. From his epic Cairo to Cape Town motorbike ride, to extraordinary wildlife encounters and many death-defying light aircraft near misses, Life on the Edge tells the extraordinary story of an adventurer and horseman determined to live life to the full. This was a life defined by a love of Africa, often shared with appreciative clients on Offbeat riding safaris, famous for lifechanging adventures and innumerable close shaves with dangerous big game. But Life on the Edge is also the story of compassion, conservation and, ultimately, tragedy. In the last two decades of his life, Voorspuy helped transform the overgrazed and drought-blighted Sosian Ranch in Northern Kenya into a celebrated game reserve, acclaimed tourist destination and successful cattle ranch. True to form, it was while defending this property that an unarmed Tristan was gunned down and killed, a murder that sent shockwaves around the world.
‘Captivating’ -- Country Life
'Voorspuy’s story has been beautifully written by Adrian Dangar.’ -- Marcus Armytage, The Daily Telegraph
‘A gripping story, funny, inspiring and sad.’ -- Charles Moore, The Spectator
'From his epic motorbike ride from Cairo to Cape Town, to extraordinary wildlife encounters and many death-defying light aircraft near misses, Life On The Edge documents how Tristan was determined to live life to the full. It is also the story of compassion, conservation and, ultimately, tragedy.' -- Horse & Gemma Redrup Hound * Horse & Hound *
'Apologies for the cliché but this was my ‘most anticipated book of the summer.’ Quiller books never disappoint and this was no exception. This is an awe inspiring, amusing and ultimately heart rendering biography, written by Adrian Dangar, friend and colleague of Tristan Voorspuy. Anyone who has experienced a riding safari, or who plans one in the future will devour this book. It is a bold, colourful tribute to Voorspuy, the man, the adventures and the surroundings, most definitely a life lived to the full.' -- Louise Broderick * Haynet *
'...a powerful memorial to a great man that the World has to its great misfortune lost forever.' -- Peter Brook * Baily's Hunting Directory *
'This book... is beautifully written and a most fitting tribute to a life well-lived, a life which left much that is both positive and enduring.' -- Simon Doughty * Guards Magazine *
'Sometimes a life richly lived can be more enthralling than fiction. The true tale of African adventurer Tristan Voorspuy fits the bill... This book, rich with detail and beautiful photographs, is a fitting tribute.' -- Philip Bowern * Western Morning News *
'Life on the Edge is the story of someone who "pranced" where the rest are destined to "plod"... Danger runs fast through Mr Dangar's book. One of Tristan's nine lives disappears in the wreckage of a terrifying gyrocopter incident and his penultimate one is lost as he's shunted along the ground by a hippo after being knocked from his horse. However, this is the story of a man in full. Its strength as a biography lies in its honesty; as well as bravery and endeavour, there are marital infidelity, flashes of arrogance and moments of snobbishness. Tristan met his death at the sharp end of an AK-47 during Kenyan socio-political unrest. It's hard, in some ways, to understand why he rode out to a lodge occupied by armed poachers, but most of us lack the sort of passion that Mr Dangar portrays so brilliantly — a passion, in Tristan's case, for a magical landscape and all the wild creatures that live there.' -- Patrick Galbraith * Country Life *
'When Tristan Voorspuy was murdered trying to protect his property in Kenya in March 2017, it sent shockwaves around the world...using his diaries and the testament of family and friends, Voorspuy's story: Life on the Edge; has been beautifully written by Adrian Dangar.' -- Marcus Armytage * Daily Telegraph *
'This tribute to him, by Adrian Dangar, his friend for 30 years, is a wonderful testament to a life lived with passion and enthusiasm. It affords the reader the opportunity to get to know the man so many called a friend, and pays fitting to a charismatic conservationist, who won a troop of friends... Voorspuy's life reads like a book. And a book you want to read. How fortunate that Dangar has made it such an eloquent one.' * The Field *
'One of the questions I asked myself having read this book was: "What sort of life does someone need to live to merit a biography?" And does dying a tragic death somehow make the subject that much more worthy of one? Well I now have no hesitation in saying that, with or without such a violent end, Tristan's lives and passions indeed to deserve such a biography, and Adrian Dangar has written a very good one indeed.' -- Rupert Watson * Old Africa *
'In this account (...), full of hair-raising escapades, Tristan strides across the page as a swaggering, fearless but compassionate man who took Africa to his heart and inspired everyone he met to share his enthusiasm for its wild beauty and the need to conserve it.' * BASC Magazine *
ISBN: 9781846893803
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
232 pages