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Bring 'Em Back Alive
The Best of Frank Buck 

Introduced and Edited by Steven Lehrer

Timeless classics of adventure and daring for anyone who “likes to sit on the edge of his chair and gasp for breath as his eyes eat up the print to see what happens next.”—New York Times Book Review

In 1930, the publication of Bring ’Em Back Alive, an instant best seller, made its author, Frank Buck, an international celebrity. These animal stories told by the intrepid Texas animal collector and jungle adventurer enraptured generations of readers.

Buck spent his life capturing alive every kind of animal, from birds to snakes to elephants. Because there were no tranquilizer darts in those days, he learned to build traps and snares in ways that prevented injury to the animals he caught. Buck always accompanied his animals on shipboard to America to be sure they were well treated, and refused to sell to anyone who did not have an impeccable reputation for animal care.

The creator of the Dallas zoo in the 1920s, Buck was a hero ranking with Lindbergh, Ruth, and Dempsey. The dashing and powerful Buck leapt easily from Simon and Schuster’s published pages to the silver screen, portraying himself in Wild Cargo and Fang and Claw. He was also the model for the jungle film director Carl Denham (played by Robert Armstrong), who brings Fay Wray to Skull Island in King Kong.

This new edition of Bring 'Em Back Alive, expanded and edited by Steven Lehrer, captures not only the best of Frank Buck, but also the excitement and glamour of an era and lifestyle that still hold readers spellbound.

“Bring 'Em Back Alive: The Best of Frank Buck, introduced and edited by Steven Lehrer, is a delight for anyone interested in wildlife and conservation…a wonderful reminiscence for old  timers like me, and an adventurous introduction to the past for young wildlife enthusiasts.”  
Charlie Hoessle, Director, St. Louis Zoo  

"I do not know when I have read a book concerning wild animals that is so interesting from cover to cover."
George Eastman
Eastman Kodak Company


subject: nature, jungle animals

Bring 'Em Back Alive: The Best of Frank Buck
Texas Tech University Press, 2000
256 pages, 6 x 9
(cloth) $28.95 ISBN: 0 89672 430 1
25 B&W photos, map, notes, bibliography, index