John Frederick Walker

A revised and updated e-book edition of A Certain Curve of Horn: The Hundred-Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope of Angola issued by Grove Press is now available:

“In A Certain Curve of Horn, John Frederick Walker tells the story of one of the most revered and endangered of the regal beasts of Africa: the giant sable antelope of Angola, a majestic, coal-black quadruped with breathtaking curved horns over five feet long.

As he follows the trail of this mysterious animal, Walker interweaves the stories of the adventurers, scientists, and warriors who have come under the thrall of the beast, and how their actions would would shape the fate of the giant sable antelope and the history of the war-torn nation that is its only home.

First published in 2002, Walker’s account of his quest for Angola’s legendary animal was called ‘riveting,’ ‘fascinating,’ and ‘compelling’ by reviewers, who compared it to Peter Matthiessen’s classic, The Snow Leopard. 

Walker joined the first post-war expedition that found evidence that the iconic creature had survived the country’s horrific 27-year-long civil war, but years passed before it could be photographed—and discovered to be on the brink of extinction. Now Walker brings the story full circle, taking the reader on a last-chance expedition to find Africa’s most magnificent antelope and the heart-pounding conservation triumph of its rescue.”