The Jackpot Story

Cape Town: Howard Timmins, 1965. Hardcover. Very Good/Good-. Signed by Author(s). Inscribed by author on title page. Red cloth boards stamped in black. Dust jacket is heavily chipped; shows toning; in an archival mylar sleeve. 24 photographs on plates. 196 pages. Autobiographical account of Jack Stodel (1899-1979), sportsman and adventurer, soldier in German East Africa during the first World War, and a theatre manager and entrepreneur in South Africa. His first book, The Audience is Waiting, tells of his families involvement in the theatre business. In The Jackpot Story he writes of his hunting and fishing adventures in southern Africa, his experiences in German East Africa during World War I, and his travels in Hawaii and the United States in 1954. Contents: [Part I: The Cooking Pot] 1. Waterhole in the Namib. 2. Bushmen hunt with bows and poisoned arrows. 3. Oupa Rudiger. 4. Jack Pietersen. 5. ''Don't Point Hill''. 6. Leopard Trapping. 7. Leopard Hunting. 8. My most unforgettable character: Hanni. 9. Crocodiles are Killers. 10. Truth is stranger than fiction. 11. Donkerhoek. 12. The Bushman and the Lion. 13. A Marlin came out of the sea. [Part II: American Journey, 1954] 1. New York. 2. Los Angeles. 3. Pacific Voyage. 4. Honolulu. 5. San Francisco. 6. Las Vegas. 7. Final Stages. [Part III: A Soldier in World War I] 1. Boy Soldier. 2. German East Africa. 3. On from Dodowa. 4. Major Pretorius. 5. Last Days in German East Africa. 6. England. 7. France.