Originally Posted by Ken Howell
He was truly a complex individual with more than one facet, but some traits and attitudes were as blunt, as clear, and as uncomplicated as a swift kiss of brass knuckles in the snot locker.


I've five or six of Askins Jr's books on the shelf. One leaves the reading of Asian Jungle - African Bush with an entirely different idea of his personality than from Unrepentant Sinner. The former book benefited from the editorial services of E. B. Mann and John Amber. It's price has dropped recently on Amazon, ABE, and other used book sources, and it's worth the price to read Askin's descriptions of hunting with Harry Pope's grandson Allen and his wife Yvonne.

A strange coincidence: Col. Kurtz in Conrad's Heart of Darkness is one of the more enigmatic characters of literature. In Coppola's movie version, "Apocalypse Now", one of the special oddities of Kurtz's military career was his paratroop training at the age of 40+. Our Col. Askins was similarly trained at about the same age. On his own in SE Asia, unlike Coppola's Kurtz, Askins did not go native but went hunting with the natives.

--Bob

Last edited by BullShooter; 11/14/10.