The Meinertzhagen Mystery: The Life and Legend of a Colossal Fraud

by Brian Garfield

Book Overview

Tall, handsome, charming Col. Richard Meinertzhagen (1878-1967) was an acclaimed British war hero, a secret agent, and a dean of international ornithology. His exploits inspired three biographies,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597970417
• ISBN13: 9781597970419
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Debunking

Richard Meinertzhagen has long been one of my "heroes", based partly on his 4 "Diaries" volumes and partly on biographies. Renowned as a world class ornithologist, he also seemed to be both a brave and important military man (particularly in the First World War) and a useful citizen after he left the military. If you don't know of him, read a good biography or a volume of his "Diaries". Then read this book. It comes as a distinct shock to realize that he may have been rather a fraud, and to have been substantially and positively dishonest both in his ornithology and in the construction of at least parts of his "Diaries". The author makes his case with appropriate documentation most of the time, although occasionally he resorts to innuendo or speculation in a way that I at least find rather distasteful. It is also to be noted that he does not accuse Meinertzhagen of total dishonesty at all times. The author also makes a reasonable case that Meinertzhagen had an undue propensity to violence, although the possibility that he may have murdered his second wife is again speculative at best, and should probably have been omitted. That said, the book is a good read with quite enough documentation to mean that it has to be taken seriously. Particularly recommended for those with an interest in military intelligence, zionism and heroes with clay feet.

More evidence of fraud

In Kenya Diary, Meinertzhagen lists game counts throughout the book to the nearest animal, an impossible achievement when animals and observer are in motion. I've tried. Some years ago I asked the University of Nairobi's Mathematics Department to confirm that the game count totals are random. They are not. Meinertzhagen had "favourite" numbers that recur in a non random fashion. Perhaps this is a small matter, but it is yet another small matter.

A Man who Life wasn't Big Enough to Hold

Richard Meinertzhagen was a military hero, explorer, spy, friend of Israel, diarist, world renown Ornithologist and prevaricator. Unlike most people, he reveled in the lies that he told and the reactions of those he told them to. He left an 82 volume library of his 'life', much of which was wishful thinking or down right false, but like Dr.Goebbels he believed that if you tell "The Big Lie" forceful enough and long enough, people will begin to believe. Why would a man who was respected as a world class ornithologist, get himself barred from the British Museum for stealing? Was it for the notoriety? Having re-written his diaries (in some cases many times) and destroying all the previous versions, did he want to be caught after his death? Like publicity, being remembered, whether for good or bad, is still being remembered. Garfield, who admits the man was one of his heroes as a child, spends a lot of time trying to find back-up information to prove RMs tales. But the more his digs, the more his finds that it like digging a hole in the dessert, it buries you. When RM writes that he did so-and-so, Garfield is able to find that not only wasn't he involved, but that RM might not have even been anywhere in the area (much less on the same continent) when the event occurred. Ian Fleming had written that RM was the archetype for "James Bond". He could not have known how right he was in basing his fictional spy on a real-life falsified spy. The sad part is, had RM just written about his real accomplishments, his story would still be one of an outstanding personality; it just wasn't outstanding enough for him.

A history lesson and a thriller all rolled in to one.

Col. Richard Meinertzhagen's exploits are those of either the greatest and most daring man ever to wear a British Military Uniform, or that of the most whopping fraud to walk the earth. Excellent research and a great read.

A Unbelievable Mess

Brian Garfield is a supurb writer. It doesn't matter if he is writing fiction (Death Wish, the book behind the Charles Bronson movie), military history (The Thousand-Mile War about the part of World War II in the Aleutians), or a non-fiction book like The Meinertzhagen Mystery. His writing style is captivating and even otherwise dull subjects come alive. Any book is highly recommended. Col. Richard Meinertzhagen left a history of heroic deeds so dramatic that he was used as the model for Ian Fleming's 'James Bond.' Or at least it is so rumored. His diaries are full of stories so outrageous that you'd think they have to be made up. It turns out that most of them now appear to have been made up indeed. The difficulty is to split out what is true from what is false. And then we need look at what historians have reported as fact based on what is now seen to be false. It's enough to make you wonder about all of history.