No human being has ever lived in closer harmony with tigers than the distinguished Indian naturalist Arjan Singh. For over twenty-five years he devoted his life to the study and support of the great cats, and this enthralling account is the result.

In a wide-ranging historical survey he shows that it was the Victorian British who gave the tiger its bad name: always trying to kill it, they saw the animal only when it was being threatened, and so described it as a cruel and ravening monster. This attitude, continuing far into the present century, reduced tigers to the verge of extinction. Not until the launch of Project Tiger in the early 1970s did the tide begin to turn.

The author played a unique part in the rescue operation, rearing and returning to the jungle a zoo-born tigress called Tara, whom he had acquired as a cub. It is his detailed observation of Tara in the wild, and of the cubs which she bore to a wild mate, that gives his account its special fascination.

From countless hours spent in the jungle, he has distilled a wealth of new knowledge. He shows that tigers, far from being monstrous, have a much more sophisticated social life than lions, and that they are tolerant and considerate towards each other. He also writes with authority on the problem of man-eaters, which appeared in his own district of Kheri, and ends with a moving plea for greater efforts in the field of conservation.