A Splendid Savage: The Restless Life of Frederick Russell Burnham

Journalist Kemper (A Labyrinth of Kingdoms) admirably resurrects the larger-than-life figure of Frederick Russell Burnham (1861%E2%80%931947) in an account chockfull of adventures that feel ripped from dime-store novels. Burnham was perhaps the greatest scout of his age%E2%80%94one whose courage, discipline, and strength of character were celebrated in newspapers and inspired the founding principles of the Boy Scouts%E2%80%94but has been all but forgotten today. He came of age during the last days of the American frontier and trained in the ways of the Apache scout. Burnham ventured from the Klondike to Mexico to Southern Africa in a constant cycle of boom and bust, seeking a great fortune or, failing that, a great escapade. The most remarkable thing about Kemper's account seems to be Burnham's uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time, consistently serving as a minor player in history's unfolding: he served in the Boer War, prospected in two separate gold rushes, and turned down an invitation to join Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. Kemper is well aware of his subject's racist and imperialist tendencies%E2%80%94attitudes he finds common for the time%E2%80%94but in Burnham he also sees an essential American spirit and a paragon of a bygone model of manhood. Illus. (Jan.)