The Most Offending Soul Alive
, by Heimann, Judith M.
- ISBN: 9780824821999 | 0824821998
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 12/1/1999
An English eccentric and adventurer, Tom Harrisson (1911-1976) sought knowledge and renown in a dizzying number of fields, while breaking most of the rules of "civilized" society. This hugely enjoyable story of his extravagant, controversial life offers a sympathetic and insightful look at a charismatic figure who offended as many people as he impressed at the twilight of colonialism on the fringes of the British empire.
By age twenty-one, Harrisson had carried out pioneering ornithological research and explored the flora and fauna of Northern Borneo. While still in his twenties, he wrote a best-selling book based on his experiences living among cannibals in the South Pacific. The next decade found Harrisson applying the techniques of bird-watching to his fellow Britons in what became Mass-Observation, a precursor to modern market research. Later, he won the DSO for parachuting into Borneo behind enemy lines and organizing an army of blow-piping headhunters who eventually killed more than a thousand Japanese soldiers.
After the war Harrisson settled in Born
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