Murphy and His Law

© Tim Tipton

 

10 Outdoor Books for Hunters and Anglers

By Tim Tipton

 

It is officially winter and while hunting and fishing seasons are still going in much of the country, it is a time of year when many people spend more time indoors. For numerous people, if they can’t be outside enjoying their favorite pastime, they prefer to sit by a warm fire with a glass of their favorite beverage and enjoy reading about their favorite outdoor pursuits.

Fortunately, there is fine outdoor literature to be had for consumption. Below, is a list of ten of some of the finest written words about hunting and fishing. This list was compiled by me after talking to many passionate outdoorsmen and women who are also avid readers. In the end, the one’s that made the list was simply my choice. Here is my top ten, in no particular order.

 

The Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark: This classic, first published in 1953, is a collection of short stories originally published in Field & Stream magazine. It details the relationship of a young Ruark, coming of age and learning hunting, fishing, and life lessons. Most of these lessons are taught by his grandfather and “all the honorary uncles, black and white, who took me to raise,”

 

Death, Taxes and Leaky Waders by John Gierach: You could put nearly any John Gierach book on this list and not be wrong. Gierach lives many angler’s dream life, traveling, fly fishing and writing excellent essays about it. This volume is a collection from six of his well-known books. With forty stories ranging from the proper way to make camp coffee to describing a grayling leaping out of the water, in this collection, you will read some of the finest fly fishing writing ever.

 

The Longest Silence by Thomas McGuane: Thomas McGuane is one of the legends of modern-day American literature and is also a passionate angler. From trout in Montana to Tarpon in Florida, McGuane spins fine tales in this collection of forty stories.

 

Tenth Legion by Tom Kelly: If you enjoy humorous tales of turkey and turkey hunting, Tom Kelly is the author you are looking for. Kelly’s knowledge of the woods combined with his comical takes on turkey hunting make for an entertaining read.

 

Death in the Long Grass by Peter Hathaway Capstick: Few writers know their subjects as well as Capstick. A long-time professional hunter turned writer. Capstick tell a tale as good as anyone who has written about hunting on the dark continent. In this volume you get stories on most all of Africa’s dangerous game like lion, leopard, elephant, rhino. There are also stories involving crocodile waiting for its naive target, and hippo and Cape buffalo charging unsuspecting hunters.  

 

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean: Many people know the film directed by Robert Redford and starring Brad Pitt, but most have not read the classic book that started it all. The late Norman Maclean’s tale is one of family troubles and love, that happens to have fly fishing as a backdrop. It is hard not to enjoy a book that starts with “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.”

 

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway: First published in 1952, The Old Man and the Sea garnered “Papa” Hemingway the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba.

 

The River Why by David James Duncan: Duncan’s novel, first published in 1983, tells the story of a young Gus Orviston coming of age. Gus has a father who is a well-known fly fisherman and a mother who prefers fishing with nightcrawlers. After being caught in between the battles of his dysfunctional parents, Gus flees to a small, remote cabin where he ties flies and builds fly rods for money and pursues steelhead nearly every spare moment. He also experiences an emotional roller coaster as he navigates young adulthood and the hardships and happiness that come with love.

 

Meditations on Hunting by José Ortega y Gasset: "One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted." So goes the words written by Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. classic treatise on hunting should be required reading for hunters and non-hunters alike.

 

De Shootenist Gent’man & Other Tales by Nash Buckingham: Written firsthand in "Ole Southern dialect,” Buckingham’s spins tales of hunting waterfowl during the golden era of the sport. The stories take place along the Mississippi Flyway from the 1890s to 1940s. This is an entertaining read, even if you are not a waterfowl hunter.