Frank Young: An Angler for the Ages
As a trout fisherman, Frank was simply the best I have ever been privileged to witness in action, and I’ve been astream with the likes of Gary Borger and Lee Wulff.
The Outdoor Writing Life
It is commonplace for long-established writers, late in their careers, to indulge in some type of retrospective look at their decades of literary endeavor. The word “indulge” is used advisedly, because to some degree virtually every such effort involves cosseting of...
The Lords Of Loafers Glory
During the middle of the past century, it was commonplace for old men, maybe a smattering of somewhat younger n’er-do-wells and boys to congregate in popular gathering places. In small towns and rural crossroads, those spots were almost always a country store,...
Zane Grey in Print: A Collector’s Guide
There are many facets, some of them controversial or even contradictory, to Zane Grey’s career: oddball youngster with an overbearing father, exceptionally skilled collegiate baseball player, disillusioned dentist, struggling and often depressed young writer trying to...
Dreams of Duxbak Days
There’s wisdom aplenty in his words, and as I become increasingly long of tooth and sparse of hackle fond memories of youth’s halcyon days seem to grow in importance. That’s a common human trait and likely always will be. Most of these dreams of yester-youth are...
Women Writers On African Travel, Sport, And Adventure
Dubbed the “Dark Continent” by Victorian explorers who were fascinated by its geographical mysteries and incredible abundance of game, Africa has been the setting for a massive outpouring of literature of interest to sportsmen. The latter half of the 19th century on...
The Best of Robert Ruark
Anyone with so much as a passing acquaintance with sporting literature is familiar with Robert Chester Ruark. He is probably the best-loved and most widely read outdoor writer of this century. Certainly, Ruark’s timeless and immensely popular books The Old Man and the...
Robert Ruark: A Man of Startling Contrasts
Robert Ruark could be a tough and cruel rogue, but he was also considerate, fun-loving and generous to a fault.
Rowland Ward: Entrepreneur, Publisher, Big Game Guru and Taxidermist
Although the average big-game hunter may know little if anything about the life of an individual who was a man for all seasons in the world of Victorian and Edwardian sport, Rowland Ward, virtually everyone is aware of the long-running series of record books bearing...