<\/p>
As youngsters, we often discover the world through the pages of what books our parents choose to read us at bedtime. Some learn about the stars and aspire to become astronomers, which is a noble life pursuit. Fortunately, we were read the amazing adventures by some of the biggest names and greatest characters to ever hoist a rifle<\/a>, head afield, then live to write about it. Even as grownups, there are still works that continue to inspire us as outdoorsmen.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Written during his days as a ranchman in the Dakota Badlands, these two wilderness tales<\/a> by our 26th president Theodore Roosevelt endure today as part of the classic folklore of the mostly unexplored West. The narratives provide vivid portraits of the land as well as the people and animals that inhabited it, underscoring Roosevelt\u2019s abiding concerns as a naturalist. <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Jim Harrison is no stranger to the outdoors<\/a>. In this collection of essays<\/a> written between 1965 and 1991, he speaks strongly on the matters of \u201cFood\u201d and \u201cTravel and Sport,\u201d pulling no punches as he decries the ugliness of wasteful butchery of wildlife and nature<\/a> in general. He\u2019s quick to poke fun at \u201cdimwitted machismo\u201d and literary snobbishness, both equally available in the many classes of outdoor writers.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> From trout and ice fishing the waters of the United States to stag hunting<\/a> in France and his obsession of nouvelle cuisine, Just Before Dark explores the passions and concerns of a man who was one of America\u2019s finest writers and a self-proclaimed \u201camateur naturalist.\u201d<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> How can we create a list of classic hunting<\/a> books and not include Ernest Hemingway? In Green Hills of Africa<\/em><\/a>, he is living and hunting East Africa with his wife Pauline. Divided into four parts, including \u201cPursuit and Conversation,\u201d \u201cPursuit Remember,\u201d \u201cPursuit and Failure\u201d and \u201cPursuit and Happiness,\u201d the book is equally interspersed with ruminations about literature and Hemingway\u2019s own adventures of a big-game hunter.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> The events described in the book took place in 1933 though the first edition, which printed just over ten thousand copies, wasn\u2019t published until 1935. For hunters and the avid fan of Papa Hemingway, this is one of the best collections of nonfiction still in print.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Peter Hathaway Capstick was no stranger to the perils of Africa. Just shy of his 30th birthday, he walked away from a successful career on Wall Street to pursue his dreams of becoming a Professional Hunter. He would eventually catch up to those dreams as a PH and game ranger in Zambia, Botswana and Rhodesia.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p>Hunting Trips of a Ranchman & The Wilderness Hunter<\/em> – Theodore Roosevelt<\/h2>
Originally published in 1885, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman chronicles Roosevelt\u2019s adventures tracking a 1,200-pound grizzly bear<\/a> in the pine forests of the Bighorn Mountains. Yet some of the best sections are those in which Roosevelt muses on the beauty of the Badlands and the simple pleasures of ranch life.
The Wilderness Hunter<\/a>, which came out in 1893, remains perhaps the most detailed account of the grizzly bear ever recorded. Plus, TR hunts<\/a> antelope, mountain sheep, caribou, elk, moose, among other wild game of the west. There is an introduction by Stephen E. Ambrose, perhaps most notably known for Band of Brothers, which became an HBO series of the same name.
Note: These two stories are now published as one book.<\/p>Just Before Dark: Collected Nonfiction<\/em> – Jim Harrison<\/h2>
Green Hills of Africa<\/em> – Ernest Hemingway<\/h2>
Death in the Long Grass<\/em> – Peter Capstick<\/h2>