- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (Oct 17 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312267800
- ISBN-13: 978-0312267803
- Product Dimensions: 21.7 x 14.1 x 1.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #635,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Whether scrambling up the desiccated slopes of Utah's Desolation Canyon in pursuit of birds known as chukars or whipping a tenuous fly line into the Florida surf, Fergus (A Hunter's Road) relates simple and vivid details in this pleasing account of six years of travel and sport. Perhaps befitting a sportsman, Fergus has a spare writing style and uses only what he needs. The result is a light and enjoyable collection of tales featuring Fergus, his dog Sweetzer and a random cast ranging from a Georgia native known as Fishboy to a modern-day Davy Crockett, whom Fergus dubs the Mountain Man in deference to his flintlock rifle and steady hand with a double-bladed tomahawk. Fergus and the people with whom he hunts are not the beer-guzzling, reckless pillagers of nature who often live in the popular imagination. Even those who don't condone the sport should heed Fergus's points that hunters such as Theodore Roosevelt began the conservation movement, and that development, overgrazing and chemical farming cause incalculably greater harm to animal populations than does huntingAharm that is "rarely perceived by anyone other than the knowledgeable wildlife biologist." Because the book is composed primarily of previously published, though reworked, articles, readers are sometimes reintroduced to people and species that have already appeared. Even so, these overlapping tales have the honest allure of a good campfire yarn. Illus. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Colorado outdoor writer Fergus' essays celebrate bird hunting, friends, dogs, fishing, Native American culture, and the American countryside. Hunting and fishing are his primary concerns, and the majority of the pieces are about hunting turkeys, geese, grouse, partridge, and quail and fishing for bonefish, tarpon, bass, and trout. The sporting activity takes place as Fergus works his way across the country in an Airstream trailer with only his dog, Sweetzer, for company. In addition to accounts of his adventures in pursuit of fish and fowl, Fergus offers vivid descriptions of obscure wildlands in North Dakota, Nebraska, and elsewhere as well as appealing vignettes about cooking, camping, and the people he meets on the road. Insightful observations on the perils facing small towns and farms bring a touch of social consciousness to the easygoing, personable memoir. This book will appeal to those who enjoy the outdoor writing of William Tapply (see below) and Russell Chatham. John Rowen
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
It was opening day of grouse season in Colorado, and things just didn't feel right. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was opening day of grouse season in Colorado, and things just didn't feel right. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A book for non-sportsmen, too,
This review is from: The Sporting Road: Travels Across America in an Airstream Trailer--with Fly Rod, Shotgun, and a Yellow Lab Named Sweetzer (Hardcover)
If you've ever thought about a fisherman's life on the banks of a trout stream or knee-deep in the Bahamian surf, or just contemplated why the seasons change colors, you might want to hitch a ride with Jim Fergus.The self-described "hook-and-bullet hack" -- in fact, one of the most thoughtful hunting and fishing writers in America, a field editor for Sports Afield magazine -- travels "The Sporting Road" like Kerouac with a fly rod and a 12-gauge, where every stream is a stream of consciousness. As you cruise the blue highways from Washington to Florida, Fergus muses about hunters' patient wives, sharptail grouse, bamboo fly-rods, the coming of snow, bonefishing, Native American culture, lives worth living, the perils facing small towns, good dogs and good friends. There's a certain poetry that emanates from somewhere deep down, an echo of a primitive time, brought up-to-date by Airstream trailers, Coleman grills and, for better or worse, Eddie Bauer. This is a good book for non-hunters and non-anglers, the most militant of whom assume avid sportsmen have little conscience or intellect. Fergus proves otherwise. He is an eloquent spokesman for the sporting life, not defensive and clearly thoughtful. If you've ever wanted to understand the allure of frigid mornings in high-plains cornfields, or soggy nights on the banks of an unknown river, or why a hunter would drive for two days for a fleeting glimpse of a bird too small for dinner on its own, read "The Sporting Road."
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book took me back to a time ... not long ago.,
By
This review is from: The Sporting Road: Travels Across America in an Airstream Trailer--with Fly Rod, Shotgun, and a Yellow Lab Named Sweetzer (Hardcover)
Unfortunatly, for me, I was well past middle age (55) before I ever ventured into the woods with a shotgun looking for some game. I was very excited about my first hunt and after three days of not seeing any game, I realized that during that time, I had changed ... from a novice hunter to a man in love with the outdoors. I may not have seen any game but I saw the trees (seemed like the first time) ... and the grass, the river, the lake, the fields, the sun and shadows, the clouds drifting overhead. I listened to the wind, the sounds the trees make when they rub together, the rustling of the grass. In spite of the fact that I carried a weapon and moved thru the woods in a preditory mode (or maybe because of it) I experienced a sense of peace and wonder that I hadn't known since I was a child ... and I loved every moment of it. I felt safe, at one with my surroundings ... I felt like I belonged there. Reading this book brought me back to that place ... and it made me long to get back in the woods as soon as I can. This book spoke to my heart. Thank you Mr. Fergus.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST READ,
By Laurie Morrow (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Sporting Road: Travels Across America in an Airstream Trailer--with Fly Rod, Shotgun, and a Yellow Lab Named Sweetzer (Hardcover)
Jim Fergus is one of the few outdoor writers who has succeeded in "crossing the line" that very few of this literary ilk have ever accomplished -- Hemingway, as example, for one. He is no "hook and bullet writer." He is an American writer and, with his best-selling ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN, an American novelist. Jim's talent lies in his ability to place himself, the storyteller, at a distance in order to come up close and personal with the people, places and inspirations that surround him. In this book, as in HUNTER'S ROAD, what he encounters while on the road, hunting birds, with his companion Lab, Sweetzer is his own, personal, high adventure. In recounting these things, Jim does so with the perception of a child -- full of excitement and wonderment -- yet crafted with care by the masterful wordsmith that he has proven to be. It is a potent combination -- and what makes all of Jim's works so unique and compelling. A MUST READ.
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