The Magic of Outdoor Books

A few months or so ago, I received an email from my old fishing buddy Jerry Gibbs, the retired fishing editor of Outdoor Life. Jerry sent me a link to an outdoor column by Paul Bruun, a Wyoming writer lamenting the decline of our classic outdoor literature. The Bruun column also had a link to the unedited copy of the Road to Tinkhamtown by Corey Ford. If you read my columns, you will probably remember that I sometimes refer to the memorable Tinkhamtown story that initially appeared in Field & Stream magazine in 1969. The Road to Tinkhamtown was written by Ford back in 1965

That magical story affected me so much that I now usually end messages to my older hunting and fishing buddies friends with “See You in Tinkhamtown.” If I said that to my non-hunting friends, they would not have the slightest idea what I was talking about. Sadly, I also doubt that our young sportsmen today ever heard of “The Road to Tinkhamtown.”

Mr. Bruun doesn’t pull any punches about the current lack of outdoor stories of yesteryear. “I was and still am thinking about all that wonderful writing that used to come tumbling out of the Madison Avenue produced pure outdoor magazines.”

I agree. I was part of that era of classic outdoor literature no longer published by outdoor magazines. Why has this happened? Why have the editors of today stopped seeking those great stories and authors? I probably subscribe to most outdoor magazines published today, and I have to admit that I’m often fed up with the overload of nuts and bolts articles in every issue. I confess to being an equipment freak, but I also don’t want steak seven days a week. And you really can’t curl up on a cold winter night and read a 20-word tweet. I may well be a victim of new communication technology, but I surely believe we may have lost some of the greatest treasures of outdoor literature.

Young hunters and fishermen, have you ever heard of Corey Ford, Robert Ruark, Gene Hill, Nash Buckingham, Pat McManus, Burton Spiller, Havilah Babcock, Ed Zern, Gordon MacQuarrie? Do you know about The Old Man and The Boy, Lower Forty or Hill Country? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re missing the best part of our hunting and fishing culture. The above men, all deceased, were the masters of outdoor tales of a past age. I knew some of these writers, which gives you an indication of my age, and every one of them was masters of bringing heart and depth to their stories. When they faced charging Cape buffalo in Africa, you were with them, fished for Chinooks in Alaska, hunted quail with their faithful bird dogs and those hair-raising tales of survival.

I urge you to seek out the book dealers and collectors at outdoor shows. They may have the smallest booths at the show, but they offer a treasure of outdoor literature. Look for the authors I mention above or anthologies of outdoor stories. I published several collections of these memorable stories, such as The Road to Tinkhamtown, Gene Hill’s Lost Dog, and many others. If you have trouble finding some of these anthologies, visit Amazon Books. The books are there.

Rick Methot, my hunting and fishing buddy and a fellow columnist is also a strong supporter of this classic outdoor literature, which may be in danger of disappearing in the wake of increasingly smaller and fewer outdoor publications. Rick visits as many flea markets as he can in search of these outdoor books. Like Rick, you may find classic outdoor books for a few dollars. Years ago, I bought a copy of Lawrence Koller’s Shots at Whitetails, one of the best books on deer hunting in the northeast, especially New York’s Catskill Mountains. Koller’s book was published in 1948. Amazon lists it for $50. I bought it at a flea market for $2.

Skip the jerky booth at your local outdoor show and look for these classic books this year. The stories may make you feel differently about your days in the field.

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