Last month, I received a review copy of Georgia Pellegrini’s new book, Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time.  Georgia is a former stockbroker, turned gourmet chef, and then food blogger and author.  It’s a circuitous route that becomes an integral part of the book.

Girl Hunter tells the story of her journey to becoming a hunter, and what it’s meant to her life and to her relationship with food.  This is a pretty hot and happening theme these days, and Pellegrini is an excellent example of what some people would call, “the new face of hunting.”  One thing she is not, as you’ll learn in the book, is your typical “redneck girl”. 

The writing is, at its best, well-crafted and evocative.  But… there’s a mighty fine line between evocative and sticky-sweet, verging on purple.  Georgia dances dangerously back and forth across this line.  I defintely get the sense of nostalgia and of place, but then I start to feel like it’s beating me senseless instead of treating my senses.

Or maybe it’s just my tastes.  I spent a lot of time and thought trying to figure out what it was, exactly, that defines Georgia’s writing.  It finally hit me.  This book is feminine.  The voice, the stories, everything about it says, “I was written by a girl.” 

Of course this shouldn’t come as a surprise to me, having spent a good bit of time reading Georgia’s blog before the book came out.  This is how she writes, and it definitely creates a “personality”.  So as far as that goes, she’s quite consistent.  The “girl hunter” writes with a girly voice.  There’s nothing at all wrong with that, especially because it comes across as fairly genuine.  I appreciate a writer who puts that much of their personality into her work.  This is no indefinite or generic narrator… there’s a very real person behind these words.  Even some of the technical errors struck me as particularly feminine (Note that these may have been corrected in the final release… I received a press copy).

And pardon me here, because I’m going to stereotype.  Flog me later.  (more…)

I know a lot of you who visit here are also familiar with Hank Shaw, the Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.  His blog has been a joy to read as well as a great source of info, whether you’re an aspiring chef or want to learn more about the smorgasbord of edible wild things, flora and fauna.  Someone, at some point a year or two ago, told Hank, “you ought to write a book.”

So he did.

He wrote, and recently published, Hunt, Gather, Cook, Finding the Forgotten Feast.

As the press release that accompanied my copy of the book puts it:

We live in an edible world.  And yet many of us have forgotten the feast that lives all around us.

…

Hunt, Gather, Cook explains how to track down everything from wild mushrooms to mackerel to pheasant.  It also provides innovative ways to prepare wild foods that go far beyond the usual campfire cuisine: homemade root beer, buttermilk fried rabbit, wild greens ravioli, blowfish teriyaki.

This is what Hank writes about, and he does it very well.  Whether it’s on his blog or in the new book, Hank introduces you to wild food that may well be growing right out in your own backyard.  In fact, at one dinner I was priviledged to attend, that’s exactly where our salad came from… his backyard.

Oh, and it rocked!

I’ve had the opportunity to spend a little time with Hank, both at his table and in the field, and both experiences have been rewarding.  I haven’t met many people with his drive to learn things to their very core, and then to take that knowledge and tweak it with his own innovative touches.

And that’s exactly what he’s done in Hunt, Gather, Cook. Hank offers up far more than a traditional cookbook or a foraging guide.  There are plenty of both already on the shelves.  Instead, he’s taken the body of knowledge he’s acquired (he’s still acquiring), and then he tweaks it, like a recipe, until the book has evolved into a very enjoyable read that just happens to teach you a thing or two along the way.  What’s even better, is that Hank is a hell of a wordsmith… something I don’t see enough of in the publishing industry these days.

If you get half a chance, I’d definitely recommend finding a copy and giving it a read.  You can pick it up at Amazon, either in hard-copy or for the Kindle.

I know a lot of you who visit here are also familiar with Hank Shaw, the Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.  His blog has been a joy to read as well as a great source of info, whether you’re an aspiring chef or want to learn more about the smorgasbord of edible wild things, both flora and fauna.  Someone, at some point a year or two ago, told Hank, “you ought to write a book.”

So he did.

He wrote, and recently published, Hunt, Gather, Cook, Finding the Forgotten Feast.

As the press release that accompanied my copy of the book puts it:

We live in an edible world.  And yet many of us have forgotten the feast that lives all around us.

…

Hunt, Gather, Cook explains how to track down everything from wild mushrooms to mackerel to pheasant.  It also provides innovative ways to prepare wild foods that go far beyond the usual campfire cuisine: homemade root beer, buttermilk fried rabbit, wild greens ravioli, blowfish teriyaki.

This is what Hank writes about, and he does it very well.  Whether it’s on his blog or in the new book, Hank introduces you to wild food that may well be growing right out in your own backyard.  In fact, at one dinner I was priviledged to attend, that’s exactly where our salad came from… his backyard.

Oh, and it rocked!

I’ve had the opportunity to spend a little time with Hank, both at his table and in the field, and both experiences have been rewarding.  I haven’t met many people with his drive to learn things to their very core, and then to take that knowledge and tweak it with his own innovative touches.

And that’s exactly what he’s done in Hunt, Gather, Cook. Hank offers up far more than a traditional cookbook or a foraging guide.  There are plenty of both already on the shelves.  Instead, he’s taken the body of knowledge he’s acquired (he’s still acquiring), and then he’s tweaked it like a recipe, until the book has evolved into a very enjoyable read that just happens to teach you a thing or two along the way.  What’s even better, is that Hank is a hell of a wordsmith… something I don’t see enough of in the publishing industry these days.

If you get half a chance, I’d definitely recommend finding a copy and giving it a read.  You can pick it up at Amazon, either in hard-copy or for the Kindle.

Seems like I’m on a roll with gear and book reviews lately, and I guess I have been.  Lots of contacts made at SHOT this year, as always, and lots of stuff still to talk about.   If all goes well, maybe this will keep me busy until I actually go hunting again! 

Anyway, Al Cambronne dropped me a note recently after seeing my review of another book, and asked if I’d be interested in taking a look at the work that he and Eric Fromm did on their book, Gut It, Cut It, Cook It, The Deer Hunter’s Guide To Processing Game.  Of course I told him I’d be glad to give a look, and to provide an honest review.

Well, here’s the thing.  I’ve been processing my own game since my daddy first showed me how to peel the skin off a squirrel.  I remember that I got a break on my first deer, when the old guys in camp showed me how to skin and gut it, but after that, I’ve been pretty much on my own.  Almost 40 years later, I’ve seen and/or tried more different field dressing, skinning, and butchering tricks than I can even remember, and I’ve skinned almost everything from doves and quail to elk and bison.  But I never, ever, read a book about it.  And honestly, I never felt the need to.

However, since I’ve been writing outdoors content, I’ve probably reviewed a couple dozen books or videos on how to field dress, how to skin, how to cape, or how to butcher game.  They’ve all got their high points and low points, but with very few exceptions, none of them really taught me anything I didn’t already know.  I’m just not the target audience, which makes my reviews sort of academic. 

With that in mind, I decided to take a different tack with this one.  I decided to hand this book to someone who has never field dressed or skinned an animal, and get their take on it.  To make it really convenient, and interesting (at least to me), I gave it to someone who will in all likelihood, never skin or dress her own game.  I gave it to my girlfriend, Kat.  All I asked is that she give an honest review.  The key question was, after reading the book would she feel confident that she could process an animal herself.  Here’s what she said:

Recently Phillip handed me this book and asked me if, after reading it, I would be able to butcher my own meat.  Unlike Phillip, I did not grow up processing game meat.  In fact, my butchering skills end at occasionally trimming the fat off store-bought steaks.  And while I strongly feel that all the butchering duties belong to the man as God intended, I agreed to give it a look through.
 
I have to admit, going in I thought this would be just another look-at-me-the-super-hunter type book, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out it wasn’t.  As I read through the pages, it quickly became clear that this book was a frank look at how a deer goes from game animal to dinner.  The book is made to lay flat on the table and comes with a DVD.  I didn’t view the DVD, I only read the book.
 
Overall, the book is heavy on photos showing all steps of the process, but it also has lots of practical advice with a little humor thrown in along the way.  The photos give you a good look at the entire process and are done in painstaking detail.  You see each cut as it really looks in lots of brightly shot, clear images.  I think following the photos alone could get you through the whole carcass, but the insightful commentary helps explain the details. 

The book really starts at the beginning and goes through the entire process.  In Chapter 3, “Shop before you shoot, aim carefully, and don’t shoot your steaks”,  I like the photos showing the kill zones from different angles using a life-sized decoy, and the description of visualizing your shot in 3D.  These are followed by photos of different shots using different ammo and the impact on the meat itself.  The spine shot is very graphic, but a great look at what happens to the meat under the skin.  You just don’t see that one the hunting shows that end at the celebrating over the carcass. 

The book could use some editing.  I got tired of seeing the same photo repeatedly and there were several sections that were stuck in between the middle of hyphenated words that made reading it straight through rough.  But I assume this book was constructed to be taken in sections.  The way it is laid out, you could simply flip to the section you need and start from there.  Also I was surprised that there wasn’t even some basic recipes in the book.  While there are some photos of some tasty dishes, the reader is left to find those in their own kitchen or other books. [Editor's Note:  The DVD that comes with the book provides about 50 recipes, as well as a lot of other information.]
 
So, could I butcher my own game after reading this book?  The instructions are clear, the advice is sound and the pictures are exact so yes, I could… but I still don’t want to.

So there ya go!  An honest review from someone who has never processed her own game. 

For my own part, although I probably will, I haven’t read this book yet.  I’ve flipped through, and I agree that the photos are excellent and provide an unflinching visual guide to how best to kill, dress, and process your deer.  The heavy-duty pages should hold up well to handling in the skinning shed or at the butcher table, and the choice to publish in a ringed binder makes for a really utilitarian handbook.  I could absolutely see this book as the kind of thing you’d keep hanging around deer camp, both for the newbies and to refresh the occasional deer hunter. 

Gut It, Cut It, Cook It has been out for a while, and is currently available through most large book outlets, including Amazon and Borders, as well as through the publisher’s own site, Krause Books.

At the 2011 SHOT Show this year, while waiting on the bus to take us to the range day, I was struck by the number of taciturn, and even downright grumpy, folks standing with me in the queue.  I know, it was still fairly early on a Monday morning in Las Vegas.  A lot of these folks had been out late, probably partaking of the “free” beverages at the tables.  An 06:00 wake-up just to stand outside in the cold to wait for a bus with a bunch of strangers was not likely their idea of fun.

At any rate, I struck up a conversation with a fellow who seemed less grouchy than the rest.  He immediately handed me his card.  William Hovey Smith was his name, and it took a moment for it to register.  I’d seen a couple of his books last year, but never got a chance to read them.  Mr. Smith was not a retiring wallflower, by any stretch of the imagination.  He was quick to let me know who he was and what he did, and just as quick to query me about what I do. 

When he found out I wrote a blog instead of working for a major publisher or magazine, I thought he’d blow me off.  That happens a lot at SHOT, where the industry is only now recognizing the full impact of the Internet.  Smith didn’t miss a beat, though, and before I knew it, he’d taken my card and promised to send me a copy of his latest for review. 

And so, a week or two ago, I received a copy of Backyard Deer Hunting, Converting Deer to Dinner for Pennies a Pound.  The timing couldn’t have been better, as my day job has had me on the road a lot of late.  I’d have plenty of time for reading.

As it turns out, I didn’t really need a lot of time.  The book went quickly, written as it was in Smith’s homey, plain-language.  On a two-hour flight to Spokane I flew through the majority of the 271 pages.  I finished the book on the return flight, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

In a nutshell, Backyard Deer Hunting is a guide to the budget-conscious hunter who wants to feed a family in a healthy and economical way.  As Smith writes in his Forward:

This book is not about looking good, owning fancy gear, impressing anyone, or putting trophy heads on the wall.  This book is about killing deer, wild hogs, bears, and other meats-on-the-hoof, and eating them.

He stays true to this theme throughout, encouraging the reader to use equipment at hand to the point of dumpster-diving for gear and clothing, sharpening up grandma’s old kitchen knives, and even to the recovery and processing of roadkill (where legal).    The point is, you can get into hunting for big game without spending a fortune on gear.  Under the right circumstances, you really can hunt, kill, and process big game for a few cents per pound. 

Dunno if you can tell, but I liked this book.  Smith really breaks it down to basics, cutting through the marketing hype and getting back to the important things.  You don’t need the latest camo patterns, the $200 knives, or even the super-whiz-bang magnum rifle.  According to the book, all anyone really needs is a .22 long-rifle and a 12ga shotgun.  With these guns and a sharp knife, you can hunt, process, and eat pretty much anything from squirrels and birds to deer, hogs, or bear. 

His tone and language are enjoyable as well.  Some folks will find that he comes across a little coarse, but it’s an honest voice.  He doesn’t pull punches, but he doesn’t go out of his way to present an ersatz hominess either.  When I was reading the book, I felt like Smith was just trying to lay it out as plainly as possible.  It isn’t always pretty, but it’s clear.  When you finish reading, you get the message. 

If anything put me off on the book, it would be that Smith could really have used a good copy editor.  There were several instances of misused words where it’s pretty evident that the editors relied on spellcheck program instead of a human reader.  This kind of error in a published work is a real irritation for me because it’s so unnecessary.  Unfortunately, it’s also a reflection of the plight of publishing in the age of blogs and social media.   It seems like no one has the time or patience to get it right these days… and what I think is worse, is that many people don’t seem to care.   

I’ll pull back on the reins here, before I take off down the trail with my personal diatribe against the laziness and de-evolution of our written language.  This is supposed to be a book review.  So…

Despite the sin of weak editing, the book is still an excellent read and could be a real asset to newer hunters who may be intimidated by the pricy stuff they see advertised on TV or in the magazines.  The information it provides outweighs the detraction of little errors.  There’s plenty here that would pertain to experienced hunters as well, particularly when it gets down to meat preparation and cooking. 

Would I buy the book myself?  Honestly, I don’t generally buy how-to books so I probably wouldn’t.  It’s not the kind of thing I read in my free time.  But knowing the content, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the book to someone looking for good instruction on the basics of hunting.  It accomplishes the goal Smith sets out in his forward, and there’s not much more you could ask of any author.

I haven’t had a ton of time for recreational reading over the past year, and my backlog of books has become a little intimidating.  However, with Christmas gift season on the horizon (or already under the keel, if you’re one of those annoying early-birds), I thought I’d better complete a few books that have been sent to me for review. 

We’ll start with a book I’ve actually been sitting on since the 2010 SHOT Show, The Gun Rights War (Amazon.com link here).  I started reading it right after I got home from the show, but it got set aside in the madness of this past spring, and I was only able to get back to it this summer.  Honestly, there are still a couple of chapters I haven’t finished, but that’s only because I’ve been trying to catch up so many other books, magazines, and videos.

For those who’ve been paying attention to the ongoing battles regarding the 2nd Amendment for a while, Neal Knox may be a familiar name.  His involvement started in the late 1960s and continued until his death in 2003.  Knox’s efforts, in large part, laid the groundwork for the NRA’s political and legal action committees.  Knox was a well-known columnist in several shooting magazines at the time, and with that sort of podium and excellent writing skills, he was pretty influential.  This book presents a compilation of his columns, put together and annotated by his son, Chris Knox.

Like many hunters and sportsmen I know, I’ve had a long-standing love/hate relationship with the NRA.  I’ve often challenged their rhetoric and dishonest tactics, but at the same time I’ve always appreciated that they were (at times) the only voice we had fighting to protect our gun freedoms.  In the collection of columns, Knox lays a lot of those arguments out, including some that have practically become cliche, but he does so with logic and examples to support each argument… something that is painfully missing from much of the literature presented by the NRA to rank and file membership, and to the press.  In fact, the way the NRA (mis)communicates to the members and the media became a huge issue for Knox, and eventually led to an upheaval (and his expulsion)… a key point of the book.  Knox insisted on honesty, even when the facts didn’t paint the rosiest of pictures.  As we know, honesty is usually an early casualty when things get political.

For his part, Chris Knox’s annotations help to set the context and history around some of the columns.  Without this background, folks like myself who were still children in the 60s would probably be a little lost.  Chris does a nice job of setting the stage for his father’s words without burdening the reader with too much of his personal interpretation. 

Anyway, if you’re interested in learning more about the gun rights discussion, particularly as it developed over the past three decades, this is an excellent source of information.  You’ll read some pretty scary truths about efforts by various political forces to severely restrict our access to guns (there are some good reasons 2nd Amendment advocates sometimes sound “paranoid”), a good bit about the political contortions on all sides of the debate, and how efforts by the NRA and other organizations have shaped gun laws in this country. 

The most important thing I believe you’ll learn, though, is how important it is for the the membership of the NRA to step up and direct the organization’s path and leadership.  Knox was a huge advocate for empowering the members at all levels so that their voices could be heard, and so that the NRA would reflect the goals and wishes of the members.  Honestly, I believe the organization needs another Neal Knox today. 

Even though I’m not especially active in the gun rights discussion, I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot about things I thought I already knew, and much more that I’d never even heard about.  For anyone who writes much about guns or 2nd Amendment politics, I’d consider this book required reading.

From politics to the skinning shed… (more…)

I just finished reading a great, and very informative book by one of the foremost wild pig researchers in this country, John Mayer, along with Lehr Brisbin.  The book, entitled Wild Pigs in the United States, Their History, Comparative Morphology, and Current Status, was sent to me by the PR folks representing the University of Georgia Press.
 
I asked for the copy in part to serve my hunger for more scientific information about these great animals, and also to see if the authors were able to resolve one of the biggest arguments in hog hunting… how to tell a Eurasian boar hybrid from a plain, old, feral hog.  My objectives were, by and large, met within the pages of the book.

There are some scientists out there who truly write like gifted novelists.  Their prose is tight, reasonably colorful, and involving.  Their work flows like great fiction, and you come away both fulfilled and educated.

Mayer and Brisbin are not in that category.  These scientists write like… well… like scientists.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, except that the reading gets really dry.  I was definitely educated by the time I finished, but some of the book was really a chore to get through.  The morphology section, in particular, goes rapidly over the head of the non-taxonomists in the audience as well, and left me reeling for my old college textbooks. 

Literary criticism aside, though, this book was full of great stuff!  (more…)

A little while before Christmas, in the Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors Journal, I reviewed a couple of books sent to me by Stoeger Publishing.  Stoeger puts out a pile of great titles for the outdoorsman and shooter from a lot of the experts in their fields. 

They’ve since sent a couple of others, including Peter Fiduccia’s Whitetail Strategies: The Ultimate Guide, (which is still on my shelf to be read).  But the other day a new package arrived.  Not expecting anything I tore it open to find The Official NRA Guide to Firearms Assembly: Rifles and Shotguns.  This book includes blow-up drawings and diagrams with basic instructions for assembly and disassembly of all kinds of rifles and shotguns.  Now I don’t spend a lot of time taking my guns apart, because I tend to get myself in trouble when I get it down to the little springs and sears, but I’m pretty confident that with a little past experience and this book, I could do some pretty intensive maintenance on most of the guns in my safe (I’ll still defer work on the semi-autos to the gunsmith). 

Anyway, it’s a nicely put-together piece of work, and I think it would be really handy for any sportsman to have on the shelf.  You never know when you might need pull that shotgun apart, or replace the trigger assembly in your deer rifle.