Below is a copy of the first Outdoor Sporting Library column I wrote for the Northwoods Sporting Journal, first published in August 2010. Hope you enjoy! The wealth of outdoor literature we have available to us in today’s books and magazines is amazing. The contingent of talented members of the outdoor writing community continues to put together quality products that educate … [Read more...] about OSL’s Debut Column in Northwoods Sporting Journal
The View From Rat Lake (John Gierach)
The View From Rat Lake, published in 1988, was one of John Gierach's first books. Like his others, it's a collection of fly fishing short stories previously published in magazines like Field & Stream, Rod & Reel, Fly Fishing and Gray's Sporting Journal. Stories in the book include tales about popular western trout rivers and their fisheries, fishing prairie ponds, … [Read more...] about The View From Rat Lake (John Gierach)
The Fireside Book of Fishing
In 1959 Raymond R. Camp put together a comprehensive collection of short stories about the sport of fishing. As sportswriter for the New York Times, Camp had great insight into the quality of fishing literature from his contemporaries as well as the authors who had come before him. The 'Fireside Book' is a great introduction to these folks and their best stories. Featuring … [Read more...] about The Fireside Book of Fishing
The Demise of American Sporting Fiction
Ask any youngster who is interested in the outdoors today whether he or she is familiar with Edmund Ware Smith. How about William Faulkner? Arthur Macdougall, Jr? I could go on and on listing the names of once-famous outdoor writers whose era is over. The truth is, the era of American Sporting Fiction has been over for decades. The books and short stories of writers … [Read more...] about The Demise of American Sporting Fiction
John Gierach: Dances With Trout
I was fortunate enough to find a copy of John Gierach's Dances With Trout at my local library last month. Gierach's eighth book, published in 1994, includes 18 short essays on fishing and hunting, including many adventures of Gierach and friends in local Colorado, as well as a trip to Alaska and an adventure in Scotland in search of Atlantic Salmon, and flyfishing for bass in … [Read more...] about John Gierach: Dances With Trout