MeatEater's American History: The Long Hunters

by Steven Rinella (Author & Narrator), Clay Newcomb (Author & Narrator)

Listening time = 6 hours and 3 minutes

From the creators of the New York Times bestselling series Campfire Stories: Close Calls comes a new original audiobook that brings to life the bold, hair-raising, and often tragic adventures of a generation of eighteenth-century frontiersmen: the Long Hunters.

Steven Rinella (The MeatEater Podcast) and Clay Newcomb (MeatEater’s Bear Grease podcast) gather listeners for a new round of stories, this time drawing from the lives of the rugged Long Hunters, who include such figures as Daniel Boone, Henry Skaggs, and Kasper Mansker. These were the commercial hunters and trappers who explored and exploited the First Far West, the land across the Appalachian Mountains, in the era between the Seven Years War and the American Revolution—one of the most fabled periods of American history.

The feats of these courageous, resilient backwoodsmen forever shaped a national identity centered around individualism, capitalism, freedom, and the need for wild places and wild animals.

Genres: History, Audiobook, Nonfiction, American History, Wildlife, Education

Audiobook

Published January 9, 2024

About the author

Steven Rinella is the host of the Netflix Original series MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast. He's also the author of six books dealing with wildlife, hunting, fishing and wild game cooking, including the bestselling MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for Every Hunter and Angler.

Reviews

[Caleb Fogler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of how it was delivered. The back and forth of each narrator was not enjoyable and felt almost like a presentation without a visual.

If this was in a book format, I personally would’ve enjoyed it more. I think it would’ve benefited from map of the territories mentioned and locations within those territories as well as layouts of some of the camping sites. It also would have benefited from pictures of museum artifacts such as the gear or of the only portrait of Daniel Boone that was mentioned in the last chapter.

The sources mentioned in the book and the disclosures of what was mention and how realistic some of the accounts are did help me better interpret the events mentioned in the book.

[Brett Shand · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I love Steve Rinella and everything the does. He is such a smart person and is an expert at what he does. He has a way of explaining hunting and woodsmanship in a way that many people do not think of. I do not hunt, but his passion for environmental conservation and love for the outdoors is contagious.

He talks about Daniel Boone a lot in his other books and TV show. This is a household American name, but I knew almost nothing about him other than he was an old American western frontier explorer. When I saw that he wrote a book about Daniel Boone, and what life was like for this niche group of people that he belonged to I had to pick it up on audio format.

It's narrated by Steven, which is great because his voice is excellent and he really knows his stuff. This is a well researched book that has inspired me to learn more about American history. It might not be for everyone, but if you like stories of adventure, wild animal encounters, and early American interactions with Native Americans then I think it might be worth picking up.

[Casan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. I was looking forward to this, and it did not disappoint.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at a short chunk of American history! Perfect for the every day history buff, but even better for the outdoorsman! I enjoyed learning through the stories these authors read/wrote. If you have ever watched MeatEater, you know what you’re in for!

The audiobook is read by the authors and they are both understood at faster speeds.

Thank you PRH Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

[Keenan Bartlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Long Hunters" by Steven Rinella offers an immersive journey into the world of hunting, blending captivating storytelling with deep insights into nature and the hunter's mindset in the late 1800s. Rinella's personal experiences paint a vivid picture of the thrill of the chase and the bond between hunter and prey. While the narrative occasionally meanders, overall, it's a compelling read for anyone with a passion for the great outdoors and the early years of life in America.

[Jackson Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic audiobook that has lots of great information as well as being very well narrated. Clay Newcomb and Steve Rinella feed off each other perfectly with a perfect mix of both. The detail that the narrators go into about an often untold part of American history is amazing to me as well; I had never even heard the term Long Hunter before this book and now I feel that I could teach someone the topic. This book is well worth the listen!

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains interesting details on the American long hunters and interesting snippets from Daniel Boone.
This book created a bridge for me to better understand the financial economy of the mid 1700’s and how integral the fur trade was.

[Amak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5 stars

Fairly interesting look at a time period/topic I didn't know much about. Wasn't as exciting of a tale as I thought it would be. Still a good read.

[Tanner Schmoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun listen. Cool history of Daniel Boone, his colleagues, and how Kentucky (and the WABBLES area) was settled by hunters.

[Jad Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

[John Minch · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read and an interesting take on a period of history often overlooked for its purported political insignificance. For me this demystified the semi legendary character of Daniel Boon and explained the baffling etymology of the "Kentucky Long Rifle". If you have an interest in hunting or fishing, I hazard to guess you will enjoy this more than others.

[Sam Hearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, quick and informative!

[Lys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and well presented. My biggest gripe for the audiobook was that they kept mentioning what they would be presenting in later chapters. I enjoyed the podcast feel, however.

Also, being from WV, I know it’s technically correct but I refuse to accept Western Virginia. 😂

[Sean Hayslett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and entertaining, but not nearly as revelatory and in-depth as I had hoped. It was a lot of anecdotes I’d already heard from the podcast. Some new material, but nothing earth shattering. I think it would have been better as a text-based book with maybe some backup reference material.

[Logan Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay.

[Gonzalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never judge an audiobook by its cover. Most things with 1761-1775 somewhere in the title would be of immediate interest to me, but having “Meateaters” rubbed me wrong, even if identify myself as one. My brother in-law got it, and considering it is only a few hours long, I decided it could hardly be a terrible waste of my time. It was in fact quite the opposite. Sure, it might seem more like a podcast than an actual book—lines are blurring this day, and writers got to eat…sorry—and it is certainly very popular history. But, to the foreigner that did not go to high school in this country, there was a lot of new information, and a lot that wanted to sound familiar. In many ways, I feel highschoolers are the target audience of the audiobook, young men that have an interest in hunting, and might have some interest in the beginnings of their “hobby.” In many ways, I think would be a great resource for teachers of US history, to give a different spin on things they might have already covered, and to help engage students less interested in politics and battles. In many ways, I felt I was reading a short, hyperfocused history of colonial America with very familiar themes: Atlanticism, elites vs common folk, colonist vs natives…You get a bit of that in just over six hours! And deer, guns, and a very clear impression that what the long hunters did was anything but a walk in the park.

I would gladly get my hands on another history book by these guys. I remain unconvinced about bear meat though.

[Scotty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A road trip listen. I must review this as an audio book; maybe the tangible book would be better, and here's why it is not a good audio. Why are two people reading the book? It is distracting and nonsensical. It shows that Steven Rinella is the author and narrator, but that's not true. Clay Newcomb also reads and had a hand in the writing. I like Clay Newcomb's podcast, and I am an avid listener. But I digress.
The Long Hunters would be a very good story to tell, maybe from the 3rd person omniscient viewpoint, but the telling of the long hunters' story is all over the place. Listening to the book while driving, the narrative bounced all over the place, from the new colonies to England and back then bouncing around the territories of North America and among various participants in the story/stories. I wanted so badly to follow a line of thought, but then there it goes . . . we are off on another tangent of the fur trade business or debunking a Daniel Boone myth. Also, would someone please tell the editor of this book the difference between farther and further? There is a difference.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding insight into the Daniel Boone era of hunter’s (The Long Hunters) that trekked into the “First Far West” in search of one of the hottest commodities of the time, white tailed deer skins. Explores every aspect of the topic including: the type of men of the time that got into this field , what forced these hunters to go Westward, how hunting camps were organized and the tools they used , the entire process of hunt to market of the deer skins, and the dangers they faced. Most importantly, in my opinion, Steve and Clay make sure to discuss the impacts of market hunting on Native American tribes and the exploitation of America favorite big game animal to near extinction and how it changed hunting from a market to a conservation effort. As the deer populations dwindled , the Revolutionary War happened and was won, and the resulting population explosion of Kentucky and surrounding areas occurred, new era of hunters emerged as hunters pushed even further West, The Mountain Men. Which happens to be the topic of the second installment of MeatEater’s American History series and a personal favorite era of mine. I can’t wait to start it soon.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic (audio)book that not only tackles a fascinating topic, but does a great job of demonstrating how our modern perception of historical characters can lack solid ground.

I was initially distracted by the accents of the readers, particularly by one readers halting speech pattern, but you get used to it, and by the end I thought it added a lot to the experience.

The authors seemed to spend a lot of time explaining how they interpreted the primary sources of their research. At first this was a little tiresome, but I think it opens up the book to a wider audience. It also helped explain their choices when it came to referencing Native American tribes, whose perspective I think they did an above average job of elucidating

[Bpaul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this as soon as I could. I really enjoyed the specificity of detail that the team brought to this book. I liked, also, that Clay Neucomb and Rinella narrate the work.

Basicaly, this is a hands-on type of telling of history. They get into details that historians would normally leave out -- specifics of how the Long Hunters plied their trade.

Loved it, look forward to their next -- which I believe will be on Mountain Men.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting Audiobook about the long hunters and the European deer skin trade out of what would become Kentucky and the Ohio Country during a 14 year period between 1761 and 1775. Long hunters including Daniel Boone. A trade that started from cattle disease in Europe and ended by the American Revolution which ended deer skin demand in England. This a story of the opening of the first far west, its effect of Native American tribes, and the wildlife of that region.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't recall who recommended this to me but it was really good. A well researched history of the frontier hunters (Daniel Boone and company) in the 1700s. The authors do a good job of separating myth and reality while walking you through the industry of hunting for mostly white tail deer and then selling the skins to send back east and to Europe. What a tough life these families lived, often cut short due to the hazards of life hunting in the unsettled areas of Kentucky and Tennessee.

[Joanna]

A tremendously interesting work featuring a pivotal time in the economic and social development of early America. Many colorful characters and a thoughtful approach to the nuances of colonialism and its problems.
As for the narration... Clay Newcomb is a great reader but Steven Rinella should stick to peddling Dude Wipes: his reading cadence is as bumpy as a ride in an old truck with a flat tire, and it feels like he's selling you something the whole time.

[Jacob Edge · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topic of this book is right up my alley, hard to not keep me enthralled when it comes to the topic of early Americas expansion west and stories of the backwoods and the individuals who shaped it.

Although after reading Robert Morgen’s “Boone” this comes across as nothing more than high school quality book report by Steve and Clay.

Im just happy they kept themselves from trying to pimp Sitka and other overpriced instagram hunting gear in this for once in their career.

[Joey (Eppic) Epperson · Rating 5 out of 5]

From someone who grew up hunting, learned to read from a hunting manual, and loves to learn the history of great Americans, this book was fantastic. I learned some things I didn't know, validated some beliefs I already had, and pushed myself to accept that truth is often fleeting. Steve has a strong voice in this book and proves he is more than just a "tv icon" hunter- bravo.

[Neal Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning of those that came before and how hunting was the necessity that brought people west in the southern parts of the states. This book gave insight to tradition and deeper understanding of the men that helped move the populations over the mountains. Market hunting is a very interesting part of Americas History.

[Brian Samples · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this volume on the long hunters, and it did not disappoint. I wished to understand locations better, in which stations and camps were set up at, but the information provided, was awesome!

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Steven Rinella and Clay Newcomb. This was a fascinating story full of details and incredible knowledge. Audio books are just not my thing. If this were in print, I would probably re-read this year after year.

[Robert Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to consume, well researched work on the long hunters. The entire topic of the long hunters reminds me of the era of long cattle drives, a period looms large in American culture and collective identity but only occupied a fairly short period of time.

[Evan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad summary of the long hunters, however, it was very brief. I would have preferred more detail. This basically just covers topics that any consistent Bear Grease or Meateater listen has already heard.