Best of Field & Stream/100 Years of Great Writing

by J.I. Merritt (Editor)

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Field & Stream with this full and totally entertaining treasury of more than 50 great articles from a century of classic outdoor writing, which includes most of the famous sporting writers of the century.

Genres: Nonfiction

314 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories had me laughing. Some made me cry. Others made me happy that we've moved beyond where we once were...

I'm a late-to-life hunter and haven't fished in years, so I'm probably not *that* outdoorsman they're likely writing to. I don't hunt with dogs, so a lot of those stories were just misses for me. Some authors were amazing at putting me in a place and seeing the world around, others were trying to make it through. There were a couple that I had to set it down a few times and steel myself to continue.

I'm happy I read it and am feeling marginally inspired to write a few more pieces and shop them around. TBD!

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library because I wanted to read fishing stories and also because I was expecting to find some writing by Horace Kephart. Unfortunately there is no Kephart in the book, but that does not diminish the quality of the read in any way. True enough I found many enjoyable stories of fishing at the beginning of the book, but once I progressed to the stories of trapping and hunting I found I still couldn't put it down to save my life. I discovered in these pages a romantic vision of the outdoors I didn't even know I was longing for. One of the reasons I've always been somewhat turned off by hunting is all the gadget geekery that goes into the hardware and accessories. It has become a very technical sport focused on the most efficient, technological limiting-out methods rather than creating an enjoyable experience based on respect and love of the outdoors. The stories in this book are simply dripping with that nostalgic outdoorsman's spirit that even as a non-hunter I have always felt any time I set foot in the woods. After all, hunting and fishing aren't about collecting a bunch of toys and racing around the back of yonder, they're about respect for the natural world that no matter how hard we try to fool ourselves we are still apart of, and about being able to rely on yourself when so much of the focus of civilization is luring you into dependency of one form or another. If only Field & Stream still had writing of this caliber, but alas a browse of the most recent issues shows it too has fallen prey to the times and given over mostly to gadgets, gizmos, and the hypertechnicalization of what should be the most un-technical experiences in a person's life. Then again, there aren't too many Kepharts and Zerns around anymore either.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book and its opposite number from "Outdoor Life" magzine in an effort to track down a story I read over 50 years ago in one of these magazines. Sadly the story is still out there, waiting for me to track it down. I'll continue the quest.
In the meanwhile, let me say I enjoyed the wonderful stories and writing in this collection. Getting to read tales from Zane Grey, William G. Tapply, Havilah Babcock, Archibald Rutledge, Ted Trueblood, Frank Dufresne, Warrem Page, Gene Hill and Robert Ruark - tales that, for the most part, I read 50 years ago as a youngster, carried me back to the days of "What Might Be." And that's never a bad thing.

[Pierre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Color me unimpressed...I didn't really like the first few stories that I read...I ended up getting bored and put the book down. Meh.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of outdoor writing. I ended up photocopying a number of stories from this book to keep in my files for later re-reads.