What do you think?
Rate this book
Game in the Desert
This book—a reprint of the original 1939 edition—offers an in-depth look at some of the most sought-after game in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Included are black and grizzly bears, doves, elk and deer, and even Mexican jaguars. Each animal-dedicated chapter details habitat and behavior and includes stories from the author. Based mostly on the author’s observations of game while on the hunt or just exploring in the field, this classic is a departure from natural history books that “are simply a rehash of other books that are a rehash of still other books.”
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 28, 1955
9 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Jack O'Connor
81 books18 followersJack O'Connor was best known as a writer for Outdoor Life, magazine, where he served as Shooting Editor for 31 years.
Jack O'Connor taught English at the University of Arizona, and became its first journalism professor. His first love was the outdoors and writing about hunting, firearms, and the natural history of big game animals. As the longtime firearms editor for Outdoor Life magazine, O'Connor hunted and collected trophies throughout the world, and introduced millions of readers to hunting and firearms. O'Connor moved to Lewiston, Idaho in 1948 and he lived there until his death in 1978.
O'Connor was well known among shooters and hunters as a proponent of the .270 Winchester and 7x57mm Mauser (.275 Rigby) cartridges. His knowledge of hunting and shooting was extensive, and he had a firm opinion on everything. He was one of America's greatest hunting and gun writers of the twentieth century.
Jack O'Connor authored over a dozen non-fiction books including "Game in the Desert" "The Rifle Book" "The Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns" "The Big Game of North America" "The Art of Hunting Big Game in North America," and "Sheep and Sheep Hunting" He also wrote two western novels, "Conquest," and "Boom Town," and the autobiography of his formative years: "Horse and Buggy West: A Boyhood on the Last Frontier."
According to his son Bradford, in an introduction written for the 2004 book, "The Lost Classics of Jack O'Connor," Jack wrote more than 1200 articles for hunting and fishing magazines, and also wrote romantic novellas and articles for Redbook, Mademoiselle, Reader's Digest, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, the literary magazine Midland, and other magazines popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
Thanks to his education and teaching experience O'Connor's writing skills and style were far above the norm for outdoor magazines. An O'Connor story always taught the reader something about hunting, shooting, or sportsmanship. He had the ability to make the reader feel as if they were right there with him, and he usually closed a hunting story with a bit of humor or an exclamation by one of the characters, leaving the reader eager for more.
Jack O'Connor taught English at the University of Arizona, and became its first journalism professor. His first love was the outdoors and writing about hunting, firearms, and the natural history of big game animals. As the longtime firearms editor for Outdoor Life magazine, O'Connor hunted and collected trophies throughout the world, and introduced millions of readers to hunting and firearms. O'Connor moved to Lewiston, Idaho in 1948 and he lived there until his death in 1978.
O'Connor was well known among shooters and hunters as a proponent of the .270 Winchester and 7x57mm Mauser (.275 Rigby) cartridges. His knowledge of hunting and shooting was extensive, and he had a firm opinion on everything. He was one of America's greatest hunting and gun writers of the twentieth century.
Jack O'Connor authored over a dozen non-fiction books including "Game in the Desert" "The Rifle Book" "The Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns" "The Big Game of North America" "The Art of Hunting Big Game in North America," and "Sheep and Sheep Hunting" He also wrote two western novels, "Conquest," and "Boom Town," and the autobiography of his formative years: "Horse and Buggy West: A Boyhood on the Last Frontier."
According to his son Bradford, in an introduction written for the 2004 book, "The Lost Classics of Jack O'Connor," Jack wrote more than 1200 articles for hunting and fishing magazines, and also wrote romantic novellas and articles for Redbook, Mademoiselle, Reader's Digest, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, the literary magazine Midland, and other magazines popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
Thanks to his education and teaching experience O'Connor's writing skills and style were far above the norm for outdoor magazines. An O'Connor story always taught the reader something about hunting, shooting, or sportsmanship. He had the ability to make the reader feel as if they were right there with him, and he usually closed a hunting story with a bit of humor or an exclamation by one of the characters, leaving the reader eager for more.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 23, 2022
O’Connor was a great hunting and gun writer and when I was a kid my father read Outdoor Life religiously just for his monthly column. This early 1939 book about Arizona wildlife is one of his best. It’s a product of its time though, some of the comments about Mexicans are a lot less than politically correct. I don’t share his low opinion of mountain lions and coyotes either.
April 8, 2022
One of his best.
January 15, 2023
A throwback. Loved it!
I loved this book. The writing is excellent and it evokes nostalgia for the good ol’ days. Very informative about big game in the Southwest.
I loved this book. The writing is excellent and it evokes nostalgia for the good ol’ days. Very informative about big game in the Southwest.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews