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Eagle Dreams: Searching for Legends in Wild Mongolia

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I was a junior in college when my dad sent me a copy of a new magazine he had started receiving at home called Gray's Sporting Journal. An English student and avid sportsman, I turned immediately to the book review section. Typically, I did not expect much from a sporting magazine's book review; seldom did these reviews actually convey much critical information.

This was the first time I read Steve Bodio's by-line. I read his review column, then went back and read it again, and again. In three pages, I knew this was a writer that deserved my attention. In fact, I had never read anyone who so passionately loved books and the sporting life, and who also wrote about those passions so beautifully. As Bodio himself once wrote about another writer: "He's THAT good."

Steve Bodio is a cult writer, a characterization I once heard Bodio himself acknowledge. Those of us who make up this cult cannot figure out why he isn't better known. Quite possibly it is because he is a naturalist who remains an unapologetic hunter, a hunter who would rather discuss natural history than the latest camouflage pattern, and a writer who ignores current fashions and writes about subjects like falconry, pigeons, catfish and wild freedom.

This latest book, on Mongolia, is a wonderful travel book that one hopes will introduce Bodio to a new and expanded readership. "Eagle Dreams" traces Bodio's fascination with the eagle hunters of Mongolia to the realization of the dream during the course of two trips.

Calling "Eagle Dreams" a travel book is perhaps unfair; it is not easily placed into a neat category. It is a travel book, a sporting book, a nature book, a "sense of place" book-but none of those categories convey its real spirit.

Bodio has a naturalist's keen curiosity, conveyed through vivid descriptions of everything from eagles to malaria. He has a fascination with even the more common creatures, writing of the magpies and pigeons he finds with a delight that seems as if he is seeing these creatures for the first time. He captures Mongolia's interesting history, its nomadic culture and the difficulties of travel in a way that is humane, engaging, and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny.

Of course, there is a lot of falconry here, with fascinating writing about the eagle hunters of Mongolia, their methods, their birds and their lives.

Bodio does not take his travels for granted, in stark contrast to the writers of many modern travel books. His travels to Mongolia are the realization of a dream, and he conveys just what it is like for a lover of words and ideas to finally stand in a place one has imagined deeply. I suspect many of us who grew up dreaming of travel that seemed so beyond our means can relate to this; I have never read any writer who conveys this feeling better. His observations on the "sountrack" of such experiences are worth the price of the book.

This book is a good introduction to Steve Bodio, capturing his love of animals and wild places, his opinionated (and true) observations on our society's maddening political correctness and Puritanism, his embodiment of a well-lived life (again, to paraphrase him on another subject, I'm not sure that he is making much of a living but what a life!), his literary musings that lead one to believe he has read EVERYTHING, and a writing style that is just a joy to read.

Ultimately, this book seems to be saying, that, even in an increasingly tamed and conformist world, there is still quarry to hunt, books to read, birds to watch, adventures to live. It's not a message you'll find in many travel-to-unusual places books. If for that reason alone, read this book.

Stephen J. Bodio's Eagle Dreams is one of the best books I've ever read. By turns lyrically poetic, hilariously funny, dramatic, touching, and inspiring, this book is travel writing at its very best. Most authors cannot approach Bodio in terms of talent, in the way his masterful prose brings scenes and people (in this case, the wilds of Mongolia and the tribesmen who hunt with golden eagles) to life and puts the reader in the middle of the action. Fascinating, exotic story, beautifully told. Buy this book!

EAGLE DREAMS is an excellent corrective to all those gonzo travel books whose writers always seem to be in a state of adrenalin overdrive. While reading it, I actually learned about Mongolia; how to get around, how to use the not necessarily user-friendly (at least to a Westerner) Mongolian lavatories, and much, much else. Indeed, it's one of the few recent travel books (of course, it's more than just a travel book) I've read where I didn't feel the author was faking it -- i.e., making up many of his adventures. Integrity seems to be Bodio's middle name. Highly recommended!!

Anyone who has ever been obsessed by an obscure, exotic subject will understand how Mr. Bodio's only means of satisfying his curiosity about eagle hunters was to go to Asia and experience eagle hunting for himself. This book is an antidote to the detatched, 'snarky', belittling travel writing which has lately infected adventure magazines and travel literature generally. Bodio clearly went to Mongolia desiring to learn as much as possible, and to delight in the local culture. His portrait of the eagle hunters is surprisingly optimistic, full of confidence that strange, archaic traditions can still thrive in the modern world. If you have ever fantasized about rediscovering lost arts in forgotten corners of the earth, or about having a mighty bird at your beck and call, then this book will contain much to delight you.

I don't hunt or fish or tramp around in the wilderness but, despite that, I was entranced by this book - couldn't put it down. To me, it's a story of how one person, in this case a brilliant and engaging writer, managed to achieve a dream he'd held since childhood. Bodio is such a fine (and funny!) storyteller that he makes one of the world's most exotic places accessible without making it a bit less exotic. Hunting with eagles in Mongolia doesn't have to be your dream for this book to be one you'll treasure, just like you didn't have to fish for trout to love "A River Runs Through It." I highly recommend this book.

I just finished Steve Bodio's great book, Eagle Dreams. I was swept away by his vivid word imagery to a "time" and a place that is all too hard to find in the modern world. Bodio instinctively understands the people, the culture, and the animals without the sanitized pap that is all too prevalent in adventure books. The similarities between present-day Mongolian Eagle Hunters and the Plains Indians of the l800s are remarkable. In both cultures, the Eagle has an important spiritual significance.

Jack Kerouac wrote "Sometimes it is necessary to put up with dust and rattlesnakes for the sake of pure freedom." Bodio's book oozes freedom. "Eagle Dreams" should be required reading for all undergraduate anthropology majors. If you only buy one adventure book this year, this should be it.

This book came in with others on Mongolia I had ordered a month ago and so I thought it was just another aspect of this fascinating country I am presently dedicating my attention to. Instead, as usual, generalization is not for human sprit. Opening the book I found out this naturalist grew up in New England as I did, he has italian chromosomes and is a novel Federick II. Immediate simpathy arised. So I dived into this unknown ornitological world (by the way I am scared of birds and I live with terror of an annoying pidgeon that once in a while comes into my kitchen).
First, a notation on the language which is fantastic. I am amazed that such a talented writer writes only about nature and birds and is not better known, but I will surely get my hands on some other books of his.
Second, the cultural milieu that brings the reader to the opening scene (of the eagle actually killing its prey) builds up during the narration and is one of the main subjects of the book. We get an excursus through Marco Polo's travels, Vadim Gorbatov's art work, Andrew's dinosaur discoveries, David Edwards beautiful fotographic images (by the way visit his site and enjoy the eagle and horseman pictures), practically into the author's mind. His references become our references and his dreams ours. One of the fascinanting aspects of this book is the closeness even layman can achieve to the eagle hunting subject.
Third, the book is travelogue or explornography (as the author puts it) and so a get along tale, that as always has the power of getting you to the last page with the curiousity of what is coming up next.
This work is enjoyable, mind and heart raising, didactic and cultural. Truely it can be offered as a gift to curious and encyclopedic friends.

I first met Steve when he came to give a wonderful presentation on Mongolia to our Navajo schoolchildren in Pinon,AZ. Pinon is in the middle of nowhere, no hotel, no place to eat, but I really wanted him to talk with our kids...he came trekking out with his falcon, wonderful dogs and his ever loving, patient, sweet wife! he was a hit! We distributed this great book to our community and they all came out - he signed books, ate and drank with us - it was wonderful! I got to hear many of these stories in detail - if you are a teacher - have him come to your class - well worth the time! Great read - even better in person - and can shoot a shotgun almost as well as ?

I have proof positive that NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC warps young minds, causing kids to grow up to be explorers, adventurers, world travelers, and writers. When Stephen Bodio was a kid back in the fifties he opened a magazine and saw a photograph of a Kazakh nomad and his hunting eagle. It haunted and inspired him for decades until he finally got a chance to go to Mongolia and find those nomads. His adventure is recorded in his book, Eagle Dreams. On the cover is yet another photo of a Kazakh nomad and his hunting eagle, and that photo haunted me until I could track down this book.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hunting enthusiast. I've got nothing against people who hunt for food, it's just that I don't know a lot about the subject. I've got lots of other time-consuming hobbies, like rockhounding, hiking, and recipe-mangling, and there's only so much time in a given day. Also, I am way too sentimental about animals, and if I had to actually kill the cows I so love to eat, I'd be relying on fish, eggs, and cheese to get my protein fix. It's my love of birds that drew me to this book, from the tiny hummingbirds with the big attitude to the semi-fabled Harpy eagles of Africa. Couple that with a picture of a nomad descended from Chingiz (Genghis) Khan with a gigantic Golden Eagle perched on his arm, and you've got my attention.

Bodio's account of his journey is not a long one, though it took him decades to realize his dream. Like many adventurers, his path is oblique, almost accidental, and he ends up in Mongolia mostly because he maintained contacts with editors who could eventually send him there. It's a story of persistence and resourcefulness - and courage as well, not because the nomads were a danger to him, but because he encounters unknown cultures, labyrinthine bureaucracies, and harsh living conditions. Once he manages to make the trip, he employs natural diplomacy, patience, and intelligence to win the trust of the nomads. He never brags about any of this; Bodio tells his story with self-deprecating humor. Neither does he bog the story down with too much terminology, it's easy for non-birders (not to mention non-world travelers) to follow.

Bodio's story packs a lot of good information into 216 pages, but more than anything else, the story inspired me. I'm not as resourceful as Stephen Bodio and probably not as brave, and I doubt I could win the respect and trust of Kazakh nomads who hunt with young eagles - though I might be able to amuse their wives by mangling a recipe or two. But I am a fellow traveler, and his account makes me want to venture out more, even if it's just into the American Wilderness.


Take a good, hard look at the cover of this book. But be warned, it has unexpected side effects. May cause dreams.

Steve Bodio's lifelong dream was to visit Western Mongolia where the tradition of hunting with eagles is still practiced as part of the nomadic culture. As someone who has flown falcons most of his life, he writes about his love for these birds of prey and his almost obsessive quest to get to Mongolia. By dint of perseverance and smiling fortune, he travels there twice to witness the hunts and the ancient rituals as lived by the Kazakh people.

He lays down the stories in a fluid and wonderful prose style, which reminds me of both Eric Hansen and Bruce Chatwin's engaging styles (please see my reviews of these authors). Bodio writes of the similarities between the people and their architecture in both Western Mongolia and New Mexico, where he makes his home. His keen and self-deprecating sense of humor make this a lively read. There are humorous episodes at the local bazaar, where they sell copies of Lenin's writings for use as toilet paper; his having to order breakfast at the local hotel in Ulaan Bataar and not having a clue as to what will arrive on the plate; and having to have horsemeat steaks wrapped around his upper body when he develops pneumonia symptoms. Well, you get the idea ... this in not a travelogue for wimps!

On Bodio's second trip, two years past the first, he finally witnesses an eagle taking down a fox; this is the dream part of the title. He concludes the tale in a satisfying way, feeling more at home in the vast spaces of Mongolia than he does in his home state of New Mexico. The only hiccup that I wondered about were a few non-sequiturs, like him musing about how Mongolia has been overgrazed for a thousand years, but somehow all the sheep are fat. Just more spice to the narrative I guess.

Parataxis

The Cloud Reckoner

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts