Customer Reviews

A Hunter's Fireside Book: Tales of Dogs, Ducks, Birds and Guns

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one the few books that I've read in less than a day. It's not that it's simplictic, its that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend is to any hunter in the true sense of the word.

If you're looking for a good book to tell how the old days were, they don't get any better than this. Gene Hill has mastered the art of telling the story with just enough of the truth to keep it real, but also keep it fun. If you hunt or fish, this is your kind of book.

Gene Hill's book is a tremendous collection of stories to which anyone who has cherished times afield can relate. This book will undoubtedly be passed around among friends and family and ultimately end up next to the fireplace where it belongs. And I expect that I will read from it often as this book will never get old.

Gene Hill is an unusual combination - a superb sportsman and an equally superb writer. This book is a collection of monthly columns written for Guns & Ammo magazine. It is full of the wit and wisdom of a man who loves the outdoors and who has the voice to describe its incomparable beauty in just the right words. Favorite guns and dogs, sunrise in a duck blind, the mystery of a hunter's moon, camaraderie and compassion. The insights and perception of Mr. Hill, complimented by the incomparable artwork of Milton C. Weiler, make this a must.

I suppose as I get older, I am getting more maudlin. Gene Hill wrote pieces that evoke all those past hunts, old dogs, and old friends. However, about the time the tears start to form, I just turn to one of his comic pieces, like "How to Sneak a New Gun Past Your Wife" and the humor therein brings my universe back to reality. This book is all too short and I am trying to spread it out over as long a time frame as possible.

I always liked to read the last page of Sport's Afield to read what Gene Hill had to say. This is a book full of his thoughts and observations. A good read, indeed.

I recall reading Gene Hill's "Tail Feathers" in Sports Afield in the 1950's when I was in my early teens. A Hunter's Fireside Book is a nostalgic journey through a (for me) simpler time. His stories evoke senses one has in a natural outdoor world. Hill triggers memories of the bite of a pre-dawn icy wind on a duck pond, the smells of oil and gun powder after a clean shot in a snow covered corn field, the sounds of a Woodcock's flutter, the taste and feel of a sip of Brandy with good conversation after a day in the field, and hundreds of other associated experiences. Written with wit and a subtle compassion for nature, this book is an ideal companion for the fireside or bedside.

I have all of Gene's books and would heartily recommend any of them, but when I need to step out of a hectic day and "go to the woods", this is the volume I turn to. Contained within are "The Stranger" and "A Christmas Story" which are particular favorites. It's a good read that goes well with a good dog, a warm fire and a good whisky. Enjoy!

I'm not much for writing or expressing my feelings about the outdoors. I cannot express in words the love I have for puppies, old friends, homemade lures and duckcalls. Gene Hill can. The short stories you'll read in "A hunters fireside book" will make you smile on a cold night in winter when he speaks of things handmade and bring a tear to your eye when he describes an old dog you'll swear you knew. Reading Gene Hill is very a lot like listening to an old friend tell you his very best stories over a glass of 18 year old scotch; it doesn't get any better...................