Customer Reviews

Inherit the Hunt: A Journey into the Heart of American Hunting

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This is a great book about the history of hunting in general, and the uniqueness of our freedom in America. It explains the opportunities we, as commoners, have to hunt and how sportsmen of this country have contributed to protect, nourish, and improve the wildlife of our Nation. This is a book all people who enjoy America's wildlife should read and pass along to others to make sure our heritage is understood and our rights to enjoy the fair chase are protected for future generations.

I found this book good to read, and goes well with my class I am taking!

This book is a must read for all who covet and appreciate the privilege to hunt. I recommend it as an excellent short read, as well as a gift to others who may share the same excitement and passion for the outdoors. Presented from a historical perspective, the book describes how the privilege for all to hunt the land was a part of America's foundation. Was not the case in Europe. Discusses the evolution of the hunter/conservationist as well. Short book, 1-2 hour read. Enjoy.

"Finally, this book is dedicated to a small bird that found its way to North America and stayed. A basic tenet of ethical hunting is to appreciate and utilize any animal killed. As a youth I killed an English [house] sparrow. That act of killing has been on my mind for about a half century. By including the sparrow's role in telling this story, I hope to bring purpose to its sacrifice and a measure of peace to my heart."

Jim Posewitz killed this sparrow when he was young, decades ago. And with this action, Posewitz became a hunter, although not necessarily an ethical one. His ethics evolved over time, as happens with many hunters. For Posewitz, his ethical outlook is best summarized in his book Beyond Fair Chase. This book, Inherit The Hunt, focuses more on the evolution of hunting in North America. He highlights the good, mentions the bad, and avoids the ugly. It is the ugly, and the ethical hunter's reaction to it, that makes the writings of hunters such as Ted Kerasote and David Petersen so compelling. Inherit The Hunt is an introductory book, a book to be read prior to Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. It is a book that should be required reading prior to any adult or youth taking a mandatory hunter education class. It's neither long nor philosophically deep. It is a personal tale that justifies the hunting tradition in America. There are other tales that justify a non-hunting tradition. Jim Posewitz leaves that discussion for another.

This book will not turn a hunter into a non-hunter, nor will it turn a non-hunter into a hunter. It will give an ethical hunter satisfaction that he or she is not alone.