Customer Reviews

Mostly Tailfeathers

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mr. Hill had an unusual talent for conveying emotions and grassroots feelings surrounding his beloved outdoor shooting sports. The way he felt about his dogs, friends, family, and the time spent afield literally jump from the pages in a way that all outdoorsmen will relate to on a nearly spiritual level. This man loved the out-of-doors gunning sports and those of us who love and live the same will forever be blessed for Mr. Hill's unique ability to bring our own feelings of the sport to life in his wonderful pages. "It was so cold that morning and I had on so many layers of clothing that the only way to get into the truck was to fall over like a log ..." Many passages in this collection of short stories assembled from a Sports Afield magazine series are humourous to the point of outloud laughter and other pieces will have the reader quietly closing the book while holding back a tear. Many outdoor shooting sports enthusiasts will probably not be able to put this book down until it is completely read.

I love it,Gene Hill was my favorite author (he passed away in May of 1997).The book is a mixture of laughter and some seriousness,and has a bit of information in it too.Read it,you'll like it even if you aren't a sportsman/woman.

This is a collection of magazine articles written by Gene Hill in the early 70s about fishing, hunting, the outdoors, and life. The stories are short (4 pages or so), and several (or even the entire book) can easily be read in one short sitting. The stories are about the sights and sounds and images and smells of hunting and fishing and the pleasures of being outdoors. In my opinion, Hill has captured the sentimental essence of the joys of outdoor life in these stories. I agree with Hill that there is something special about being outside after a new snowstorm, and he is right on about the machinations that one must occasionally go through to bring a new shotgun or fishing rod past the wife! As I read these stories, it made me recall old fishing trips (and even old long-forgotten gear!), walks through the woods, and dogs who were good friends. I only give this book four stars for two reasons. First, the price is rather steep for a thin (162 page) book (although it is a nice hardbound). Second, as good as these stories are, they still fall well short of those of the master of this genre (Robert Ruark - check out `The Old Man and the Boy'). A good read though.

I sadly acquiesce to the fact I discovered Gene Hill after he had already passed away, his passing shook the foundations of sportwriting to the core. This is time well spent ambling through a Bird Hunter's, Shotgun Shooter's, Dog Lover's life with him. You can have no finer guide, he will touch those memories and experiences you had accepted as part of the day and give them a higher meaning. He now walks the ground where every point is staunch, the birds always hold and you don't have to save your hulls to reload. I never met the man, but Gene Hill was my Friend.

Gene Hill is a giant in the field of sporting writers. His short stories open a window to the not-so-distant past of hunting's glory days. His knack for getting into a hunters soul is uncanny.

This is the first Gene Hill book I have read. Although I enjoyed reading all of the hunting stories, Mr. Hill could have been writing about French poetry for all I care. His writing is that good. This book will have you laughing, thinking and probably hunting. I look forward to reading more Gene Hill.

Gene Hill was one of my favorite writers and one of the first I ever began to follow. Field and Stream isn't much without him. This is a beautiful book. One of my favorite stories is "Things Homemade." Mr. Hill writes, "The men of the house thought nothing of being able to put the set back in a bucksaw, deliver a reluctant calf, spokeshave a hickory limb into an ax handle, and all in the same afternoon." If you'd like to remember those times, even if you never saw them, get this book.

As the title indicates, stories of mostly birds and bird hunting in this book. As usual, Hill writes with a relaxed but concise style that makes the reading easy. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I love Gene Hill and have read him for years but this is not one of his best books. There are however a couple of really good essays in this book, notably the one on Sandwiches and the one on Pocketknives written as only the great GH can do. Very little on fishing.