Customer Reviews

De Shootinest Gent'man: And Other Tales

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

 

 

A collection of some of the best of Nash Buckingham's short stories that paint an excellent portrait of waterfowl hunting, quail hunting, and life in general in the old south (early 1900's). While these tales may not be the most politically correct today, they were true for the period and most entertaining. Nash Buckingham's impeccable sportsman's ethic and his love for the post civil war generation are quite apparent. This is the best of all the books I have read by this author, and I recommend it highly.

If you only buy one bird hunting, wing-shooting, bird dogging book this year, this is the one! A classic of American literature. No one comes close to Nash in capturing the essense of the field, blind, guns, people and dogs that keep us all addicted, even as we begin a new millenium!

I'm trying hard to be generous in understanding the complaints about Mr. Buckingham writing in the dialect of the reality he knew.

I do not believe people would complain of Shakespeare nor of Rudyard Kipling writing in like style of Elizabethan English nor Indian English in their time honored works. Mr. Buckingham was equal to these writers in his wonderful style.

Mr. Buckingham in his stories is a treasure trove of information for historians to people who just like to curl up with a book and remember the scents of Grandpa's old Westernfield whose walnut is black with black powder loads, engine oil, dirt, blood and tobacco.

I was fortunate enough to have Aunt Molly's recipes and just created a wonderful batch of Mr. Buckingham's goose sauce from the Beaverdam Club in the infamous meals served there.

My favorite story is one of Mr. Buckingham hunting on the Mississippi River for geese.

The shame is Mr. Robert Urich who bought rights to Mr. Buckingham's stories did not live to produce a movie about the gentleman.

Yes Mr. Buckingham writes in a dialect at times, but it hardly detracts from a story and only adds to it as his stories are that warm encompassing memory which we all hear from the distant past.

May all have the scented wetlands of Mr. Nash in his stories and feel that same warmth of seeing the light in the window as twilight nestles in of Aunt Molly making cracklin' bread, teal on toast, roast goose, sauce and country puddin' to where the conversation is always bright in how the birds decoyed today and we made that memorable shot we will treasure like Mr. Buckingham beyond this life.

I really like Mr. Nash's writing. God bless

Legendary accounts of hunting and shooting in the early period of the modern era.

A down home, Southern Country style that conveys an affectionate warmth for his subject as well as his reader. Truly a classic! :-)

great product, prompt service, only down side is i should have ordered more to use up the postage charged,but,very satisfactory. regards.....h.r.g.

This was a gift for my husband but I didn't want to spend the extra $100 for a new copy. Boy am I glad -- this copy was truly "like new". So much so that we still can't tell (even though the seller sent me a note beforehand indicating a slight imperfection on the cover that I have yet to find).

Nash Buckingham was one of the best writers who's prose blessed the very pages it was printed on, You can smell the marsh, You can hear the splash of the paddles. You hunker down to the sound of wings cupping to land, You taste the grits and gravy. This was a time like no other, be ready for your funny bone to be bumped and your heart strings plucked. A Bird Hunter's Paradise

I have never read any Nash Buckingham before so this was my introduction to him. Great stories of waterfowl and quail hunting in the Deep South at a time when some Civil War veterans were still alive. His love of the outdoors, duck hunting especially, and a different way of life back then come shining through. Some of the Southern vernacular is hard to push through but apparently realistic for that time period. Contains some politically incorrect words and situations but again, realistic for that time in America. Do not let this detract from the thrilling stories of bringing down ducks, shooting geese from pits and getting quail over talented dogs. It actually adds more flavor for the time in which it was written. I highly recommend you read this in front of a crackling wood fire for realism.

classic but so steeped in the racism and conventions of the early 20th century that I really had trouble enjoying the book. The maudlin sentimentality of the white and privileged writer thinking that there is something cheery about the light seeping between the logs of the the black tenents' cabins without any regard for the fact that that means that there is no protection from the weather, or his jocular descriptions of the constant verbal threats and abuse bestowed on bowing and scraping servants in a part of the country where lynchings were not uncommon just set my teeth on edge. The paternalistic warmth for the balck under class combined with the smug self satisfaction aof the author and his sincere affection of his underlings are instructive into the traditional poat Civil war attitude of the Southern gentleman, but it detracts form the hunting stories.

I didn't enjoy this book that much. It documents the hunting style in the South perfectly. Throughout the book, the quotes are written in "Suthin' Accint." This annoyed me. Maybe it's just my Yankee lifestyle shining through and true Southerners would consider it a great addition.