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A Sportsman's Life: How I Built Orvis by Mixing Business and Sport

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The title of this book pretty much tells it all. You may not have heard of Leigh Perkins, but any of us who have ever cast a fly, called a retriever to heel, or put our cheek to the stock of a fine 12 ga. double know about Orvis.

This is the story of a man, Perkins, and the creation of that high minded sporting goods business whose ways smack of the trout streams of Ireland and the gun rooms of London. Frankly, to me as a westerner, it is a story of Back East and hunting and fishing that still wears a necktie and breeches. Yet it is an admirable story of a man made of good stuff and solid principles who combined his outdoor savvy with business smarts and pretty much did it like Frank Sinatra -- his way.

If you are an Outdoor Sportsman, his way may not be your way, even though his book makes enjoyable reading. And Orvis may not reflect the outdoor life as you know it. In my own book Postcards. Little Letters From Life there's a chapter titled "Open Season." It asks,"What's your sign, Orvis or Cabela's?" And goes on to detail some of the differences between those of us who pursue the sporting life.