Customer Reviews

Tales of a Rat-Hunting Man (Wilder Places)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a favorite of mine. It is one of the best books on hunting ever written. Despite its apocalyptic setting, "Tales of a Rat Hunting Man" contains more wildness and freedom than the vast majority of books and magazines on hunting. That description doesn't do it justice. This is a fun book, one that you won't be able to put down. The descriptions of rats and terriers and rat hunts will take you to a world you never knew existed. Rat hunting is a weird pursuit, and Plummer conveys it with humor, adventure and passion.
The introduction by Steve Bodio is worth the price of the book.
Read this book. You won't be disappointed.

I read of this book in a Forbes magazine some years ago, and was fascinated. I don't hunt at all, but was very diverted and horrified by the details of this sport, as well as an illustration of a side of Great Britain I never expect to see. Remarkably well written and enjoyable, but not for the squeamish.

Being new to the world of rat-hunting,I borrowed an old yellowed copy of this book from a friend.
I just couldn't put it down!
I own two terriers (but i'm still trying to persuade my better half to allow some ferrets into our family)
I learned some very valuable tips from this book that will save me hours of heartache when training my dogs.
Whilst being absolutely rivetting reading it is also a mine of information.
Written in plain English, a true classic.
Ihave'nt read anything on this subject that comes even close.

Plummer is the most entertaining sporting writer I have read to date. He is thoughtful and well informed about rats, ferrets, and dogs.He also posesses one of the best and blackest senses of humour. A wonderful book.

Good to read even if you do not plan to hunt rats with your terrier. It helped me to understand a lot about terrier behavior. Mr. Plummer has a delightful sense of humor.

Just read a wonderful little book that I heartily recommend. It's called TALES OF A RAT-HUNTING MAN. It's the non-fiction memoirs of a British guy who is a rat hunting afficionado. It's all about ferrets and dogs and the killing of brown rats. But there is much more to it than that. It's an extended essay and apology (that is, defense) of a way of life in England that is almost impossible to sustain in that claustophobic culture--but somehow D. Brian Plummer has managed to keep a bit of freedom in the stratified rubble. This is really the only Englishman I think I could ever like. He's got a hell of a narrative voice, and is obviously no eccentric, though he enjoys playing one. Anyway, read this slender volume and you'll have a hard time fighting the urge to go hunt rats with a dog, ferret and stick. Plummer makes it seem so...alluring and cathartic.

I found this book very enjoyable and unique. Brian Plummer entertained with a dark humor reflecting back on rat-hunting adventures and other folks he met on his travels. He provides a great deal of knowledge from both research and real-life experience on the rat, ferret, terrier, and even lurcher. I am glad that this book is being printed again.

This is a book I picked up on a whim, and it blew me away. It seems to me more than just a lesson in dogs and ratting; it is a lesson about mind over matter. Here is a guy who made reading about rat hunting as exciting (to me) as stories I've read about big game hunting in Africa. Maybe it was just his indomitable spirit; either way it is a good, short read.

I'vebeen involved with terriers for 25+ years and have hunted with terriers for the last ten years. Brian Plummer is one of the true "characters" of the terrier world. A Great read!

I am trying to find other books by plummer there a some listed in "Tales" i.e. Omega but they all seem to be out of print and unavailable any help out there