Trails of a Wilderness Wanderer: True Stories from the Western Frontier [Paperback]

Andy Russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

From his boyhood days through his adulthood as a trapper, guide, naturalist, and outdoorsman, Andy Russell lived a lifestyle that would be near-impossible today. Growing up in the Northern Rockies in a "land of boots and saddles, guns and fishing rods, and the smell of pines and grass," he observed the ways of animals wild and tame, braved rugged mountaintops and freezing rivers. He forged friendships with the local Indians and with the "remittance men," second sons of British aristocracy who left their stamp on the new country with ready cash and a zest for high living. Here are thrilling and humorous tales of breaking horses, hunting bears, and living proud and free, told in a naturally eloquent voice. (51/2 X 81/4, 320 pages, b&w photos)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Andy Russell's Grizzly Country: "One of the best first-hand studies of the big bears ever written . . . Best of all, it's good reading, high adventure in one of the most colorful areas of America." - The New York Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

From his boyhood days through his adulthood as a trapper, guide, naturalist, and outdoorsman, Andy Russell lived a lifestyle that would be near-impossible today. Growing up in the Northern Rockies in a "land of boots and saddles, guns and fishing rods, and the smell of pines and grass," he observed the ways of animals wild and tame, braved rugged mountaintops and freezing rivers. He forged friendships with the local Indians and with the "remittance men," second sons of British aristocracy who left their stamp on the new country with ready cash and a zest for high living. Here are thrilling and humorous tales of breaking horses, hunting bears, and living proud and free, told in a naturally eloquent voice. (51/2 X 81/4, 320 pages, b&w photos)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585741833
• ISBN-13: 978-1585741830
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,580,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Travel > Canada > Provinces > Alberta

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT ADVENTURE, October 31, 2001

By 

Donald F. Ketcham (Fulton, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trails of a Wilderness Wanderer: True Stories from the Western Frontier (Paperback)

I don't usually write book reviews, but as I came across this book for sale on Amazon, it brought back wonderful memories. I purchased this book back in 1973. I loved it then and I love it now. I re-read it for maybe the fifth time. I decided to write this reveiw.
I am not well educated or well traveled, but I know adventure when I read it and this book is of a great adventure. It is a group of short stories written by Andy Russell, who was born in 1915, more importantly at the foot of the Great Rockies mountains in southwestern Alberta Canada.
He describes his childhood growing up on a farm there, where he learned very young how to take care of himself. Fishing, hunting and trapping in a country of great beauty, that he describes as no one else could. Some stories are of breaking, riding and training horses. This is a book for someone who loves animals and the great outdoors, and especially for someone who loves adventure. His travels take him from the farms of the great plains to the beautiful mountains of the west and north to the cold of the frozen tunda. It is also about animals small and large, from weasels and minks to bears and elk, as well as fishing, the kind of which is very hard to find these days. There are stories told around camp fires, of cowboys and of the English Remittance men. Thrills vary from forest fires to the stalking of a trophy elk.
He went on to become a great guide of the Rockies, both for hunting and for those who hunt with a camera. This is a great adventure and a must read. If you read this book you should also read another book by him called "Grizzly Country". It is said by many to be one of the best books ever written about bears, both from the scientific point of view and by someone who was a conservationalist and a naturalist. I love bears and I loved that book also. I loved them both. I hope to read other by him. Enjoy and thank you Andy Russell.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding storyteller of the Canadian Frontier, October 22, 1998

By 

RGB, R.N. [e-mail] (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trails of a Wilderness Wanderer (Hardcover)

Mr. Russell takes you back to the early days when only Indians and bears roamed the land, through his youth and adulthood as an outdoorsman in the wilds of early Canada. He tells of living a life we can only dream of now. The people he writes of were real and made Canada what it is today. I have reread this book almost yearly since it came out in 1971. You will feel as if you have walked his trails with him and love the life he led. An excellent gift for the city-bound outdoorsman!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True stories from the West, April 29, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trails of a Wilderness Wanderer: True Stories from the Western Frontier (Paperback)

Trails Of A Wilderness Wanderer are true stories from the West blending the autobiography of an outdoorsman with accounts of living in the wild places of the Rockies, following old trails and meeting hunters and explorers. An absorbing outdoorsman's diary filled with nature and observations of the wild.