Meditations on Hunting (Hardcover)

~ Jose Ortega Gasset (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

If you haven't read this legendary little book, you might wonder if an essay originally written by a Spanish philosopher as an introduction to a friend's big game hunting memoirs could have any relevance to a modern bird hunter. I'd say it's not only "relevant', it's absolutely essential reading for any thoughtful hunter and fisherman. ...and now Wilderness Adventures has brought out what I think will be the standard: a beautiful slipcased edition, bound in fine cloth, with excellent pencil illustrations by Eldridge Hardie and a new foreword by Datus Proper. It's the one to own. -- Steve Bodio, Shooting Sportsman

Product Description

Meditations on Hunting is the most quoted book in sporting literature. It is the finest work on the essence and ethics of hunting. Today when both hunting and fishing are often condemned, Meditations takes on an even greater significance. Ortega points out that life is a dynamic interchange between man and his surroundings. He explains that hunting is part of man's very nature, that "hunting is a universal and impassioned sport...it is the purest form of human happiness. The essence of hunting or fishing involves a complete code of ethics of the most distinguished design. The sportsman who accepts the sporting code of ethics keeps his commandments in the greatest solitude with no witnesses or audience other than the sharp peaks of the mountain, the stern oak, and the passing animal."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 140 pages
• Publisher: Wilderness Adventures Pr (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885106181
• ISBN-13: 978-1885106186
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,173,730 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute necessity for the animal rights debate., July 18, 1998

By A Customer

Ortega delves into the art of hunting, and gets to the root of the matter. Both the nature of human, and of animal are examined. Be forewarned, this is heavy duty philosophy, not just an article on where to hang a tree stand. Ortega wrote in the early twentieth century, and so some will think his ideas are dated, and that we know much better now. This gives rise to the thought that humans change rapidly. Ortega's work stands because we do not substantially change over just a hundred or even a thousand years. This is why Shakespear and the Bible are still applicable, and why Ortega's Meditations On Hunting still stands. The act of hunting has changed over the centuries, to evolve into sport. Ortega delves into this also, and his answer to our inner questions, and the current questions of animal rightists is so clear and distilled that it shines in one's brain. It is rare to find one so clear in academia.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An antidote to muddled thinking, April 22, 2006

By	C. L. Mckelvie "gamebiologist" (scotland uk) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ortega y Gasset brings philosophical rigor and logic to the consideration of hunting. In a powerful counterblast to muddled, emotion-driven, anthropomorphic, confused, sentimental arguments - one can't call them "ideas" - OyG clarifies the core questions and quandaries, and gives a sound philosophical foundation for the defense - indeed, the celebration -of the hunting imperative that 21st century urban man sublimates or ignores at his environmental and spiritual peril.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meditations on Ortega y Gasset, November 2, 2006

By	Dan K. (Pennsylvaina) - See all my reviews

Puts the history of hunting in perspective for everyone. When you're done reading it, you understand why people hunt. You also understand why people are just as interested in hunting today as they have been throughout time. I would encourage hunters and non-hunters to read the book, as there is much to be appreciated by both groups. In fact, I would encourage re-reading it from time to time. It has that quality of good literature in that it reveals something new and interesting each time it is read.