Welcome to the Book Review section. We have devoted the books into categories based on the topic. By clicking on the titles it will take you to the book page to read the complete review. When applicable we have also provided links so that the book can be purchased if the review piques your interest.

DOG STORIES

Jenny Willow

By Mike Gaddis

If I was to come up with a list of all-time favorite books, hunting or otherwise, Jenny Willow would definitely be near the top of that list. If you are looking for a how-to book, this isn’t the book for you, but if you are looking for a very well written, heart-wrenching tale, this is a book you must add to your collection. Click Here.

A Comfortable Range

By Jim McDermott

This was a very interesting book for me to read, as it hit pretty close to home. Dr. McDermott takes you through the trials and tribulations of life with a big running bird dog. Many of the fears, frustrations and successes were similar to those I had gone through with Maggie during her first couple of years and ironically in many of the same coverts from northern Minnesota to the South Dakota prairies. Click Here.

Zip Zap

By Mike Gaddis

Mr. Gaddis’s first book, Jenny Willow, ranks very high on my all-time list of favorite books. It was because of this that I could not wait to read his latest book. I am neither a field-trialer nor do I have any aspirations to be one, and so I was a little worried that this book would not strike a cord with me. To say my worries were set aside early would be an understatement, on its very basic level this is a book for all dog lovers, and for anyone who has had that special connection with a dog, it is so much more. Click Here.

DOG TRAINING

Gundog Training

By Keith Erlandson

Chrissy and I have decided to take the plunge into the spaniel world this year, and if the breeding took, we will be the proud owners of a field-bred English Cocker by this fall. With anything new, my obsessive tendencies have a tendency to take over, and getting a new type of dog has been no different. I have been buying spaniel training books like they are going out of style. I’ve particularly been interested in the British methods of training and have a number of books by Mr. Erlandson and another trainer, Joe Irving. Click Here.

DOG BEHAVIOR

Animals in Translation

By Temple Grandin

I have a fascination with animal behavior and having had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Grandin lecture I immediately knew I had to read this book. From dog trainers to cowboys this should be required reading for anyone who deals with animals.Click Here.

HUNTING STORIES

A High, Lonesome Call

By Robert Holthouser

"One man, two bird dogs, and the open road that is their answer." The book is a slightly fictionalized autobiography capturing the relationship of the author, a middle-aged carpenter, and his two Brittany gun dogs. The book follows them on their annual trek West across the county during hunting season. Click Here.

The Tattered Autumn Sky

By Tom Davis

I have never met Tom Davis, but I've always felt a personal connection to his writings and was very excited to receive this book for Christmas. Tom and I are both northwest Iowa natives who share a love for setters and chasing birds. The connection runs a little deeper in that my Maggie dog is a littermate to Tom's Ernie, and both are grandpups to Tom's beloved Emmylou dog. So, it was with great anticipation that I read the book. Click Here.

A Hunter's Road

By Jim Fergus

With this book Jim Fergus lived and wrote about virtually every bird hunter’s dream…to take a season and chase birds across the country...just the author, his lab Sweetzer and an AirStream travel trailer. The book starts in September with the West’s early bird seasons and from there takes the reader through all of the coverts we dream of hunting in a lifetime, ending in the desert south chasing quail. Fergus wasn’t the only one living a trip of a lifetime, Sweetzer also had an unbelievable adventure retrieving over 20 species of birds on the trip and though she’ll never be able to tell us I’m sure she remembers fondly the people and birds she encountered on this adventure. Click Here.

Hunting the Sun & God and Lesser Gods

By Ted Lundrigan

I’ll never claim to be a ruffed grouse hunter…oh I’ve hunted them but not very successfully. During my two year stay in Brainerd, MN I chased grouse and woodcock every chance I could get and never developed the passion for it that I have for chasing the prairie members of the grouse family. That being said, for some reason I love reading about ruffed grouse hunting and all that it entails. These two books by Mr. Lundrigan are made all the more enjoyable as they take place just north of the area I hunted in Minnesota and some of the people mentioned in the book were clients or family-members of co-workers when I lived in the area. Click Here.

Hunting the Whole Way Home

By Sydney Lea

I’m almost ashamed to say that the first time I picked up this book I didn’t get very far into it before putting it back on the shelf. I have no recollection of what may have been going on at the time. All I can think of is that I was not in the right frame of mind, because ironically after finishing this book I would count it among one of the best hunting/philosophical books I’ve read in a while. I was actually surprised to see in my reading list that I previously had not completed it. Click Here.

Western Wings: Hunting Upland Birds on the Northern Plains

By Ben O Williams

While trying to jump-start my fall hunting I picked up this Ben O. Williams book I had wanted to read for quite some time. This was the second book of Ben’s I’ve read this year and both followed similar styles. I think it is difficult to write a book like this, one that is not too instructional and one that is not just hunting stories. Western Wings is a good combination and really seems to work. Click Here.

Feathered Tales: A Birdhunter's Grand Slam Odyssey

By Joseph Augustine

What intrigues me so much about this book is that Feathered Tales is not a how-to book but rather a book about Mr. Augustine’s adventure chasing his English Setters after all of North America’s upland birds. It is a dream I have had for as long as I can remember and I can’t wait to read the stories behind each of the birds. Click Here.

NON-HUNTING NON-FICTION

Napoleon Hill's Keys to Success

By Napoleon Hill

This may be an odd recommendation from a hunting dog site, but it’s my site and I really like this book. Mixed in with the many sporting novels I read I also like to throw books in that seem to lean towards personal development or historic non-fiction. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not big on self-help books or get rich quick schemes. This book, in my mind, fits neither category. Napoleon Hill was commissioned to examine the most successful people of his time and determine what made them successful... the result is this book. Click Here.

To See Every Bird on Earth

By Dan Koeppel

I have an eclectic collection in my to read stack ranging from The Dog Who Loved Too Much to Lincoln’s Melancholy. Having been bitten by the photography bug, and subsequently a deeper interest in birds, I was intrigued by Koeppel’s selection. Click Here.

No Shortcuts to the Top

By Ed Viesturs

One night we had The Daily Show on while getting ready for bed. John Stewart was interviewing a guy about being the first American to summit the world’s fourteen 8,000 meter peaks without the aid of bottle oxygen. I was going about preparing for the next day casually following the interview when Stewart asked, “You used to be a veterinarian or something like that right?” This really peaked my interest, as I’m always fascinated by the differing backgrounds and paths people take, particularly those in my own chosen field. Click Here.

Ultra Marathon Man

By Dean Karnazes

Anyone even slightly interested in endurance sports likely has heard of Dean Karnazes. You might not know him by name but you’ve probably heard of some of his feats and attempts at endurance records. In the last year he attempted, and completed, 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states…to give you an idea of what this guy is about. Click Here.

NON-HUNTING FICTION

Angels & Demons

By Dan Brown

I have not seen or read The DaVinci Code, and so other than movie trailers and irate editorials, I was unfamiliar with Dan Brown’s work. Now, I realize none of this is related to hunting, but let me tell you this was one of the best books that I have ever read. Click Here.