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If one expects this to be a book merely about hunting, that expectation is wrong. If one expects this to be essays written only by undereducated, good old boys-"slob hunters"-who relish ambushing Bambi from a truck that is wrong. If your expectation is that all the essays will be unambiguously pro-hunting or gun sport, you are "off the mark." Fairly, Nelson, in his introduction says," In the United States, hunters are probably the largest, most diverse, and most important potential advocates for preservation of natural habitats and protection of wild animal populations." That remark comes close.
I believe that many city folk have so lost touch with wild life that they now believe that hunting is something akin to a video game using live ammunition. That a hunter would relish spending an entire day tracking game, and not succeed seems antithetical to their purpose for some. After reading these essays, one understands why the writers deem the day a success, something very special; e.g., "I began to realize that what I like best about hunting was the companionship of a few good old trusted buddies in the out-of-doors."
If hunters can feel so deeply-even those who later abandon it-one hopes for a return to earlier days when more Americans shared the pastime. Pete Dunne writes about "the Great Moment: How the universe held its breath, waiting-waiting for the sound of an echo that never came; the echo of a shot that was never fired" while sighting a deer-and not shooting-after his many years of hunting. You can feel the heart of this "ex"-hunter who still declares that "anti-hunters who believe that hunting is synonymous with killing and that anyone who hunts is unfeeling and cruel" ... "aren't dishonest. They are merely wrong."
I could go further, providing so many wonderful examples of the humanity of these writers. I suggest, however, that you make the time to read this book. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay to these writers is that they are knowledgeable, articulate, caring people. If their hunting experience has helped them become that way, hunting is very important to our culture and our society.
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Hunter-Book: Hermit details the first of the two "lost" or "damaged" creeds, and it does explain a lot about these particular Hunters. Of course, there's a real challenge involved for both player and Storyteller with even considering using one of these, as playing one "correctly" would mean minimal contact with most of the rest of a game troupe. A truly experienced or mature player could no doubt pull it off, but this is merely a warning from me to you for those considering playing one of these. The experience will no doubt be worth it, and it can be fun, but also a real stretch in creativity as a roleplayer.
Still, this book offers good insight into a group of damaged people, and even offers what appeared to be (to me) a sneak preview of the upcoming Demon: The Fallen in a section describing one Hermit's encounter with women who were a little too perfect.
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In addition to explaining the benefits and liabilities of scientific research as lived out by Messrs. Cope and Marsh, the author provides many other useful features within the covers of Fossil Feud. Mr. Holmes gently encourages the reader's further exploration of dinosaur lore by including a list of rules for what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur, diagrams of basic anatomical and physiological features of a dinosaur, a geologic time line, a listing of the 335 genera of dinosaurs in the order in which they were discovered, a reading list, and a listing of North American dinosaur museums.
Fossil Feud is a valuable tool, both educational and entertaining, which leaves no stone unturned, as it were, in its goal of completeness and accessibility. I highly recommend it.
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This book is not for casual reading at all. In fact it is a difficult and very scholarly treatment of a period in English history that has repercussions into present day policy in the United States.
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This book's thought provoking essays also force all of us to think about our own carnivorous instincts. Since almost all of us eat meat from the supermarket the book takes cows as an example and asks non hunters if the castration of bulls, the branding, the feeding of them in outdoor, closed in, excrement filled pens and the eventual slaughter of them is really somehow better than the hunter who shoots and kills a deer in the wild? It seems we all live with blood on our hands. But not to let you think this book is simply cut and pasted from the pages of American Hunter. The book also questions trophy hunting and whether hunting should even be considered a sport.
Since many hunters spend a good deal of time defending what they love to do, I would recommend that they pick up a copy of this book in order to be able to answer the question "why do I hunt?"