Favorite Classic Outdoor Writer?

mdauben

mdauben

Joined
Oct 24, 2005
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I was just looking through my book shelves tonight and was thinking about "classic" outdoor books and writers. Most people who frequent these forums have probably heard of Woodcraft and Camping by Nessmuk and perhaps even Camping and Woodcraft by Horace Kephart due to the edged tools recomendations that these authors esposed (the so called "trinity" of Axe, fixed blade and folder). Even though I embrace the modern ideal of low impact outdoorsmanship, I still enjoy reading these old, "classic" outdoors writers and the sorts of woodscraft they practiced.

One author I enjoy who falls in that catagory is Sigurd F. Olson. He was an outdoorsman who wrote a whole series of books about the northwoods, canoeing, camping, fishing, etc. I read many of his books when I was younger, and just recently picked up a couple of them to re-read and enjoy.

So, I was wondering, do you have a old writer you like? Someone you could recomend? A "classic" book that you find particularly enjoyable? :)
 
Not as old as you mention, but anything by Bradford Angier is good reading. Another good writer is Calvin Rutstrum.

John
 
Kephart is one of my favorites, because of his wry humor and because he spent years living in, and writing about, the southern Appalachian highlands. Olsen, because of his Northwoods background and philosophical writing style. These you have already mentioned. To this group I would add Calvin Rutstrum, who also lived most of his life in the open, and wrote well about it.

Another favorite, of a different time and different literary style, is Theodore Roosevelt.
 
Gotta ask....where are you folks finding these old books???? Chapters in my area only has more recent stuff like Mors Kochanski's book and Ray Mears book both with the same name Bushcraft.
 
I'd have to say of the old timers, Cal Rustrum is my favorite, although I also have most of the books Teddy Roosevelt wrote.

CKE2: you can order most of them from Amazon.com, among other places.
 
CKE2 said:
Gotta ask....where are you folks finding these old books????
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Its true that even the big brick & mortar book stores like Barnes & Nobel don't always carry older titles like this. If you check somewhere like Amazon.com, though Nessmuk, Kephart, Olson, and a number of the other authors listed are still in print and can be bought new. Plus there is always the used book market where sometimes you can pick up some nice deals on older books that don't have the "collectable" cache that a lot of main stream authors do.
 
Probably not what you had in mind when you asked the question but I really like Robert Ruark. His African hunting books "Horn of the Hunter", "Use Enough Gun" and the Old Man and the Boy series are all a good read.
 
bentblade said:
Probably not what you had in mind when you asked the question but I really like Robert Ruark. His African hunting books "Horn of the Hunter", "Use Enough Gun" and the Old Man and the Boy series are all a good read.
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Hmmm... I think I remember reading at least some of his stuff years ago. You are right that it wasn't exactly what I was thinking of, but I admit I always was facinated by stories of the heydey of African safari hunting, too.

Another "Safari" author I always liked was Peter H. Capstick. I first read some of his facinating articles in one of the old outdoors magazines (Outdoor Life? Field & Steam?) and then read a couple of his books about his days as a hunting guide in Africa. I think Death in the Long Grass was my favorite, although he wrote several other books about hunting big game, famous man-eaters, etc.
 
All the aforementioned, but I've got a soft spot in my heart for Horace Kephart. I've got a 1968 edition of "Camping & Woodcraft" that my dad gave me as a kid, which I read and reread through my teenage years. I have a great many books, but if I were forced to parse my collection down to half a dozen, this book would be among them.
 
CKE2 said:
Thanks...never even thought of Amazon.
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Hey CK, you also might want to check Alibris. I first found out about them when I ordered a used book from Amazon. When it came, it was in an Alibris box. Since then I've ordered a ton of stuff from Alibris. The quality of the books always equalled or exceeded the described conditions.

Alibris has a network of used book sellers, and lists the books, the condition, the reputation of the sellers, and of course the prices.

It's the first place I go, now, when looking for an out of print book.

Doc
 
You can download a PDF version of Nessmuk's Woodcraft and Camping here.

The full version is in the first part, right under the
For brick and mortar breed filth and crime,
With a pulse of evil that throbs and beats;
And men are withered before their prime
By the curse paved in with the lanes and streets.
And lungs are poisoned and shoulders bowed,
In the smothering reek of mill and mine;
And death stalks in on the struggling crowd--
But he shuns the shadow of oak and pine.​
Click to expand...
 
Im partial to Kephart

101_1302.jpg


This is a very early version of his book, I got from mtnfolkmike.
 
i have a few favorites..:)

-horace kephart
-nessmuk
-david petersen
-barry lopez
-aldo leopald
-john gierach
-mors kochanski
-cody lundin
-dan shechtman
 
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