Throughout this small, taut book, Kilgo's feeling for the bottomland comes through in quiet, honest, and convincing language.
This is a book not just for hunters, birdwatchers, or naturalists. It's for everybody who senses, or perhaps remembers, that the woods have more to offer than a splotch of shade on a deck in the suburbs.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kilgo's powerful memoir does justice to the finest literature in the southern tradition. . . . The book is the late-coming-of-age journal of a mature man who, reviving his childhood fascination with the woods, projects himself back into the wild country as he reaches into his family's past to understand its relationship to the land he hunts. . . . It should be consumed in small portions, a chapter or less at a time, and savored by the moment.
New York Times Book Review
This is a book not just for hunters, birdwatchers, or naturalists. It's for everybody who senses, or perhaps remembers, that the woods have more to offer than a splotch of shade on a deck in the suburbs.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Kilgo's powerful memoir does justice to the finest literature in the southern tradition. . . . The book is the late-coming-of-age journal of a mature man who, reviving his childhood fascination with the woods, projects himself back into the wild country as he reaches into his family's past to understand its relationship to the land he hunts. . . . It should be consumed in small portions, a chapter or less at a time, and savored by the moment."—New York Times Book Review
"This is a book not just for hunters, birdwatchers, or naturalists. It's for everybody who senses, or perhaps remembers, that the woods have more to offer than a splotch of shade on a deck in the suburbs."—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Throughout this small, taut book, Kilgo's feeling for the bottomland comes through in quiet, honest, and convincing language."—Outside Magazine
In certain circles, hunting is despicable; in others, it is a cherished tradition, a way of life. Kilgo, who teaches at the University of Georgia, belongs to the huntin' and fishin' fraternity. The river swamps and forests of the South hold a special place in his life. ``Hunting,'' he writes, ``brought me a deeply satisfying relationship with other men and with the woods.'' He conveys the mystery and splendor of the forest swamp at dawn; he tells us of the feeling of claustrophobia at being lost in the swamp. He combines superb nature writing with hunting and fishing adventures, and with portraits of his companions. His book is not an apologia for hunting; rather, it is an insight into the mystique and camaraderie of the sport. Of primarily regional interest, these essays will appeal to birders, hunters and those who fish. (April)
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
English professor, Sunday School teacher, Little League coach, Kilgo feels a strong need to go into the woods and swamps in search of himself. For him deer hunting requires that he tell others of the experience in order to come to terms with it. Hunting also provides a connection to his ancestors, who owned and hunted on these same Georgia plantations. In accounts of hunting and fishing, alone and with comrades, Kilgo describes a coming of age, but told by an adult mostly of his adult life with nature being both stimulus and medium. Of interest to outdoor collections for its literary and philosophical perceptions. Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
