Favorite Author

[Bushmaster]

For pure nostalgia I think the book that did it for me was indeed "Scouting for boys" by good old B.P. :super:
It was the first book of it's genre that I ever read and fired my imagination from such a young age and it continues to do so to this day. :roll:
I still have an original copy that my old scout leader gave me back in the 70's the smell is great it takes me right back! Planning wild adventures and expeditions in your mind wild animals in the woods etc.
Hmmmm I am rambling a bit here sorry guys

But to pick a current favourite :?: :?:
They are all great reads with good gen in them IMHO
Impossible to pick,by the way my daughter got me Bushcraft by mors for christmas and that is a very good read at the moment.
Geoff

 

[Schwert]

Calvin Rutstrum gets my vote. Not necessarily for his field operations books but for his wilderness essays. The technique books are very good...now dated but still good, but the wilderness life essays are gems. I understand that finding Calvin in the UK is a bit hard, but I have snippets from all his books over at JM's Outdoor's Magazine.

http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=128

Another author with superb wilderness essays is Sigurd Olson. None of his could actually enter into this poll, but his books, especially The Singing Wilderness are well worth finding and reading. This web site is exceptional:

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/JMC/Olson/

 

[tomtom]

Scwert.. i thought your article was great when i read it and i have just mannaged to find a copy of Calvin Rutstrums "the new way of the wildeness" and when i take delievery i may have to re-evaliate who my favorite autor is

also thank for adding Sigurd Olson.. its anouther i shall be on the look out for..! :You_Rock_

 

[Hoodoo]

I agree with Schwert. Rutstrum's body of work is absolutely incredible. No one that I've ever read embodies both the practical and philosophical aspects of wilderness travel and wilderness living better imo. And he didn't put out 5 versions of the same book to market it either. Rutstrum lived the life he believed in and never became a commercial geek or ran around threatening people with litigation. He was a bit of a curmudgeon and a class act all the way.

 

[Schwert]

Tom,

You may be able to sample Olson a bit earlier than you planned. I found a spare copy of "Reflections of the North Country" that should soon be in your hands.

Olson is a very different writer than Rutstrum. His body of work is extensive and well reviewed by biographers like David Backes (the website listed above) and others. Rutstrum's body of work is just so appealing, that I cannot convey how much I think folks would enjoy them. The authors in the poll all had/have great how-to books, but I actually do not think they are anywhere near as appealing as Rutstrum or Olson's essays that transcend the how-to to the why.

Rutstrum cut his teeth on the how-to type books but his evolution to the wilderness essays, work/life balance recommendations, and observations of humans represented a fine overview of wilderness application to a modern growing society. Rutstrum and Olson with other earlier authors and advocates (Muir, Leopold, Marshall) of wilderness are essential reading.

 

[falling rain]

no one think theres anyone missing then?

Yes I do....... Grey Owl

 

[Hoodoo]

Well, if Nessmuk can be added to the list for two books, why not add John Rowlands for one book, "Cache Lake Country"?

I can say without heistation that not only is this my favorite book about the outdoors, it is my favorite book, period (the Tao Te Ching second ). It is a very rare display of absolute humility. I've read very few books about the outdoors where the author couldn't help but pat himself on the back and look on with scorn at the tenderfoot. Rowland's book is a masterful account of living in the outdoors written in an understated style. He and his friends take a wonderful delight in backwoods technology, and his account is simply required reading for anyone with an interest in bushcraft. This was a man who had the ear of presidents but you would never know it from his writing. If you are looking for some inspiration, I can't think of any book I've ever read that provides more. And it's written more as "here's what we did" as opposed to "you should do this." And if you happen to learn as much bushcraft as Rowland's knew, you should be good to go.

Cache Lake

Try it, you'll like it. :wave:

 

[tomtom]

*groans* my amazin wish list is not 9 pages long... :rolmao:

 

[jakunen]

Hoodoo, for a philosophical approach to the whole ethos of wilderness living I don't think you can beat the intro in 'Paul Rezendez - Tracking and the Art of Seeing'. He really brings home the difference bewteen the way the native Americans lived with the land, respected it and knew that their actions affected the land and its creatures and plants as much they were affected by it, and the invading Europeans who with their 'God given dominion over the fish that swim, the birds that fly' etc., really screwed everything up for those living not just then but those living now.

Its a very thought provoking.

 

[RJP]

I have voted for Mors just because it was him who futhered my interest beyond the SAS Survival Handbook. Lofty's book is IMO more survival than bushcraft, as the title suggests. Mors's I have found more useable.
I found his book by chance on a trip to Alberta in 1992, I have read it goodness knows how many times since.
Rob.

PS. Are the newer editions any different, or just reprints?

 

[Schwert]

I can thank Hoodoo for pointing me to Rowlands "Cache Lake". Everything he said about it is perfect. I bought a copy for home and a copy for work. It is perfect for either an extended read or over a bowl of soup with lunch. The text is perfectly illustrated by Henry Kane's drawings on nearly every page. It is a winner and a joy to read.

Of course, I have a short review.....at the Outdoors Magazine.

http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=133

 

[tomtom]

Schwert.. the article doesn't work for me? is it working for every one else?

EDIT: works now woohoo!! great job Schwert!

 

[leon-1]

Scwert.. the article doesn't work for me? is it working for every one else?

It works for me mate, sorry :wave:

 

[innocent bystander]

hi everyone, this is my first go at this !! has anyone read Ellsworth Jaeger's Wilderness Wisdom?
Seems quite an amusing read - bearing in mind it only got delivered today - and chocker with good drawings...

Martin

 

[falcon]

Interesting that this thread should be resurrected.....I guess someone's found it and cast a vote. But I'm with Hoodoo's previous comment in his appreciation of Cache Lake Country by John J Rowlands....many bushcraft nuggets sprinkled amongst an account of a year in the far north as he and his friends went about their daily lives. And for another master of the creation of atmosphere, the tales of Sigurd Olsen are also recommended. Could someone add them to the list....?

 

[spamel]

Interesting indeed, it is two and a half years old!

 

[scoops_uk]

I think for me it's Brian Hildreth and his "How to survive" book. I got it when I was a nipper and it was the seed that started my lifelong love of the outdoors.

Maybe not the best book in terms of content, but it holds a very special place for me. Still got my original copy, it's been repaired several times, has stains from rucksack leaks (still smells of the shampoo I used when I was 14!! ) and will probably always have pride of place on my bookshelf.

Scoops

 

[scottishwolf]

Why ismt tolkien included????

 

[mace242]

I voted Mors as his is my favorite bath reading book and the one I'd take if I had to pick.

But it's kind of different books for different reasons.

I'm reading Cache Lake Country by John J. Rowlands a the moment and just finished Wildwood Wisdom by By Ellsworth Jaeger. Though I don't really read bushcraft books like normal books. It's more a sort of - what do i want to learn about? - let's see what the various books I have say about it and then jumping from book to book.

 

[fred gordon]

I agree this one is a bitch! Ray has made Bushcraft more accessible to a large audience and his books and programmes appeal to many. However, I also believe that Mors has a more earthy and direct approach to the subject and is heavy on the detail, which I like. Having been 'forced' to make a choice I have gone for Mors.:notworthy