Potsie
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Why not, my wife does every year between August 30th and Thanksgiving.
What are you currently reading?
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NVDesertHunter
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I’m pretty certain my high school library had this or another version of compilation some favorites. Read it every year at least once.
woods89
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Was sort of interrupted in my reading of this one, but I dug back in and finished it up the other night. 5 stars. Krakauer in his usual form.
44hunter45
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I finished "This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild" by Nate Swcheber
A must read. A biography of Bernard and Avis DeVoto, but more than that. A history of the many (and ongoing) attempts to steal the public lands and resources for private profit, but more than that. A study of underhanded political tactics we are still seeing today. Tactics we fought a shooting war against in the 1940's, then allowed into our political culture in the US. Well researched and presented, the book is packed with moments of "WTF didn't they teach me this in school?"
Stomach turning in places, triumphant in others. This book was my graduation reading assignment in my evolution from Sage Brush Rebel to fighter for the Public Lands of the US.
I remember reading somewhere once that an adolescent is mature enough to start seeing that their parents have flaws, an adult is mature enough to start realizing that they too have the very same flaws. The book helped me take a mindful deep dive into my political development from accepting everything my parents believed without question to examining why they too believed it without question.
Did it radicalize me? Maybe. What it showed me is that what I see around me in well meaning conservatives friends comes right out of the playbook of Senators Pat McCarran and Joseph McCarthy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and others.
I'm 61 now. I worry that there are young people today who are not taught who McCarran and McCarthy were and what they did. I was taught about McCarthyism, and knew who Pat McCarran was, but I had no idea that McCarran was the master and McCarty the crone. I saw McCarthy as a comic figure from the time of the Howdy Doody show (google it, youngsters). What a shock to read the names of the real people whose lives were ruined by this, those who killed themselves after the "Black Macs' " political machine had run them over and destroyed them. More than a few.
It was a kind of a #metoo for me in that it showed me that my politics are not unique. That there has been a long history of informed individuals in our country who could not stomach a diet of either red or blue kool-aid.
Before you read this, listen to the Hal Herring podcast with the author:
www.backcountryhunters.org
What a pleasant surprise to learn that I am only two degrees of separation from the author. Not because I'm somebody, but because my friends are. Thanks @Beignet, that rocked my world. Thank Nate for a great contribution. Hanging out a few minutes with you and Hal talking about this book was really cool.
Finally - how wild to be listening to this audiobook in the truck driving over Lolo Pass, just as the chapter about the naming of Devoto Grove on Highway 12 comes up. Bernard's ashes being scattered over the Bitterroots by plane, and and Avis' ashes being scattered there at the grove. A place I have been many times and loved, without knowing the story of its namesake.
A must read. A biography of Bernard and Avis DeVoto, but more than that. A history of the many (and ongoing) attempts to steal the public lands and resources for private profit, but more than that. A study of underhanded political tactics we are still seeing today. Tactics we fought a shooting war against in the 1940's, then allowed into our political culture in the US. Well researched and presented, the book is packed with moments of "WTF didn't they teach me this in school?"
Stomach turning in places, triumphant in others. This book was my graduation reading assignment in my evolution from Sage Brush Rebel to fighter for the Public Lands of the US.
I remember reading somewhere once that an adolescent is mature enough to start seeing that their parents have flaws, an adult is mature enough to start realizing that they too have the very same flaws. The book helped me take a mindful deep dive into my political development from accepting everything my parents believed without question to examining why they too believed it without question.
Did it radicalize me? Maybe. What it showed me is that what I see around me in well meaning conservatives friends comes right out of the playbook of Senators Pat McCarran and Joseph McCarthy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and others.
I'm 61 now. I worry that there are young people today who are not taught who McCarran and McCarthy were and what they did. I was taught about McCarthyism, and knew who Pat McCarran was, but I had no idea that McCarran was the master and McCarty the crone. I saw McCarthy as a comic figure from the time of the Howdy Doody show (google it, youngsters). What a shock to read the names of the real people whose lives were ruined by this, those who killed themselves after the "Black Macs' " political machine had run them over and destroyed them. More than a few.
It was a kind of a #metoo for me in that it showed me that my politics are not unique. That there has been a long history of informed individuals in our country who could not stomach a diet of either red or blue kool-aid.
Before you read this, listen to the Hal Herring podcast with the author:
BHA Podcast & Blast, Ep. 141: Public Lands Journalist Nate Schweber
BHA Podcast & Blast, Ep. 141: Public Lands Journalist Nate Schweber
www.backcountryhunters.org
What a pleasant surprise to learn that I am only two degrees of separation from the author. Not because I'm somebody, but because my friends are. Thanks @Beignet, that rocked my world. Thank Nate for a great contribution. Hanging out a few minutes with you and Hal talking about this book was really cool.
Finally - how wild to be listening to this audiobook in the truck driving over Lolo Pass, just as the chapter about the naming of Devoto Grove on Highway 12 comes up. Bernard's ashes being scattered over the Bitterroots by plane, and and Avis' ashes being scattered there at the grove. A place I have been many times and loved, without knowing the story of its namesake.
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests - Devoto Grove Picnic Area & Trailhead
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests - Devoto Grove Picnic Area & Trailhead
www.fs.usda.gov
Last edited:
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Jack Carr’s take on famed author Louis L’Amour, born on this day, March 22: ‘Nothing short of brilliant'
Jack Carr, bestselling novelist, announced a new nonfiction series called "Targeted" — and here, he pays tribute to a top American author, Louis L'Amour, known as the "laureate of the lariat."
Southern Elk
Well-known member
This is my first time reading O’Connor. I’m enjoying it so far. 
noharleyyet
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Just finished Cormac McCarthy’s The Passenger.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
Since last I updated.
We Die Alone
Gifted to me by a coworker. I'd give it 3 stars. Tail of a failed Allie mission into Northern Norway to start a rebellion again the Nazis. The main character is the only one to survive a feat that surpasses what most humans are capable of. My struggle to connect was rooted in his triumph being more rooted in his bodies will to live than any heroic deeds. Also, it was mostly others that saved him even if they failed several times in the process.
Guidebook to Athens and the Peloponnese - Rick Steves
Preparing for my wife's 40 birthday trip. We'll see what I rate it later. But I can tell its not written for people like me who don't want to see other tourists. I already have 1/2 the itinerary filled with places found on Google not in the guide.
Big Game Animals of North America - O'Connor
Meh. I could see where at the time it was great, but some of the stories haven't aged well. Also, his intro of entirely bitching about too many hunters ruining the sport, shooting tiny rams, over hunting mule deer, etc. He'd have fit in great on HT. He clearly didn't relate his writing to more demand.
We Die Alone
Gifted to me by a coworker. I'd give it 3 stars. Tail of a failed Allie mission into Northern Norway to start a rebellion again the Nazis. The main character is the only one to survive a feat that surpasses what most humans are capable of. My struggle to connect was rooted in his triumph being more rooted in his bodies will to live than any heroic deeds. Also, it was mostly others that saved him even if they failed several times in the process.
Guidebook to Athens and the Peloponnese - Rick Steves
Preparing for my wife's 40 birthday trip. We'll see what I rate it later. But I can tell its not written for people like me who don't want to see other tourists. I already have 1/2 the itinerary filled with places found on Google not in the guide.
Big Game Animals of North America - O'Connor
Meh. I could see where at the time it was great, but some of the stories haven't aged well. Also, his intro of entirely bitching about too many hunters ruining the sport, shooting tiny rams, over hunting mule deer, etc. He'd have fit in great on HT. He clearly didn't relate his writing to more demand.
Scott85
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tim81212
Member
Written by my cousin, a native of Cork,
IE.
IE.
That's a good one!
noharleyyet
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May 16
blueridge
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Irrelevant
Well-known member
Enjoyed them both immensely.
Scott85
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- Nov 22, 2018
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This was well worth the listen. 
blueridge
Well-known member
This is the first I have read from McGuane. Really gifted at saying things without saying them. At the end of a 10pg short story I find myself going back and rereading sections for all the nuanced things I missed the first time. And still don’t think I am getting 100% of what’s there.
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