tomfal@tr6.wes.army.mil (Tom Faller) (05/30/91)
I picked up two softbound books over the weekend that I liked the looks of. The first was _The Back-Country Handbook_ by _the Editors of Mother Earth News_. It is one of those all-in-one books about learning to enjoy and deal with the wild. I have a couple of these type of books, but this one was well done, interesting to read, and contains some articles that most other "wilderness" books don't have. The book starts out with an introduction to the gear you need for roaming around in the woods. Of particular interest are articles on choosing firearms, black-powder arms, hunting, stalking and tracking. There is a good section on fishing, which covers the basics of most kinds of fishing. A section on nature describes several wild mammals and their habitat. Another section on crafts offers the usual nature crafts, but then adds the _Mother Earth News_-type plans for building your own small boat (which looks like a lot of fun, and has a small sail or motor). There are plans for building a tree stand. This section covers more than the usual "how to build a chair in the woods" stuff. The last sections are on survival and cooking; both go beyond the usual basics. In all, I thought this would be a great book for scouts, or as a family reference. It's clear enough for beginners, yet contains enough advanced material for old hands. It cost about $11. The next book was _Dress 'Em Out_, by Captain James A. Smith (police officer captain, ret.). This book appears to be an all-purpose guide to hunting, cleaning and cooking wild game. He starts with some basic equipment tips, then divides the rest of the book into three sections: Big Game, Upland Birds, and Waterfowl. Each section is broken down by animal, for instance, under big game is deer, elk, moose, wild pig, etc. Under "deer" is hunting tips, a fully descriptive passage with well-drawn line illustrations on cleaning a deer, and then several recipes follow. The cleaning part is worth the price of the book alone (about $12). It went step-by-step through the whole business for each animal, (including alligator) showing all the landmarks you need to go by, and what to be careful with. Then there usually was a butcher-type chart for each animal type showing where the cuts of meat were. It also went into the discussion of skinning for trophies, with articles on skinning a mountain lion, removing and transporting moose racks, loading a packhorse or mule, etc. The sections on birds were no less informative; the upland birds section covered snipe to turkeys, and the Waterfowl section covered 20 types of birds with instructions on each, and recipes. I was impressed by the step-by-step instructions for cleaning, dressing and cooking at home or in the field. This looks like a good book for any hunter, although I'd like to hear from those who have actually tried some of these methods to see how well they stacked up in the field. If any of you out there see these books, let me know what you think. Tom Faller