Description

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This marvelous collection features stories from some of America’s finest and most respected writers about every outdoorsman’s favorite and most loyal hunting partner: his dog. For the first time, the stories of acclaimed writers such as Tom Brokaw, Howell Raines, Rick Bass, Sydney Lea, Jim Harrison, Tom McGuane, and Chris Camuto, come together in one collection. Hunters and non-hunters alike will recognize in these poignant tales the universal aspects of owning dogs: companionship, triumph, joy, forgiveness, and loss.

The hunter’s outdoor spirit meets the writer’s passion for detail in these honest, fresh pieces of storytelling. Here are the days spent on the trail, shotgun in hand with Fido on point—the thrills and memories that fill the hearts of bird hunters. Here is the perfect gift for dog lovers, hunters, and bibliophiles of every makeup. This is a delightful, handsome volume that captures the wild spirit of dogs and those who love them.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bow hunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

About the Author

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Robert DeMott is Edwin and Ruth Kennedy Distinguished Professor of English at Ohio University and author or editor of many books, including Steinbeck's Typewriter: Essays on His Art, Brief and Glorious Transit: Prose Poems, Afield: American Writers on Bird Dogs, and Astream: American Writers on Fly Fishing. A flyfisherman for more than half a century, he is a Federation of Fly Fishers certified casting instructor and life member of Trout Unlimited. He lives in Athens, Ohio, with writer and editor Kate Fox.

Praise For…

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"By turns wise, funny, and tragic, Afield explores the uniquely symbiotic bond between human and canine hunters. A gorgeous collection of bird-dog tales by some of America's most distinguished writers/sportsmen."
—Jim Fergus

"In this splendid, all-star collection of stories, bird dogs have at last got the book they deserve. Buy two. Even if your dog doesn't read."
—Charles Gaines

"Some of these stories have the power of a shotgun blast, and some will rip your heart out, but every one of them rings true. DeMott and Smith have put together the best collection of writing about bird dogs that I've ever seen. No sap, no sunsets—just great stores, beautifully told."
—Sid Evans, Garden & Gun

"In Afield, some of our best writers lay bare the fantastically high expectations and, ultimately, certain heartbreak that attend plunking down cold cash for a hunting dog—a fool's gamble anyway, because, as these delightfully literate stories well attests, in the end, out dogs own us."
—Dennis Anderson, Outdoors Columnist, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A perfect treasure for anyone who loves bird dogs and bird hunting."
—Jimbo Meador

"Afield's dual charms lie in its focus on the love of dogs many of us can identify with and the introduction for many of us to fine writers with whom we might never otherwise have become acquainted."
—Upland Almanac

"Buy this book. You won't regret it."
— Wisconsin Outdoor News

"The most original and literate collection of sports writing to come out in years . . . poignant, quirky, and always entertaining."
—Sporting Clays Magazine

"Some of America's best writers . . . confess their exasperations, admiration and unalloyed love for the dogs they have trained, hunted with and, ultimately, mourned."
— Aethlon: Journal of Sports Literature

"By turns wise, funny, and tragic, Afield explores the uniquely symbiotic bond between human and canine hunters. A gorgeous collection of bird-dog tales by some of America's most distinguished writers/sportsmen."
—Jim Fergus

"In this splendid, all-star collection of stories, bird dogs have at last got the book they deserve. Buy two. Even if your dog doesn't read."
—Charles Gaines

"Some of these stories have the power of a shotgun blast, and some will rip your heart out, but every one of them rings true. DeMott and Smith have put together the best collection of writing about bird dogs that I've ever seen. No sap, no sunsets—just great stores, beautifully told."
—Sid Evans, Garden & Gun

"In Afield, some of our best writers lay bare the fantastically high expectations and, ultimately, certain heartbreak that attend plunking down cold cash for a hunting dog—a fool's gamble anyway, because, as these delightfully literate stories well attests, in the end, out dogs own us."
—Dennis Anderson, Outdoors Columnist, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A perfect treasure for anyone who loves bird dogs and bird hunting."
—Jimbo Meador

"Afield's dual charms lie in its focus on the love of dogs many of us can identify with and the introduction for many of us to fine writers with whom we might never otherwise have become acquainted."
—Upland Almanac

"Buy this book. You won't regret it."
— Wisconsin Outdoor News

"The most original and literate collection of sports writing to come out in years . . . poignant, quirky, and always entertaining."
—Sporting Clays Magazine

"Some of America's best writers . . . confess their exasperations, admiration and unalloyed love for the dogs they have trained, hunted with and, ultimately, mourned."
— Aethlon: Journal of Sports Literature