Thagomizer
Southwestern petroglyphs and hallucinogenic plants.
Cave art and auditory illusions.
"Do you write, Mr. Faulkner?"
Sounds like William Gibson has his best novel in a long while. I'm ordering it!
It is a shame that one of our greatest living writers must resort to crowdsourcing for a documentary of her life and times, but at least you have a unique opportunity to help Joan Didion while she can enjoy it.
Malcolm does the BEST review of my "Book of books".
So far nobody seems to be buying it; nevertheless, I am planning a second volume of 100 whether the book companies support me or not. I don't know a single person who has read it that hasn't come back for copies for friends, and at least two of the multiple buyers neither hunt nor fish. It is just that nobody who hasn't read it understands what it is. Malcolm's review, and its intelligent venue, will help.
Multitasking:
8 comments:
Delighted to hear you're going to go for a second century of books! Every time I look at A Sportsman's Library, I am reminded just how good it is!
Hah! So I beat Sporting Classics to the Faulkner-Gable story by a couple of years!!
Take a look at a biography of Nathaniel West sometime. Im not a fan of his writing particularly but he was a serious sportsman and intended to write a collection of stories a la Turgenev, from the viewpoint of a wandering hunter on the California - Mexico border. He bought a pair of Purdeys at auction not long before he was killed in a car wreck. Hunted the border with them and the Californai coastal islands in Faulkners company
Vance Bourjaily mentions him a bit in the Unnatural Enemy but I am not sure he knew he hunted seriously-- I didn't.
Some old Hollywood and lit guns I DO know about. Clarke Gable had a 28 bore Parker with a beavertail forearm. that was sold at auction 20- something years ago-- I saw the catalog. Gary Cooper carries a Parker, looks like a 12, in some of the Sun Valley pics with Hemingway, who carries a Browning Superposed and a Model 12. None are fancy. Pauline actually shot a Darne 28 in Africa (thanks Sylvio Calabi for that one).
John Huston had a smallbore Parker-- I want to say a 28 but maybe a 20; looked like Gable's. I might have got hold of that one but his son Tony, a Taos falconer and old friend, has never been very "gunny", and let it go for a song along with some other nondescript guns (such things as Express rifles long gone-- do you know his last words? Write me).
Angus Cameron gave away two of the bespoke Spanish doubles that Jack O'Connor had built for him to a relative who I believe sold them. He always muttered he should have given them to me. Sigh...
West came from Eastern European Jewish immigrants but the family was prosperous, and as I recall reading, he started hunting early in upper New York state and Pennsylvania, fishing too but not so avidly. Coming west he created a network of guides and hunting cronies on both sides of the Mexican border, places he stayed in regularly, and places to hunt. Years ago, decades ago, I made an effort to find out what happened to the London guns after the carwreck, and they were in the car when he was killed, and came to a dead end pretty quickly. I believe he was killed coming back from a dove shoot.
Thank you for posting the Faulkner essay, which has now been making the rounds of northeast Iowa hunters & anglers- a good time is being had by all. You will certainly have an Iowa buyer for your next 100 book suggestions!
Best,
Jeffery
Great news! A second Book of books. You did arrange a feast with the first one, and I'm excited to see the second. Will have to increase my book budget.
I thoroughly enjoyed your Sportsmans Library and would loved to read a second.
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