Book Reviews

Praise for OF WOODS & WATERS edited by Ron Ellis:

"I wish every state had as dedicated an outdoorsman as Ron Ellis (author of Cogan's Woods) to edit an

anthology like OF WOODS AND WATERS: A KENTUCKY OUTDOORS READER (The University Press of

Kentucky, hardbound, 389 pages, $29.95). This is as good a volume of hunting, fishing and nature writing as

I've seen. It gathers over a century of fine writing about the central Appalachian landscape from John James

Audubon's day to the present. Ellis includes a judicious selection of essays, fiction and fine poetry from a

symphonic if down- home range of voices ranging from well-knowns to should-be-knowns— Wendell Berry,

Harry Caudill, Soc Clay, Silas House, Bobby Ann Mason, Gaylord Cooper, Frederick Pfister, Linda Caldwell,

James Baker Hall, Robert Penn Warren. If I had the space, I'd name them all. A great armchair read."

- Chris Camuto, Gray's Sporting Journal (May/June 2006)

 

"A textured look at sport in Kentucky—one full of unparalleled diversity; but in its values and its human

stories, its uses of the sights and sounds of the natural world, it is not only Kentucky but radiates out to

touch the heart of all sportsmen. . . . This book is a treasure."                    - Nick Lyons, from the Foreword

 

"As many of the pieces collected here point out, what you bring home from a camping or hunting or fishing

trip is often both more and less than what you went after. The unexpected gift of this excellent anthology—a

lagniappe to its consistently fine writing—is the great Kentucky outdoors itself."

 - Charles Gaines, author of The Next Valley Over: An Angler’s Progress

 

"A superb collection. Ellis has covered an extraordinary swath of ground with this collection, the first that I

know of to so thoroughly plow through the state's deep outdoor roots.”          —Louisville Courier-Journal

 

"A book that is long overdue, considering the rich tradition of hunting and fishing in Kentucky, and our

bounty of natural resources."                             —Art Lander, Outdoors Columnist, Lexington Herald-Leader

 

"Filled with 74 essays, stories, and poems and more than 50 illustrations, the diverse collection is an

exploration of Kentuckians' kinship with the land and an attempt to describe, even if words are inadequate,

the ancestral spirit that draws us to wild places."           —Kentucky Post

 

"An insightful and varied view of Kentucky's lush landscape from many voices, past and present. . . . Will

certainly appeal to hunters, anglers, environmentalists, and those who simply enjoy the outdoors--for

whatever reason."         —Kentucky Monthly