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You'll get a bit of everything from Andy Russell in this book -- extolling the wilderness wonders of Canada's southern Rockies, talks about dealing with balky horses and mules, discussions of a rugged childhood, living off the land and more.And, Andy Russell is a good storyteller in all of this. Somebody needs to get him on tape.I saw this book in a bookstore at Banff National Park a couple of years back. An excellent purchase.
It is brim-full of tales of the wilderness and all the denizens thereof; ranchers, trappers ,Indians ,horses ,grizzlies and more. This book exudes a zest for living I've seldom come across. There are lavish descriptions of the wilderness itself. Written by an outdoorsman/professional guide/hunter/trapper/rancher, the quality of writing is surprisingly good, in fact,superb. I don't recall any dull pages in this book. The depiction of growing up in this unspoiled(at that time) wilderness was very refreshing. Five stars because it is the best of its kind I have read.
This is a great adventure and a must read. I purchased this book back in 1973. If you read this book you should also read another book by him called "Grizzly Country". I loved it then and I love it now. Thrills vary from forest fires to the stalking of a trophy elk. I am not well educated or well traveled, but I know adventure when I read it and this book is of a great adventure. His travels take him from the farms of the great plains to the beautiful mountains of the west and north to the cold of the frozen tunda.
It is a group of short stories written by Andy Russell, who was born in 1915, more importantly at the foot of the Great Rockies mountains in southwestern Alberta Canada. I decided to write this reveiw. He describes his childhood growing up on a farm there, where he learned very young how to take care of himself. I hope to read other by him.
I don't usually write book reviews, but as I came across this book for sale on Amazon, it brought back wonderful memories. It is also about animals small and large, from weasels and minks to bears and elk, as well as fishing, the kind of which is very hard to find these days. There are stories told around camp fires, of cowboys and of the English Remittance men. He went on to become a great guide of the Rockies, both for hunting and for those who hunt with a camera. Some stories are of breaking, riding and training horses. I loved them both. I re-read it for maybe the fifth time. It is said by many to be one of the best books ever written about bears, both from the scientific point of view and by someone who was a conservationalist and a naturalist.
Fishing, hunting and trapping in a country of great beauty, that he describes as no one else could. This is a book for someone who loves animals and the great outdoors, and especially for someone who loves adventure. I love bears and I loved that book also. Enjoy and thank you Andy Russell.
Trails Of A Wilderness Wanderer are true stories from the West blending the autobiography of an outdoorsman with accounts of living in the wild places of the Rockies, following old trails and meeting hunters and explorers. An absorbing outdoorsman's diary filled with nature and observations of the wild.
The people he writes of were real and made Canada what it is today. Mr. I have reread this book almost yearly since it came out in 1971. Russell takes you back to the early days when only Indians and bears roamed the land, through his youth and adulthood as an outdoorsman in the wilds of early Canada. He tells of living a life we can only dream of now. You will feel as if you have walked his trails with him and love the life he led. An excellent gift for the city-bound outdoorsman.
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