Old Man and the Boy - Robert Ruark

[Durango Mike]

I listened to this on Audible on our way to my parent's house and back, then finished the last bit on the couch last night. There is no relationship like that of a grandson and grandfather and I have commented several times to my parents that the greatest gift they ever gave me was to live next to my grandparents (actually my parents moved away but my grandma couldn't handle it and forced my grandfather to sell the homestead and move next door to us less than a year later). It reminded me so much of my grandfather in so many ways, the fishing the hunting, the intimate knowledge of a landscape and movements of animals across it. This should absolutely be a required reading for every grandchild and grandfather, especially us sportsmen.

I was rather teary eyed when it was over, and am still in a rather melancholy mood this morning. I may need to take some advise from the Old Man and do some fishing to clear my mind.

One of my favorites, don't miss "Use Enough Gun" , "UHURU" and "Honey Badger", I have enjoyed all his books the "Old Man's Boy Grows Older" is a good read too. I enjoy Ruark even more as I get older, reading him as a 12 year old put African hunting at the top of my bucket list, more so than Hemingway.

 

[np307]

I'm almost ashamed as a native NC'an that I've never read this before. I ordered it not knowing that I would be quarantining this week and I am so glad that I did. I am about halfway through and it is an absolutely wonderful read. I have to keep telling myself to just read it to enjoy it this time, because the next time I read it will be to underline all the great lines in the book. I'll now keep my eyes out for a nice copy to give to my dad because I know he would love this.

 

[TheGreek]

I’m a huge Ruark fan. Both of the Old Man and the Boy books are great and were also my gateway to Ruark. I’d highly recommend Horn of the Hunter as well. Even if you have basically no interest in hunting Africa, which I really don’t, it gives you a look into an interesting era of hunting that is long gone and never coming back.