Tears and Laughter

Well I never met Gene in person but I've read his stories since I was twelve years old. Still my favorite. Gene, Pat McManus and Louis Lamour pretty much raised me. Tears and Laughter is a great book and an appropriate title. Gene has that gift of making you laugh and cry at the same time. Fred and One are two of my favorite stories. He can also describe autumn as a glass of scotch and have you tasting and smelling both. If you love dogs, hunting dogs and the outdoors or if you just enjoy a good read you can't do better than anything Gene has written. Gene truly was one of my best friends and I wept when I read of his passing but I am thankful to have his books. This purchase of Tears and Laughter is to replace my twenty year old first edition that I gave to a friend and fellow dog lover as a Valentine's day gift. Hope she enjoys it. If this is your introduction to Gene Hill I hope you enjoy it too and I'm sure you will add A Listening Walk, Mostly Tailfeathers and Hill Country.

Too bad this book remains out of print. As many hunters realize, the lives of our dogs are unfairly short compared to our own exisitence. I've been around dogs and will until the day I die, and I can honestly say no other dog book covers so many of the same emotions found with owning a dog. The stories in this book are priceless--I still can't read "Old Tom" without a wave of sorrow for my old friends and the simple explanation of "Tippy" shows us exactly what it means to be owned by a dog. This book needs to be reprinted.

I bought this for my husband/hunter and I read it before he did, he was busy with the other one I gave him along with this one called "Just Dogs, a literary and photographic tribute to the great hunting breeds". The stories were wonderful and the illustrations were just as good. My husband often enjoys stories over a single lengthy plot, and these fit the bill perfectly. This book makes a great gift, and the above mentioned is definitely worth considering, the photos alone are fantastic.

Nothing could be more pleasing then to see someone articulate a subject so well. Often quoted (and for good reason), few authors have a more honest voice or greater capacity for storytelling then Gene Hill.

The 26 stories in this book by the late Gene Hillare exactly what the title says. You will eitherlaugh or cry over each one. Fortunately, there is more laughter than tears. If you have ever had a dog steal your heart, you need to read this book you won't be sorry