The Old Man and the Boy

This book is glimpse back into an America that is rapidly vanishing. Robert Ruark can rightly be considered the dean of serious sporting writers. Gene Hill is very good, but only wrote short pieces. Hemingway was vaster, but his angst and internal gordian knot muddy the clear waters. Ruark walks the top rail of the fence: you get the very best of it all. And nowhere does he do it better than in his two "Old Man and the Boy" collections. Others here have said it, but there are stories here that will break your heart clean in two with their aching beauty, their crystal clear images, the smells and tastes of a life spent in rural North Carolina before television. My personal favorite is "September Song", which is, along with "The Road to Tinkhamtown", one of the two or three finest pieces of American sporting literature ever put down. Any appreciation for American sporting literature must begin with Ruark, and any study of Ruark must begin with the Old Man. Without him, you'll never grasp "Horn of the Hunter", or even "Uhuru" or "Something of Value". The Old Man is the key to all the locks. Favorite quote: "Only hunting and mountain climbing are sports. The rest are just games."

My dad introduced this book to my husband a long time ago, and it is his favourite book. The story of the idyllic childhood of Robert Ruark is a must for anyone who loves nature, it make you and laugh and it makes you cry. There is a lesson to be learned in every chapter of this book, which young people do not realise that they are being taught. We have a grandson and he has two copies of "The Old Man and the Boy", one which he leaves with us and one he keeps at home. My husband is teaching Kieron the philosophy of life, as a result of this wonderful story. I have read it too, and can recommend it without reservation.

Ruark's book conjures up memories of my own Old Man. The same guidelines on handling guns and how to shoot are still valid today. Some of the more important parts of this book deal with just going hunting, fishing , etc. not with the results of the day, but why we go do these things. Learn why fishing isn't about catching fish. Learn why some dogs are made to hunt and some aren't. The last chapter "All He Left Me Was The World", is not to be read by the tenderhearted. It strikes a chord with any of us who have lost our Old Man. I too went hunting the day of the Old Man's funeral, I know that's what he would have wanted, and so does Ruark.

My husband received this book for a gift right after we married. I had very little understanding of a real hunter and how holidays and seasons joyfully dictated whether he would be on a dove shoot or freezing cold in a duck blind. He and I read this book countless times and always shed a few tears. Ruark's stories and the sage advise of the old man made this young bride appreciate the land and to love and respect a fine bird dog and the desire to make a bird, fish or venison dinner into a Southern culinary delight. His description of Miss Lottie and her fruitcakes and hams at Christmas are so beautifuly written, that without a doubt,you would give it all up to spend one Christmans with the boy,the old man, and Miss Lottie! A hunter's dream of a way of life.

I first read The Old Man and the Boy when I was a youngster growing up in downstate Illinois. My Paternal Grandfather and my Father were in the sporting goods business, and were devout hunters and fishermen. Everything of value that I have retained to this day I learned at the feet of my two "Old Men". While sitting by a lake with a cane pole, waiting for a bluegill to come along, or freezing in a duck blind on the Mississippi River in the cold of winter, I was passed down the rules of sportsmanship and fair play. The kind of lessons that are taught in the Old Man and the Boy are for every generation to learn and cherish; "Clean up your own mess, consider the feelings of others, have respect for the land, water, and the other creatures who share it with us, practice conservation, know when to speak, and how to listen" Robert Ruark has spun a tale of wonder and delight, I highly recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy reading a great series of outdoor adventures, in a format that never talks down to the reader, insults your intellegence, or becomes stuffy. An outstanding book!!!