Order Christmas Book Gifts Now.

Each year in late November of early December I urge readers to order their Christmas book gifts early. I often do a short book review on several great new books that cross my desk, and urge people who are looking for other fishing and hunting titles to look over Scoop's Books at <dave@daverichey.com> . A book on fishing or hunting can make the perfect Christmas gift for the angler or sportsman in your life, and this three-week-plus advance warning gives people plenty of time for delivery providing orders are made promptly. Scoop's Books has more than 400 used fishing and hunting books and magazines for sale.

On The Trail Of The Indian Tiger by Tobias J. Lanz, Ph.D.

Published by Safari Press, 15621 Chemical Lane, Building B, Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1506. Phone (714) 894-9080. Visit their website a <www.safaaripress.com> or email them at <info@safariPress.com> . This book was published in 2009, contains 332 pages and is illustrated with b/w photos & drawings. $34.95 plus shipping.

India was always the stronghold of the tiger, and during the British Raj from 1858-1947, the ceremonies and rituals surrounding this grand hunt was among the most lavish in the world. The British, and their empire building, brought a host of men who wanted to taste the excitement of hunting these giant cats from howdahs, precariously perch atop an elephant's back. The sportsmen of this era suffered the nerve twitching anxiety of hunting from tree-top machans or platforms in wooded areas.

There were famous hunters such as Jim Corbett, who took it upon himself to hunt the man-eating tigers on foot or horseback. Corbett lived through these hunts, wrote books about hunting leopards and tigers, but many native villagers were ambushed by the felines and paid with their lives. This is a hair-raising account about hunting these beautiful animals. This gripping anthology of hunting tales will keep you riveted to your easy chair. All of Safari Press' books are sold only by them, and not sold anywhere else. They are handsome and well-bound books.

Sun Over The Dark Continent by Charles Bazzy.

Published by Safari Press Inc. Address and other information listed above. $85 in hardcover with slipcase. Price does not include shipping.

This book tells the tales of 54 years of big-game hunting in Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopa, Kenya, Sudan, Tanganyika and Zambia, and it was on the Dark Continent where we also worked as an apprentice Professional Hunter. His career of  taking people to Africa, helping them get their big-game trophies, and soaking up the lore and love of the African continent is a major story among African hunters. Bazzy was a lucky and skilled hunter, and his lesser kudu still ranks among the top five in the world for that species. The brown cloth cover features a gilt setting son with a charging rhino on it.

Bazzy tells the story of this longtime love affair with Africa and its game animals, and between the covers of this book, which is limited to 1,000 numbered and signed copies, are stories about his hunts for African elephant, bongo, Cape buffalo, giant eland, lechwe, leopard, lion, sitatunga, white rhino and much more. This is much more than just about a Michigan resident who loves to hunt in Africa. It holds readers spellbound as Bazzy discusses numerous safaris and the people who made these treks with the author. Again, another exceptional hunting book by Safari Press, the best publishing house  on worldwide big-game and trophy wild game hunting.

Siatwinda by Joe Brooks.

Published by Safari Press. Address and other information listed above. $65 in hardcover plus shipping. This is the story of an elephant control officer and Professional Hunter in Zambia, who also is a crocodile hunter, breeder and an adventuresome type, who has been doing this kind of work since 1962. Many books on PHs are available, and some of them are very good reads. This is that type of book, and Brooks tells some hair-raising tales of controlling rogue and very unpredictable elephants.

Brooks hunted some out-sized monster elephants including one that went over 20 feet. He also regales readers about hunting crocodiles from a leaky boat with a Scotsman named "Crazy Mack." One bizarre tale about Brooks being asked to remove a long-dead elephant from a river. He began by  pulling the dead elephant out with his vehicle, and suddenly several natives jumped on it to float along. The carcass rolled over in the current, and the natives fell into the river amid a bunch of crocodiles, who were following their meal. He also hunted down rogue elephants that raised havoc with local villagers, and once shot two crop-raising elephants with one shot. It is an engrossing book that tells of Africa then and now.

Safari Rifles II by Craig Boddington.

Published by Safari Press Inc. Address and other information listed above. Harcover and dust jacket at $49.99 plus shipping. No one  living today knows more about double rifles, magazine rifles and cartridges for African hunting than the author. He wrote the extremely popular Safari Rifles in 1989 based on his African experiences up to that point. Boddington is the real deal, and is acknowledged as the pro among professional hunters. His name is synonymous with African big-game hunting. Anyone considering a hunt to the Dark Continent should buy and study this book because there is nothing better available.

Boddington realized that the needs of today's African hunting are much different than they were 20 years ago. He presents his information in clearly-explained, bite size pieces that readers can easily digest. The result is the reader gets a solid understanding of what works and what doesn't. He solves the problem many hunters have of which sights are really best for big-bore rifles. Is a single shot a responsible choice for dangerous game? If this isn't, it should become the Bible for hunters interested in learning which rifles, calibers and bullets are best suited for hunting today's Africa. Boddington's books on African game and hunting are cherished by hunters who have been on the sharp point of a charging member of the Big 5, and lived to tell their tale. Boddington knows his stuff, and he delivers it in fine fashion. This book with its lush color photos is one of his best.

The last time I had a chance to speak with Craig Boddington was in 1991 as he prepared to go to war with the US Marines during Desert Storm. He served his time in other hell-holes, and I wish to publicly thank him for his long military experiences in helping to protect the American way of life, and now he is writing some of the most profound books on safari rifles. Best of luck, man!

African Game Trails by Theodore Roosevelt.

Published by Safari Press Inc. Address and other information listed above. Hardcover and dust jacket at $49.95 plus shipping. This book has been  printed and reprinted, time and again through many editions, and it never loses its appeal. It was first printed in book form in 1910, and 99 years later, it is still as impressive now as back then. Teddy and his entourage, as well as his son Kermit, made their safari a year before the book came out. This safari, perhaps the most flamboyant safari ever, lasted almost a year and the great man himself wrote much of the book while on safari and this newest printing celebrates the 100th anniversary of that great experience.

The emphasis of this safari, which was undertaken for the Smithsonian Museum, resulted in Kermit hunting for the more difficult African game animals such as the bongo, giant eland, sitatunga and the white rhino. Hunting licenses were not required for leopards and lions and multiple  elephant and rhino were issued on one hunting license. This is a lavish book, and quality paper was used to provide the best possible reproduction of 100-year-old photos. This is the story of perhaps the most lavish safari ever put together. Anyone with a sense of history, and a willingmess to put everything in its proper perspective, would realize that this was a far-flung event, even 100 years ago.

Mark Sosin: A Sportsman's Memoir by Mark Sosin.

Published by Mark Sosin's Saltwater journal, 681 S.W. 15th Street, Boca Raton, FL 33486.  For more detailed information contact him at <sosinmark@aol.com> . It sells for $29.95 plus shipping and handling. I've known Mark for more years than I can remember, but I remember the occasion. It was at an Outdoor Writer's Association of American conference in 1969 in Duluth, Minn., and it's where we first got to know each other. Since that time, 40 years ago, Sosin has been one of my favorite people. And for good reason.

We are about the same age, and both of us are crusty old curmudgeons. I suspect his voice is louder than mine, but only because he's a bigger man than me. There's one thing Mark is, and that is he is the ultimate professional outdoor communicator. He's dabbled in a few more things that I have, and his television show has seemingly been running forever. We've both done the book gig, have both written for outdoor magazines and newspapers, and each of us has dabbled in radio. Mark is a raconteur, a story-teller with unique talents. He tells stories, and when he's done, people are laughing at him and with him. It's a special talent that too few people still possess.

This book is a collection of 350 stories from five decades of fishing around the world. Even I don't know where all these spots are that Mark has fished, and it's quite possible he may have forgotten a few countries along the way. He's done some freshwater fishing years ago, but his massive out-put of saltwater fishing tales is as big as the man himself. But wherever Mark Sosin travels, there are people who know him and he knows them. He moves in different circles than I do because I can count all of my saltwater adventures on one hand, and have a finger left over. Not Mr. Sosin.

When he talks, people listen. When he tells a funny story, people listen and laugh. When he gets serious, and commences to tell people how to catch fish under certain circumstances, nary a sound is heard. His size, his voice and his presense is like a command performance. I've heard a few of the stories in this lavish array of self-published hilarity, and if you're looking for some good chuckles while reading some very well written stories, this book is for you.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors