Ted Lundrigan shares a special place in northern Minnesota, where poplar thickets and dense alder runs have replaced virgin stands of pine and have provided the perfect home to the toughest of all game birds: the ruffed grouse.

Ian Nyschens (pronounced "nations") shot as many elephants as Walter Bell did--well over 1,000--and under much more difficult circumstances. His book will rank or surpass the best elephant-ivory hunting books published in the twentieth century. Remarkably, his adventures took place much later than the likes of Bell, Sutherland, Neumann, and others. The stories of his hunts with his double rifle are sure to impress. Ian's career as an elephant hunter began in 1947 in Southern Rhodesia when he found a companion--Faanie Joosten--and the pair of them started hunting for ivory for a living. They roamed far and wide, often outside of the law, as far north as southern Tanzania and as far east as the coast of Mozambique. But Ian's stronghold was the thick jess bush of the Zambezi Valley, a place he loved more than any other. There, visibility was so poor that sometimes a hunter could be close enough to touch an elephant with the barrel of his rifle before he could see it. Ian's life was one fantastic epic adventure after another. He once faced a stampede of seventeen furious elephants in reeds over twelve feet tall and had to shoot a "wall" of elephants to prevent him and his companions from being overrun. On another occasion Ian and Faanie developed a method of hunting crocodiles for their skins that entailed walking chest-deep into the Zambezi River at night. They would stand next to an anchored hippo leg and "brain" the crocs. In the end that got a bit too much even for Ian, and he gave it up as being too hazardous. Ian was married for a time, but his lifestyle was not conducive to domestic bliss, and the marriage did not last. Once the Kariba Dam was completed in 1959, it flooded a great deal of his beloved Zambezi Valley, and Ian's world began to shrink. He continued to shoot elephant under the control scheme set by Rhodesian authorities, but his footloose days were at an end. He joined the wildlife department as a game ranger for a while, but his unsociable character made for a short career. He shot most of his elephants with a Rigby .450 31⁄4. He used the Rigby so much that the barrels separated from use (the solder disengaged), and he had to send it back to London to have it repaired. Not many people use a double rifle to that extent! Ian Nyschens was the most notorious elephant poacher in Rhodesia until the time he was finally appointed a warden to help protect the game. This is a highly entertaining story of an irascible loner whose violent adventures make Jesse James sound like a Sunday school teacher! Footnote: Sadly, Ian Nyschens died on 6 December 2006 in Harare, Zimbabwe. May he now tread in the eternal hunting grounds where all elephants carry tusks of a minimum of eighty pounds per side. Farewell old friend, you will be missed by many.

For fans of Cheryl Strayed, the gripping story of a biologist's human-powered journey from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic to rediscover her love of birds, nature, and adventure. During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals. In March of 2012, she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic, traveling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace -- migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou, and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences. A unique blend of science, adventure, and personal narrative, The Sun is a Compass explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of the creatures who make their homes in the wildest places left in North America. Inspiring and beautifully written, this love letter to nature is a lyrical testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Winner of the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition: Adventure Travel

A collection of essays by scientist Wade Davis that analyze the interactions between human societies and the natural world.

When a ghost ship is on a crash course with a helpless planet, first the Jedi must find it, then they must stop it.

Memories of fall days in the coverts are brought alive again in this anthology of grouse hunting stories.

Problems arise when demon hunter Shay Peterson discovers that her next quarry is Nic Diavolo, a gorgeous surfer trapped between two warring realms, who must use his seductive wiles to join forces with an unwilling Shay to save himself from an evil enemy out to steal his very soul. Original.

Marvin Hunt's remarkable Among the Children of the Sun takes readers to an island nation that millions of people visit yearly, but few actually know much about. Bypassing the well-known resorts of Nassau and Freeport, he concentrates on life in the other islands of the Bahamas—the Family Islands. Hunt explores the geology of these islands; the racial, social and political history of the nation; its storied history as an eighteenth-century haven for pirates; its customs, its food and music; its religious traditions; and the challenges it faces as an emerging nation, in a lively narrative, reminiscent of Paul Theroux, that spans fifteen years of travel. Richly detailed, full of lively encounters with people and places, Among the Children of the Sun does what no other book about the Bahamas has done: take readers beyond the name tags and smiling faces of those who service the tourist industry, into their real lives, conveying the triumphs and tragedies of ordinary people living in an extraordinary landscape. It is a work of self-discovery, too, as the author comes to terms with his own evolving life.

Sun is out to impress in this slightly egotistical first-person account that sheds light on the facts, history, and myths about its existence. Sun seeks to inspire readers to wonder and search for discoveries in this witty STEM-infused exploration of the center of our solar system.