"The Bow Tie Book includes a brief history of the bow tie and features more than 100 full-color and black-and-white photographs of bow tie-wearing men, along with quotes and essays from bow tie wearers, designers, and their admirers. It also includes over 20 full-color illustrations created specially for this book by noted artist James Gulliver Hancock, as well as a fully illustrated and removable "How to Tie a Bow Tie" cheat sheet."--Provided by publisher

I can't really explain my attraction to the bow and arrow. I can't explain the pull of a camp fire either, or the ocean, or the open hills where you can see forever. It's just there. These things are in all of us I think, some vestige of our primitive past buried so deep in our genome as to be inseparable from what it is to be human. What we think of as civilization is a new experiment in the eyes of Father Time. Experts say that humans have been around for some fifty thousand years. We've been carrying the bow for maybe five thousand (atlatls and spears before that), and pushing the plow for maybe two thousand. We have been hunters forever. We are built to run, to pursue big game on the open savannas, to kill and eat them. With the dwindling of the Pleistocene mega fauna, mammoths and such, the bow became more important and indeed helped to make us who we are today. It still holds that attraction, same as the hearth. When I was a kid I would make crude bows from green plum branches, big at one end and small at the other. A discarded hay string would serve as a bowstring. My arrows were fat and unfletched and would scarcely fly more than a few yards, usually tumbling over in midair. The small creatures around our home were plenty safe. When I was about 12 or so my brother brought me two old Ben Person recurves he'd found at a yard sale. One was a short bow, probably no more than 48 inches and the other was more of a standard size. They both drew about 50 lbs if I recall. That fall happened to be a good year for cottontails around our little farm and I spent countless hours walking the fields and shooting at them as they busted from underfoot. Although I'd get several shots a day I never did hit one on the fly but I remember that fall fondly nonetheless. The pleasure of jumping rabbits and seeing the feathered shaft streaking toward them was a thrill I've never forgotten. I made my first "real" bow when I was in high school, after getting a copy of the Traditional Bowyers Bible in the mail (more on this in a moment). My first bow, a decrowned mulberry flatbow, broke within about 10 shots. The second held together quite well and is probably still around somewhere and capable of shooting an arrow, though it would probably draw about 70lbs. When I first started making bows I used the woods I had close at hand; mulberry, common persimmon, red maple, white cedar, etc. I'd probably made more than a dozen bows of various woods before I ever saw a piece of Osage. People often ask me where they can find a bow stave and, invariably, I tell them to use what they have close by. No matter where you live, you'll have something near that will make a bow. Go cut it down and get started. This book is an attempt to share some of what I've learned over my years of bow making. The Traditional Bowyers Bible series, as mentioned earlier, is still a great source of information. Why write another book on making wood bows you might ask? The simple answer is that there are so many ways of doing and explaining things. There are still unanswered questions and we'll cover many of them here. We will cover all of the most frequently asked questions, and lay out a simple plan that should guide you through the entire process, from finding a stave to stringing your bow and shooting your first arrow. Some of what you'll find here, you'll find nowhere else.

Petersen's Bowhunting field editor and bowhunting expert Bill Winke takes you through critical yet surprisingly easy steps to bow setup and maintenance. Along the way, he breaks down how bows and accessories work together and the best tuning methods to get your arrows shooting accurately. From paper tuning to getting fixed-blade broadheads to fly straight, Winke has taken the mystery and guesswork out of setting up an accurate hunting bow and produced an illustrative and in-depth tuning guide that will be a great addition to your bowhunting library.

An exquisitely written, uplifting middle grade debut by acclaimed author, Erin Bow, about a young girl who defies her family's expectations in order to save her brother and become an eagle hunter, perfect for fans of PAX. It goes against all tradition for Aisulu to train an eagle, for among the Kazakh nomads, only men can fly them. But everything changes when Aisulu discovers that her brother, Serik, has been concealing a bad limp that risks not just his future as the family's leader, but his life too. When her parents leave to seek a cure for Serik in a distant hospital, Aisulu finds herself living with her intimidating uncle and strange auntie--and secretly caring for an orphaned baby eagle. To save her brother and keep her family from having to leave their nomadic life behind forever, Aisulu must earn her eagle's trust and fight for her right to soar. Along the way, she discovers that family are people who choose each other, home is a place you build, and hope is a thing with feathers. Erin Bow's lyrical middle grade debut is perfect for fans of original animal-friendship stories like Pax and Because of Winn Dixie.

Colours in the Steel, Volume One of the Fencer Trilogy, introduced a remarkable new voice in fantasy fiction. The Belly of the Bow confirms that rich promise and establishes K. J. Parker in the top rank of writers. The city of Perimadeia has fallen. Bardas Loredan, the man who was supposed to save it, is now living on the Island -- a recluce, living apart from his family in the mountains, with only a young apprentice for company. His life as a fencer-at-law is over. Instead, Loredon spends his days perfecting the art of bow-making. But his isolation will not last forever; and when the Island comes under attack, his skills as a soldier and general are once again called upon.

“Take Glee, toss it in Lincoln Center, shake out the bizarre stereotypes and you get Take a Bow . . . one page turner that has us yearning for an encore.” —MTV’s Hollywood Crush From the award-winning author of Prom & Prejudice and Past Perfect Life comes a story of all the drama and comedy of four friends who grow into themselves at a performing arts high school. Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are getting ready for their Senior Showcase recital, where the pressure is on to appeal to colleges, dance academies, and professionals in show business. For Sophie, a singer, it’s been great to be friends with Emme, who composes songs for her, and to date Carter, soap opera heartthrob who gets plenty of press coverage. Emme and Ethan have been in a band together through all four years of school, but wonder if they could be more than just friends and bandmates. Carter has been acting since he was a baby, and isn’t sure how to admit that he’d rather paint than perform. The Senior Showcase is going to make or break each of the four, in a funny, touching, spectacular finale that only Elizabeth Eulberg could perform. “This fresh, fun, fabulous read will have you cheering for new beginnings. Five shiny gold stars!” —Susane Colasanti, bestselling author of the City Love series “The cutthroat competitiveness is balanced by quiet, thoughtful moments of soul-searching regarding stardom, the creative process, and doing and sharing what they love. Readers who love seeing underdogs come out ahead will be delighted with the conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly “Realistic dialogue and a healthy dose of teen angst keep the pages turning.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A bent stick and a string- for 20,000 years there has come from it a fascination that remains to this day. Archery in it's original form, with a simple device, without special features, has been finding more and more participants for some years and the art of bow building has also been rediscovered."--Front insert.

Originally published: New York: Mason/Charter, 1975.

The life and inspirational teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Japanese master archer first introduced in the martial arts classic Zen in the Art of Archery A Zen and kyudo (archery) master, Awa Kenzo (1880–1939) first gained worldwide renown after the publication of Eugen Herrigel's cult classic Zen in the Art of Archery in 1953. Kenzo lived and taught at a pivotal time in Japan's history, when martial arts were practiced primarily for self-cultivation, and his wise and penetrating instructions for practice (and life)—including aphorisms, poetry, instructional lists, and calligraphy—are infused with the spirit of Zen. Kenzo uses the metaphor of the bow and arrow to challenge the practitioner to look deeply into his or her own true nature.