A look at competitive duck painting reflected in the 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest explains how the annual duck stamp raises funds for the National Wildlife Refuge System and involves clashes between hunters and conservationists.

THE WILD DUCK CHASE is the basis for “The Million Dollar Duck,” a documentary feature film, directed by Brian Golden Davis and written by Martin J. Smith, premiering at The Slamdance Film Festival in January 2016. The book takes readers into the peculiar world of competitive duck painting as it played out during the 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest-the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government. Since 1934, the duck stamp, which is bought annually by hunters to certify their hunting license, has generated more than $750 million, and 98 cents of each collected dollar has been used to help purchase or lease 5.3 million acres of waterfowl habitat in the United States. As Martin J. Smith chronicles in his revealing narrative, within the microcosm of the duck stamp contest are intense ideological and cultural clashes between the mostly rural hunters who buy the stamps and the mostly suburban and urban birders and conservationists who decry the hunting of waterfowl. The competition also fuels dynamic tensions between competitors and judges, and among the invariably ambitious, sometimes obsessive and eccentric artists--including Minnesota's three fabled Hautman brothers, the "New York Yankees" of competitive duck painting. Martin Smith takes readers down an arcane and uniquely American rabbit hole into a wonderland of talent, ego, art, controversy, scandal, big money, and migratory waterfowl.

When three ducklings arrive in Fosterland, it is the white mallard, Billie, who feels different than the others, and though he likes being in there with his friends he sometimes longs to be free in the wild.

The book that Entertainment Weekly called "hilarious," Publishers Weekly declared "a true pleasure," Booklist called "heartwarming," and the Dallas Morning News praised as "rich and funny" is now available in paperback. When Bob Tarte bought a house in rural Michigan, he was counting on a tranquil haven. Then Bob married Linda. She wanted a rabbit, which seemed innocuous enough until the bunny chewed through their electrical wiring. And that was just the beginning. Before long, Bob found himself constructing cages, buying feed, clearing duck waste, and spoon-feeding a menagerie of furry and feathery residents. His life of quiet serenity vanished, and he unwittingly became a servant to a relentlessly demanding family. "They dumbfounded him, controlled and teased him, took their share of his flesh, stole his heart" (Kirkus Reviews). Whether commiserating with Bob over the fate of those who are slaves to their animals or regarding his story as a cautionary tale about the rigors of animal ownership, readers on both sides of the fence have found Tarte's story of his chaotic squawking household irresistible--and irresistibly funny.

The sporting shooting available in Great Britain today is the envy of the world. Many newcomers find entry into the complex world of shooting daunting, and this book explains the various aspects that surround sporting shooting in all its guises. Topics covered include: choosing a gun and gun safety; clothing and other equipment; finding shooting; the quarry species; driven shooting; the DIY shoot; rough shooting and gundogs. Fully illustrated with 80 colour photographs.

Follow Stranger Things fan favorite Dustin Henderson on a journey that takes him beyond Hawkins. It’s fall 1985, and Dustin Henderson is starting his freshman year at Hawkins High School. After the tragedy at the Starcourt Mall, he’s ready for life to return to normal, but things feel different. Some friends have moved away. Others are still in town but growing distant. Dustin thinks entering a science competition will make everything like it used to be, but will Lucas and Mike join him? Or will he have to rely on a charismatic metalhead named Eddie? Join Dustin on a road trip filled with inventions, heavy metal, and a new understanding of his place in Hawkins. Sprinkled with references to your favorite Stranger Things characters, this novel chronicles the events between seasons three and four of Netflix’s iconic series.

For more than thirty years, journalist and author Martin J. Smith has traveled the American West, chasing offbeat stories that often are bizarre, always compelling, and at times profound. His journey through that oft-idealized and misunderstood landscape has made him a witness to some of the West’s most interesting places, people, and events, from his Valentine’s Day at Nevada’s Mustang Ranch brothel to the deathbed of a man who spent three decades building two 150-ton concrete dinosaurs in the desert; from the eviction of a fading rock star from his mansion to the guitar king’s improbable resurrection more than a decade later; from the final rampage of an unlikely Colorado martyr to his marathon stint watching the driver’s ed snuff films of the California Highway Patrol. He spent a lot of time in the only pet cemetery in idyllic Orange County, Calif. This collection of essays, often told with the wisdom and perspective of a writer looking back, chronicles in vivid detail the heroes, heels, and cultural spasms of an endlessly fascinating frontier. Smith hits the road with marginalized astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, and dives into the middle of a corporate and existential crisis at Sea World, where friendly mascot Shamu had just drowned its trainer. He tests open water swimming with a Southern California woman who eventually swam to Antarctica. He exposes the huckster behind the worldwide Whaling Wall fraud, tours L.A. with a tireless band of Japanese honeymooners, visits the factory where the world’s finest fake rocks are made, and retrieves balls for the seventysomething podiatrist who holds the world record for basketball freethrow shooting.

At the intersection of hunting and conservation, a man shares his personal journey from staunch anti-hunter to compassionate, ethical hunter, weaving together a larger history of humans, animals, the environment, and our food systems. The Shotgun Conservationist doesn’t teach us how to hunt, it explores why we should hunt. As public lands remain imperiled, factory farms pollute the earth and subject animals to inhumane conditions, and global uncertainty presses us all to be more self-sufficient, there has never been a better time to take up hunting. Writer, natural historian, and public speaker Brant MacDuff has done just that. An avid animal lover and raised as a non-hunter, MacDuff started his journey intending to investigate the claim that “hunting is conservation.” So convinced, he now holds a hunting license in four states and gives lectures on the positive impact it has on conservation efforts nationwide. Armed with years of experience in the field and a deep love for the natural world, MacDuff tells the provocative, humorous, and insightful story of how he became a hunter. Along the way, readers meet a cast of colorful characters and learn the firsthand research that helped change Brant’s mind. You may not book a hunting trip after reading The Shotgun Conservationist, but you’ll have a new perspective on and appreciation for those that do.