The Complete Sportsman's Encyclopedia

Originally published in 1913 and designed to be taken along on any outdoor excursion, The Sportsman's Encyclopedia--a collection, really, of several individual manuals and commercial catalogues that Buzzacott issued over time--offers a fascinating window onto a preconservation era when adventurers approached nature as an adversary fit to exploit and trample. Pack light? This is a concept Buzzacott never heard of; the great tent he created resembles a prefab that needs trucking in. The modern notion of leaving no trace of your presence behind? Buzzacott prefers chopping down a tree and turning its stump into a table. This is a real piece of Americana, issued in facsimile form; what makes it such an appealing artifact is its very political incorrectness and how far we've hiked from some of its less enlightened corners.

Yet, for all that's dated about it, the Encyclopedia remains a spirited and remarkably useful instructional for anglers and hunters. It's filled with practical pointers--"open the stomach of your first fish and see what they are feeding on and follow the 'tip'"--and detailed advice on equipment, reading weather, cleaning guns, tying knots, setting decoys, selecting flies, and choosing bait that has stood the test of time. In the end, though, it's the oddities that dazzle as they raise your eyebrows, like this pre-Heimlich maneuver should someone in your party be choking: "If possible force water down the throat or push down substance with spoon handle. Hearty slapping on the back is also effective. Getting on all-fours will help matters." It's not easy finding advice like that anymore. --Jeff Silverman

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