The fair chase
Subtitle: the epic story of hunting in America
By: Philip Dray
Edition: First edition.
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 396
ISBN-13: 9780465061723
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Social life and customs; Hunting; History
Other titles: Epic story of hunting in America
Description: "Embodying the classic American traits of resourcefulness and rugged independence, the hunter looms larger than life in our national mythology, occupying a unique--and uniquely fraught--place in the American psyche. Popularized in the nineteenth century as a way to reconnect "soft" urban Americans with nature, for many years sport hunting was the national pastime of Americans from all walks of life, while it became a common theme in literature, art, and design. Fair chase, a code of hunting ethics emphasizing respect and restraint toward wildlife, inspired the conservation movement. Yet, hunting is linked to some less-than-honorable aspects of American history. Pioneers emulated Native American hunting methods even as they usurped their hunting grounds; market hunters drove many animal species toward extinction. Today, questions regarding wildlife protection, animal rights, the abuse of the fair chase ethos, and the sport's sometimes uneasy relationship with gun culture, continue to stir debate. In The fair chase, Philip Dray tells the sweeping saga of hunting in America from Daniel Boone to Annie Oakley, from Theodore Roosevelt to Ernest Hemingway. Hunting's history has much to tell us about our country's legends, its faith in manifest destiny, its evolving views on nature and wildlife, its love of sport and notions of self-reliance--in short, about nothing less than the shaping of our national character"--Dust jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 361-382) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : the nature of the beast; title: The prophet; title: When good Queen Bess met Daniel Boone; title: "Let us have more hunters"; title: Hunters go west; title: Forest and stream; title: Arming the hunters; title: Sportsman's paradise; title: Buffalo Bill, Custer, and Texas Jack; title: The new type of goodness; title: "Times have changed, and we must change also"; title: What is nature, what is man?; title: The trophic crusade; title: the guns of autumn; title: Epilogue : a complex inheritance.