The Rifle By Gary Paulsen

E

elks

New member
I was givien this book today by a student. I have read the usual Paulsen stories like Hatchet and a few others. Always found them enjoyable. However, this book has left me with mixed feelings. At times it seems to take on an Anti-gun mentality. Who else has read it? What feelings did the book leave you with? I really liked the first 1/2 of the the book, but the last half was not what I wanted as a reader.

I am thinking about using this in my class as a book for a reading group. With the group a I could talk about all the mistakes made and tie in a couple thymes and life lessons.

On a side note maybe we could start up a PM Book reading club, read some books on hunting, read and reveiw books on the old west, trappers etc.

Thanks,

Rob
 
Last edited:
elks, a reading club sounds cool. I'm just finishing up a book that I'm gonna recomend to everyone once I finish it (Sunday). It is a really a good book on hunting and life in general in the Texas hill country. Tell me a little more about Paulsens writing if you don't mind.
Trashcan
 
Never read the author. I'm deep into Stephen Hunter and his "Swagger" series right now. Good stuff, especially for gun cranks.
 
My 11 year old son has read every Paulsen book he can get his hands on, but not that one. Matt is really conservative (where does he get that?) so if he picks up a copy and reads it I will forward his thoughts.
 
I read it and thought it was a good book. I really enjoy historical fiction. Another good read is The adventures of Fred Bear.

I'm all for a reading club. If it is about the outdoors, I want to read it.
 
Last edited:
I'm all for the reading club.

I've read many of Paulsen's books and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a slight anti-gun tone. I doubt it's anything glaring but you get the feel. In Hatchet, I remember something about him finding the breakdown .22 in the plane. He wrote about that and made it sound like it was a very uncomfortable this to use the gun to get food after he had been trapping the grouse.

As for books, every hunter owes it to themselves to the the reprinted version of "The maneaters of Tsavo" by Colonel Patterson. The movie ranged off a long ways from the book. It is a different way of writing but very interesting.
 
Now you are talking!
The Maneaters reprint is first rate. I got cold chills reading that bad boy.....the movie "Ghost in the Darkness" doesn't even begin to compare to the actual story.
 
I have read every Capstick book, even the ones he authored and retold alongside some old Ivory Hunters. Another good one is "Jim Corbett, Master of the Jungle" by Tim Werling. copyright 1988 by Safari Press. Corbett lived in India during the late 1890s/early 1900s and was responsible for eliminating a great many man-eating tigers and leopards.
 
I've been a bookworm since the age of 7 or so, my whole family is. I love books.

GC- I read my first Hunter book and immediately went on Amazon and bought everything he'd written. Some are better than others, but I wasn't disappointed.

When I was younger I read the Haggard books on Africa, and then Wilbur Smith, T.H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, etc. Also many (more or less) non-fiction including Capstick. Those and taking care of pool and yard maintenance for our local African big game hunter (2500 sq ft of "trophy rooms" WOW!!) have made dream (and read) of African hunting for most of my life.

On this side of the pond, I think it's hard to beat James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, and of course as a teenager (in between science fiction) I devoured Zane Grey, Luke Short, Ray Hogan, and Louis L'Amour (did I mention I liked books?).

In our new house, the front living room is going to be our library. One of my first "designated projects" is to build in 15ft of floor to ceiling bookcases. After moving boxes from storage to the garage at our new house today, I think it might not be enough. Oh well, I've still got the book cases from my old house too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Good old time Alaskan tales by Russell Anabell are available at Safari Press. Excellent series of sourdough adventures.

"Hell I Was There" by Elmer Kieth is a classic.

About anything by Skeeter Skelton or Finn Agaard.

I always liked Bob Hagel.

I'll second Capstick also.

"Unrepentant Sinner" by Col. Charles Askins will stop and make you think about old time gunslingers.
 
Back
Top