It’s that time of year when people are getting out and resuming favorite outdoor activities from hunting to fishing and just plain laid-back camping in the pristine wilderness where 3,000 other people are doing the same. I thought it was time to bring this post back from 2017 in case you might have missed it the first go-round.
Enjoy!
Title: Should the Tent Be Burning Like That? A Professional Amateur’s Guide to the Outdoors by Bill Heavey
Genre: Currently #171 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Spots & Outdoors, Miscellaneous, Essays, and
#1136 in Books, Humor & Entertainment, Humor, Essays
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: To be published December 5, 2017
Source: Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley
Title and Cover: Should the Tent Be Burning Like That? – VERY neat cover in keeping with his brand.
I am not a reader of Field and Stream magazine where this author has been a featured writer for more than 20 years. Should the Tent Be Burning Like That by Bill Heavey is a compilation of columns or articles he has written for various publications during the last several decades. The book explores more than an erudite knowledge of his subject.
The amazing thing here is the manner of speaking, the sense of humor, and the down-home self-deprecating, ah shucks pattern in which he delivers his collection of little stories.
From the detailed features of a porta-potty, the Thetford 465 Electric, to a two-piece, 8 foot, fast-action Daiwa Steez Trigger fishing rod with a Shimano Calais 4×8 DC baitcaster with 32 settings and a Dartainium drag that will run you just over $1,333.93, you know there is bound to be a good story involved which will produce some good-natured, read-out-loud guffaw sharing anecdotes.
These articles must have kept the magazine going as anyone reading them would have kept coming back for their laugh endorphins for the week. We are not just talking fishing, or camping, though many of the hunting stories did include camping of necessity as the location of the target was otherwise inaccessible. This man is a dedicated man’s man–whether seeking the trophy caribou or elusive gobbler.
The travelogue alone is worth the read, from the Rockies to the wilds of Canada, no destination was beyond reason if it held a hunting or fishing promise of a worthy bronzeback.
The pre-pub edition I was given was a bit rough around the edges, failing to properly identify stories chronologically, which bothered me noting the narration might have gone from his earlier years to “seven decades” and back again. Knowing this would no doubt be corrected prior to release, I can heartily recommend the chronicle for both the knowledge the articles impart, the keen sense of humor used in the telling, and the good human stories of shared sportsmanship.
I was given this ebook download through Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for the read and review. It was my absolute pleasure. Recommended for sports enthusiast or couch potato alike. Both will enjoy this storyteller, more so since the stories are real-time experience.
Rosepoint Publishing: 4.5 of Five Stars
The Author: Bill Heavey is an editor-at-large for Field & Stream and author of three previous books, along much of the same vein, each title reflecting that essay-entertainment sense of humor, such as You’re Not Lost if You Can Still See the Truck. Besides the contribution made to the magazine noted above, his work has appeared in numerous national publications and the Los Angeles Times, including Men’s Journal, Outside, Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine. He lives in Maryland. ©2017 Virginia Williams 
Rosepoint Publishing 