By The Book

Article and photos by SALLIE LEWIS

Ibelieve one of the best ways to get to know a person is by looking at their bookshelves. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed building my own home library, stocking it with books from childhood, school, and travels from around the world. Some of my favorites have been gifted by friends or passed down by family members along the way.

Collectively, these titles say a lot about who I am and what I love in life, including nature and the outdoors. Chances are you have your own collection of stories that you like to keep close. While the list is too great to count, below I share a handful of favorites, from flower guides to fishing tales, conservation classics and hunting meditations, along with a few selections from fellow TWA members.

• “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway

Growing up, my parents had an old, weathered copy of “The

Old Man and the Sea” in our beach house. The Pulitzer-

Prize winning novella became summer reading over the course of my childhood. Not only is it a great fishing story… it packs a poignant punch.

• “Range Plants of North Central Texas: A Land User’s

Guide to Their Identification, Value and Management”

by Ricky J. Linex

My neighbors in Fredericksburg gave me this book after they learned of my budding interest in Texas wildflowers and native grasses. It continues to be a great resource for educating myself and is full of interesting trivia and useful information. “Wildflowers of Texas” by native plant expert,

Geyata Ajilvsgi, is another must-have.

• “Producing Quality Whitetails” by Al Brothers and

Murphy E. Ray, Jr.

This title is a likely find on many TWA members’ bookshelves. The popular book is essential reading for practitioners of Quality Deer Management (QDM).

• “Horn of the Hunter” by Robert Ruark

In “Horn of the Hunter,” Robert Ruark recounts the safari he and his wife took to East Africa in the 1950s. Ruark’s

“Something of Value” and “Uhuru” are classics too.

• “The Art of Big Game Hunting in North America” by

Jack O’Connor

Jack O’Connor wrote this, his 17th book, when he was 65 years old, loading it with his knowledge of North America’s big game along with details of flora, fauna, rifles, and more. He once said, “If I had to leave one book to each of my numerous grandsons to remember his grandfather by it would be

“The Art of Hunting,” as I have always called it.” “Big Game

Animals of North America” is another of O’Connor’s finest.

• “Out of Africa ” by Karen Blixen

“I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills,” is one of the most famous and frequently quoted opening lines in all literature. In “Out of Africa,” Danish countess Karen

Blixon, known as Isak Dineson, recounts her years running a coffee plantation in Kenya in the early 1900s. The stories of her relationships with both natives and fellow Europeans are beautifully set amongst the backdrop of the wild African landscape. Beryl Markham's African memoir, “West with the

Night,” is another classic and one that inspired one of my favorite recent books, “Circling the Sun,” by Paula McLain.

• “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold

This environmental classic, published in 1949, is a poetic tribute to the outdoor world as told through a series of essays on conservation. The book beautifully addresses the responsibilities of being a good steward in nature.

• “Goodbye To a River” by John Graves

This story made the short list for past TWA President,

Steve Lewis. The vivid narrative follows a canoe journey down the Brazos River. In it, the author examines the changing environment and the ways the river has shaped both the people and the land over time.

• “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville

For some, “Moby Dick” is perhaps the greatest fishing story ever told. While I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read it, I’m making 2022 my year to get it done.

• “The Time It Never Rained” by Elmer Kelton

The late Elmer Kelton lived and worked in San Angelo. His books are still heralded in the local Cactus Book Shop, which has the largest collection of Texana books in the state. This is one of his most popular works and is mainly a ranching story about tough times in Texas during the 1950s drought.

• “Gift from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Years ago, I read this pocket-sized book by the famed aviator and best-selling author, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. In it, she shares the lessons from her sabbaticals to Captiva Island on

Florida's Gulf Coast. Over the course of its pages, she muses about life, womanhood, and the restorative gifts of solitude through the lens of various seashells, like oyster shells, argonauts, double-sunrise shells, and channeled whelks. From

the shells we inhabit to the shells we shed over the myriad stages of life, the sea's symbolic treasures are profound teachers.

• “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean

“My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him all good things—trout as well as eternal salvation—come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.” This striking message is one of the many reasons that Maclean’s memorable novella about life, family, and fishing is a 20th century classic.

• “Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey” by James Rebanks

This international bestseller was recommended by fellow TWA member Pam Howard of San Antonio. In it, Rebanks examines the global transformation of agriculture and humanity’s relationship to the land through the profile of his family’s farm across three generations.

• “San Antonio Man Tells Tall Tale” by John T. Saunders, Jr.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my uncle John Saunders’ 2015 book “San Antonio Man Tells Tall Tale.” In its pages, he recounts a lifetime of hunting and fishing stories with settings wide-ranging from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Rocky Mountains and South America. The colorful illustrations by San Antonio artists Clay McGaughy and

Pat Safir bring Saunders’ stories to life. It’s a favorite on my bookshelf!

• “Crunch & Des: Classic Stories of Saltwater Fishing”

by Philip Wylie

Growing up, my dad always kept this book on his nightstand.

Phil Wylie's saltwater fishing stories charmed readers of the

Saturday Evening Post for nearly 30 years. The stories follow two charter boat captains named Crunch and Des and are beloved by anglers of all ages.

• “African Game Trails” by Theodore Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt was a staunch supporter of conservation and had a deep appreciation for hunting, which he shares in this more than 600-page classic filled with his stories from Africa.

The title was edited by Peter Capstick who wrote “Death in the

Long Grass.”

• “A Field Guide to Stone Artifacts of Texas Indians” by

Ellen Sue Turner and Thomas R. Hester

Inside this book are details of more than 200 dart and arrow projectile points along with stone tools used by prehistoric

Native Americans in Texas.

• “Tales of the Anglers Eldorado New Zealand” by Zane Grey.

Zane Grey's many novels and tales of adventure have enraptured readers for years. Grey was an avid hunter and prolific angler, purportedly fishing up to 300 days a year.

In this title, he takes his fans on an unforgettable trip to the streams and shores of New Zealand.

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