What a glorious book! I've spent many hours
going through it, and each time is a new revelation. The compiling
of this volume had to be a labor of love for those involved. It
shows in the brief commentaries sometimes accompanying the photos
and artwork, and in 91-year old Charles Elliott telling of how the
certain events and stories shaped the magazine itself.
Outdoor Life is the oldest of U.S.'sporting'
magazines. The history catalogued here is mind-boggling, but
without any of the trappings that let us know we are reading
a history book. This is much more.
It is indeed a dazzeling collection of the most
fascinating images of the outdoor world for a century. It is the
evolution of the American outdoor experience from 1898 to date. Also
included are some very telling pieces of advertising. Even Gary
Cooper extolling the virtues of a Johnston Sea-Horse.
Other photos are grim reminders of what once
was. A black and white photo in the '1966 Section' of two people on
"wave-battered rocks on the California coast, six of us took
150 stripers in a few hour." Others are reminders that maybe nothing
is really new, "I landed this 13-pound char on my McNally Magnum" "The
authors says if you're looking for trophy-size fish in either fresh -
or saltwater, you should try huge streamers that imitate real baitfish."
I just saw an article in a current fishing magazine with almost the
identical story. That article in Outdoor Life, 100 Years in
Photos was published in 1968.
Get this one, put it next to your chair or on the
coffee table, and watch. Anyone interested in the outdoors can't
leave it alone.~ DB
