Dave Richey OUTDOORS

Theodore Roosevelt: Hunter-Conservationist. This book is available from the Boone & Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801-2753. Order at <www.boone-crockett.org> or call (888) 840-4868. Hardcover with dust jacket in a limited edition of 1,000 numbered and signed copies is $99.95 while supplies last. A paperback edition is $39.95.

Many big-game hunters know that Teddy Roosevelt founded the Boone & Crockett Club, but many do not fully appreciate his broad, unrivaled influences on hunting and conservation today," said Julie Houk, director of publications for the club. "His stewardship, sportsmanship and leadership remains the standard of excellence and responsibility."

This is a big and heavy book, measuring 10 3/4 by 10 inches, and it has 312 pages with more than 200 color and b/w images from many sources. It was written by noted book author and historian R. L. Wilson. It has decorated endpapers, and the photo has been resized for publication here.

This is the first-ever biography of Theodore Roosevelt as a hunter and conservationist. More than 200 photographs, paintings and drawings are reproduced to full-color, sepia tone, and black and white on high-quality glossy paper for superb reproduction. This book includes dozens of detailed images of Roosevelt's rifles and shotguns he used during his life. It includes coverage of Roosevelt's entire life from his time as a young boy exploring the woods, to his years ranching in the West, as a politician back East, and his 1909-1910 African safari.

Roosevelt was a no-nonsense individual, and a man deeply in love with the outdoors. Other presidents, before and after Roosevelt, may have played a bit at hunting but not Teddy. He recognized that hunting was important, within reason, to keep game and its habitat strong far into the future. He may have been one of the first U.S. presidents to recognize that our wild game and the habitat it lives in is not inexhaustible. He fought hard to help protect the wildness of much of the United States, and pointedly illustrated the need to conserve our wild lands and the animals, birds and fish that live there.

This is a great and wonderful book, rich in the conservation and hunting traditions that Roosevelt felt was needed, and it is a wealth of information about the past, present and future needs to conserve our resources. It rates a prominent place in the library of any sportsman.

Whitetail III, edited by Curt Wells. Published by the Pope & Young Club, PO Box 548, Chatfield, MN 55923. Again, a large and heavy book, and this one is a hardcover book with 850 pages of solid whitetail deer information. This, the third edition, was published in 2009. The cost is $43.95 postpaid. Order online at <www.pope-young.org> or (507) 867-4144 for MasterCard or Visa card payment.

This is the third in this series, and new editions have been printed every six years since 1997. This book, like the Boone & Crockett record books, are a valuable tool for bow hunters seeking whitetail bucks with great antlers. Its value as a hunting resource tool lies in its more than 45,000 listings of whitetail and Coues deer in the P&Y archives. Each listing includes  the ranking by the final score, length of main beams, inside spread, number of points, county where harvested, hunter's name, year taken, all-time rank and state rank are noted.

Read chapters on how to age deer on the hoof, discussions on the merit of hunting from ground level, the biology of the killing power of a broadhead, and perhaps what readers can learn for themselves. Go through these records, learn which state counties are producing the largest number of big bucks in each state, and start narrowing down a new spot to hunt with permission. No one else can do this for a hunter because it entails some work, but it can be of huge benefit to buy this book and to become a P&Y member,

A CD-Rom is the records is included with this record book. The CD contains a digital version of the whitetail deer record book in PDF format. This format  allows users to personally sort the data fields at their choosing on their PC.

These listings are enhanced with portrait photography of the largest deer, typical and non-typical, for each state and province. Also featured are dozens and dozens of quality field photos and entry density maps for each state. This amounts to a graduate degree in learning how to find a whitetail hotspot of your own but you'll have to provide the sweat equity to locate these areas, obtain hunting permission if on private land, and then lay down boot leather to locate key hunting areas. This book can be the first step to taking a bit buck with a bow that will make the record books.

Bows, Does & Bucks: An Introduction To Archery Deer Hunting by Michael A. DiLorenzo. Order books from Running Moose Publications, 42400 Garfield Road, Clinton Township, MI 48038. For more information and ordering details, go to <www.adventureswithjonny.com> . Hardcover, $19.95 plus postage.

This is the third in a continuing series of Adventures With Jonny. DiLorenzo, an ardent angler and hunter who lives in southern Michigan, also authored Adventures With Jonny, Let's Go Fishing and Adventures With Jonny, Ice Fishing, The Coolest Sport On Earth. DiLorenzo's son, Jonny, is the model for these books, and is an enthusiastic teenagers who works with his father during photography and writing sessions.

"The key to these books is the fact they are meant to help the youngster and their parents learn about fishing, or in this case, about bow hunting as part of a team effort," Michael says. "This book is filled with tips, tricks and information based on their personal experiences. However, they've taken this a big step further by enlisting the help of other prominent and professional sportsmen such as: Jim Morrow of MJC Archery in Clinton Township; Tom Nelson of American Archery Television; Dave Richey, book author and seller, and the retired staff outdoor writer for The Detroit News; Bob Eastman and Lennie Remer of Eastman Outdoors; John Ozoga, retired DNR deer biologist, and many others for fine-point technical information.

This book takes parent and children from Building Up To The Hunt through field dressing the deer to hanging it prior to cutting it up. Key points in every step from beginning to end is covered with the basic facts as well as how-to color drawings and photos. Cut-away drawings zoom in on the points being made in the text, and this great combination of words and illustrations makes this book a great learning tool.

Non-hunters and even longtime deer hunters will learn something new here. This book covers bows, arrows, quivers, tree stands, ground blinds, field dressing tips, how to stay focused on the shot, when and how to draw on deer, tree stand and hunter safety, and a great deal more about the whitetail deer and hardcore facts on how to hunt these animals. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is a little-kid book. It is designed for adults and children who are old enough to hunt with a bow. Start the 2010 archery deer season with the knowledge from this book. It can shorten the learning curve.

Shadow Of The Wolf Tree by Joseph Heywood. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. For additional information and ordering details, go to <www.lyonspress.com> . Phone (800) 243- 0495. Paperback, $16.95.

Shadow Of The Wolf Tree  is the highly acclaimed seventh book in Joe Heywood's Woods Cop Mystery series. This, and his earlier books, have almost brought Grady Service, a fictional Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment conservation officer, to life.

Service, a hard-nosed DNRE detective, is at home in the woods, not the office. This exciting book finds Service rescuing a female officer from an infamous "wolf tree," which is designed to trap wolves in Michigan's Upper Peninsula or wherever they are found. Two old bodies are found, as is some gold, and as Service  digs deeper into what appears to be unrelated incidents soon discovers that everything is connected.

This master story teller is a longtime novelist, and he can develop a list of new Yooper characters (and some old ones), and the story seems to go off onto a weird tangent, but Heywood brings everything back together with some wondrous plot twists. Longtime readers of Heywood's Woods Cop Mystery books, including this reviewer, have wondered when Service would get romantically involved. It finally happens in this novel, and Grady Service with help from other law enforcement agencies, begins trying to put all the puzzle pieces together as some of the cast of this novel get themselves murdered.

This book has it all: excitement, plot twists, suspense and Heywood's cast of U.P. characters that come across as being surprisingly real. The book is a guaranteed page-turner, and it grabs the reader by the throat and demands to be read. I've read all of Heywood's books, and now believe that he has reached a pinnacle of  writing skills with these Woods Cop mysteries. I think this is the best book of the series. He's good, and this book proves that his talent has been harnessed and is pulling the author into a list of my favorite mystery writers. Grab it now, sit back, but don't do as I did and read it from cover to cover at one sitting, which kept me reading several hours past midnight.

One thing I've learned from reading this series is that it's easy to think you know what is coming next. Don't blink! Heywood will turn a corner you didn't see coming, and you'll have to puzzle out how he did it. Only the very talented authors can do that and get away with it.

Heywood is very good, and like a fine wine, his books deserve to be savored one sip at a time.

Cooking Wild In Kate's Kitchen by Kate Fiduccia. Published by Woods N' Water Press, New South Berlin, 13863. For more details and ordering information, call (800) 652-7527 or go to <www.wiidsbwateroress.com> . Paperback, 22.95 plus postage.

Kate Fiduccia is a lovely lady, and she really shines when it comes time to prepare a wild game meal. Her and her husband, Peter, are avid anglers and hunters, and whenever possible, they eat fish and wild game. This book is a gathering of great and tasty venison recipes.

Take it from one who knows: cookbooks are staple purchases by many male and some female sportsmen. My wife produced three different cookbooks, all now out of print, and more men bought wild game cookbooks than women. I'm not sure what this means, if anything, but suspect  many men buy cookbooks in hopes their wives will enjoy cooking wild game.

Kate Fiduccia has cooked meals on Peter's outdoor television show since 1994, and over that time, she has amassed a great store of tasty venison meals. Venison is easy to cook providing it isn't overcooked, and I prefer my venison chops and steaks cooked medium-rare. Cook it well-done, and you'll probably enjoy a cooked leather boot almost as much.

Her recipes are, in large part, quick and easy to prepare. A great twist in this book is one chapter on venison for breakfast. Don't worry though, Kate  has luncheon and dinner recipes that will tease your palate and taste buds. We eat venison several times each week, and have sampled some of these recippies. They are great!

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors