Confessions of an Eco-Redneck collects the best of outdoor writer Steve Chapple's short pieces. This is outdoor adventure writing at its best, in a league with Tim Cahill, Randy White, or PJ O'Rourke, and the essays range from fishing: for tigerfish on the Zambezi, tarpon in the Keys, trout on the Yellowstone to hunting: the "Bambi Syndrome" (Hollywood's bias against the sport), "Dinner Bell Grizzlies," and stalking televisions in Montana to the larger questions: "Now or Never for American Rivers," and the great unasked question about the Lewis & Clark expedition: "How were the bugs??" Underneath Steve Chapple's laugh-out loud wit there's a serious plea to environmentalists to remember that sportsmen (the eco-rednecks of the title) are among the most passionate and effective advocates for conservation of the environment that we've got.
(NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK) TIMES BOOK REVIEW: "Mr. Chapple has surely found what we all look for: the great good place, where there are good people, constancy...a sense of belonging and a natural beauty still unspoiled. At least this is Montana as Mr. Chapple has rediscovered it for himself, and in Kayaking the Full Moon he gathers evidence to make it ring true."After living in San Francisco and becoming fed up with urban life like so many Americans, Steve Chapple and his family decided to return to his native Montana and kayak the length of the Yellowstone River, the longest unspoiled and undammed river in the continental United States. The tale of a journey of discovery, Kayaking the Full Moon evokes the dangers and beauty of a wild landscape, Montana's diverse--and sometimes quirky--human inhabitants, and the power and wonder that one family experiences.WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD--"A graceful writer with a journalist's sharp eye and a heart as big as his subject Chapple...makes a fine traveling companion....Anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to lose himself in Montana's vastness will feel instantly at home between this book's covers"--HAMPTON SIDESJOE KANE, author of Running the Amazon: "A book for every one of us who...dreams of gathering up the kids and striking out for the Last Good Place."DAVID BROWER, Former Executive Director, the SIERRA CLUB: "A moving tribute to the legacy of wildness in the West."TOM MCGUANE, author of CROW FAIR, THE SPORTING CLUB: "A sensitive and sensible book in search of Montana's calico soul."BOOKLIST: "Chapple hoped for an adventure and a homecoming when he embarked on his journey. He got both, and readers will enjoy savoring the experience."
PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: Who says parenting has to be serious? Here Chapple ( Rock 'n' Roll Is Here to Pay, Kayaking the Full Moon ) takes a humorous look at the joys, trials and tribulations of dealing with an infant. Mr. Baby, of course, is more sophisticated than grownups give him credit for. He has his own opinions on everything discussed by his smitten new dad and does not hesitate to state them in a cryptic running commentary. Some of the topics covered in these conversations are lack of sleep (Mom calls the first few post-birth weeks the "Zombie Express"), naming Mr. Baby ("not Odin. Please ") and the three things that define older babies: peekaboo, cuteness and belly button curiosity. A list of "Shamelessly Sentimental Things That Make It All Worthwhile" wraps up the book, which gains added charm. . . . Irreverent and outspoken. . . this chipper account will please new and expectant parents who need a few laughs."A humorous look at a baby's first twenty-four months and the emotional wear and tear his growth has on young parents. Stops at each checkpoint of the child's development, from his first public breast-feeding to his first steps.
