Who are your favorite writers

[rwsmith]

I should have said

I find it somewhat curious that no has mentioned either Ernest Hemingway or Robert Ruark.

Hemingway is one of my faves. 'The Short Happy Life of Frances McComber' is a great hunting story. The idea of being charged by a buffalo that won't die no matter how many times you hit it gets my adrenalin up.

I'll have to put Ruark on my shopping list.

 

[Frank237]

It appears MANY of you have never read any of the Wolff Publishing companies offerings? Namely "Rifle" or "Handloader" ??

Of course Elmer Keith, Jack O'Connor, Skeeter Skelton and Robert Ruark for the great writers who have passed on.

But current writers; John Barsness, Mike Venturino and Brian Pearce.

If you want informative, well done articles.... You guys need to look at Rifle and Handloader magazine.

FN in MT

 

[rwsmith]

Agreed

For reality: I read the Bible, this tends to make all others pale. (I most enjoy an accurate translation in a currebt dialect but play around in the origianal languages also).

I'm usually successful at reading a couple chapters a day. I enjoy reading it and I get a lot out of it. That's cool about the original languages.

 

[jframe]

I really like John Taffin, but everytime I read him, I get the urge to run out and buy a single action SOMETHING that I really don't need. Masaad Ayoob is another huge favorite. His book "In the Gravest Extreme" really made me think about self defense and firearms use and carry. Very highly recommended.

 

[luangtom]

Gun-writers, most of them that I agree with. Others, William Johnstone, writer of the Smoke Jensen series. Almost a Louis L'Amour type......

 

[HERMAN.40]

Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton, Bill Jordan, Bob Milek, are the ones I started with. Really enjoyed the monthly columns with Bill and Skeeter sparing and telling tales. I think Bart has a good future ahead. A lot like his dad. Never cared much for Charles Askins. Just something about his style. Like the no nonsense style of Massad Ayoob. Met him once and was pretty impressed. Always enjoyed the FYI page by Jerry Constantino in Shooting Times.

 

[gregintenn]

Elmer Keith and Peter Hathaway Capstick are two of my favorites.

 

[27 Man]

Skeeter and Stephen Hunter.

 

[ODB]

I too am a Stephen Hunter fan, although his last couple offerings have been IMHO a little . . . . well let's just say not quite on the same level as his earlier books, like Dirty White Boys. I always wanted to read more about ol' Bob king of the jungle.

 

[semperfi71]

All of my favorite gun writers are dead.....................

 

[papajohn428]

The late Dean Grennell was my favorite......acerbic wit, and an inveterate experimenter. Invented dozens of handy tools (widgits) without a thought of profit, he put his ideas out there for anyone who wanted to try them. I miss him terribly.

 

[Dominus_Lex]

Robert Traver

"I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly; because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape; because, in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience; because I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip; because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters; because only in the woods can I find solitude without loneliness; because bourbon out of an old tin cup always tastes better out there; because maybe one day I will catch a mermaid; and, finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant - and not nearly so much fun."

Also Hemingway, J.M. Coetzee, and T.C. Boyle

 

[dcxplant]

Wow, what a small pool of writers.

 

[kudzu3]

Skeeter was the best...period. Todays writers seem to have lived thier life studying ballistic tables, going to school to learn a bunch of big words that I just don't understand and poking on the keyboard. Seems that few of them have any actual, in the field experience. Out of the present group of gun writers, Bart is without a doubt the best.

 

[Old TexMex]

Hemingway is one of my faves. 'The Short Happy Life of Frances McComber' is a great hunting story. The idea of being charged by a buffalo that won't die no matter how many times you hit it gets my adrenalin up.

I'll have to put Ruark on my shopping list.

I liked Hemingways description of shooting a charging buff and how it would have run him down, except it "tripped over a blade of grass or something". I remember reading that when I was pretty young.

 

[Old TexMex]

Grew up reading Bill Jordan and Elmer Keith from dads magazines.(Argosy, Field&Stream, Guns&Ammo). He sort of folded the page and handed it to me and said "read this". He introduced me to Col. Jordan once, and afterwards said "son, that's the toughest tushhog that's ever popped brush." he had his reasons for believing that, too.

 

[C.S.63]

Just to start with a few,
John Barness, Great articles for HandLoader and Rifle,Hemingway-Classic, Michael Connelly,
Big Fan of Connelly (how can you not like Harry Bosch)
Destroyer series, Warren Murphy, Richard Sapir
Tom Clancey earlier writings

 

[curt solomon sr.]

JAKE BRAKE

ROY JINKS IS MY VOTE. I THINK HE KNOWS SMITHS

 

[bobcat]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Vince Flynn, lots of gun work in his books, and they're quick, entertaining reads. We could use a Mitch Rapp in the real world. Teddy Roosevelt wrote a couple of entertaining hunting books, and was fond of his guns as we all know. I know I'm forgeting a couple of others, but have to agree on Capstick, everyone of his books kept me riveted. Miss his wit and style of writing, take care...

 

[cjw3]

All of my favorite gun writers are dead.....................

Mine too........John Amber, Pete Kuhlhoff, Jack O'Connor, Warren Page, Elmer Keith, Larry Koller, George Nonte, etc.

We are showing our age .

 

[MNruss]

Authors

Many worthies have been mentioned, but I can add a couple:
Living : Patrick F McManus - Best humor writer alive IMHO, allowing that humor is a subective thing. His columns in Field & Stream then Outdoor Life were the first thing I looked for.

Computers & the WWW have brought great tools to us all.
Project Gutenberg & Google Books gives you free access to print versions of old (mostly pre-1923) books.

Librivox.org gives you free access to AUDIO of similar stuff.
Anyone with a long commute & an iPod can hear classic tales for free.
Favorites:
Mark Twain - Roughing It is a day-by-day, sometimes minute-by-minute account of a stagecoach trip from Omaha (IIRC) to Nevada. It even has a famous account of a S&W! What could be more cool?
Actually, any Mark Twain is worth listening to.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes, Lost World
Winston Churchill - River War
Kipling
Dickens
Dafoe
Sorry for the over-long post
Regards
Russ

 

[Stephanie B]

If we can branch out to mystery writers:

Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series. The PI, Kinsey Millhone, has a HK P7 in later works and isn't afraid to use it.

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series. Guy loves his GI 1911!

Not so much gun stuff, but Raymond Chandler's "Farewell My Lovely" has a great line:

I thought of lots of things. The glare of the red neon sign spread farther and farther across the ceiling. I sat up on the bed and put my feet on the floor and rubbed the back of my neck.

I got up on my feet and went over to the bowl in the corner and threw cold water on my face. After a little while I felt a little better, but only a little. I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.

Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon".

And, of course (coughing and digging my toe in the dirt), me ("the Hidden Witness", which you can find on Amazon.com).

 

[Dayvid23]

Hemingway; Island in the Stream. It has women, sharks, kids, machine guns. The big four.

 

[rwsmith]

Top votes

A rough poll:

Skeeter Skelton, On top

Keith, Capstick Just under Skelton

Bart Skelton, Ayoob, O'Connor Third place

Ruorke, Hemingway, Jordan, Milek, Venturino Fourth place

Supica, Cooper, Carmichael, Hunter, Louis L.Amour, Nonte, Metcalf

Then lots of other good guys.

 

[Texas Star]

If we can branch out to mystery writers:

Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series. The PI, Kinsey Millhone, has a HK P7 in later works and isn't afraid to use it.

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series. Guy loves his GI 1911!

Not so much gun stuff, but Raymond Chandler's "Farewell My Lovely" has a great line:


Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon".

And, of course (coughing and digging my toe in the dirt), me ("the Hidden Witness", which you can find on Amazon.com).

Stephanie-

You really an author? I'll look for that.

My favorite women authors include Victoria Houston and Suzanne Arruda.