I am not sure where to start on this book. Neither was the author. If I state what I think, the Jack O'Connor admirers on this site will punch their computers. I don't say what I think, then I may punch the computer.

Here goes.

Robert Anderson is a highly respected, detailed author of all things sheep hunting. He has numerous books out there that are well written, the stories are fairly well told and each book on sheep hunting will ignite your desire to book a Stone's Sheep hunt. He does his homework and shares that information with you.

This book is different. He was given or earned full access to the family (Jack O'Connor's living children), to letters, to everything JOC ever wrote including unpublished novels and family scrapbooks. He uses this info to generate an odd look at the man many of us grew up reading and admiring for his directness and knowledge. However, Anderson says very clearly in several places that he cannot get his arms around JOC. He could not really dig deep enough to know the man. This was even after he spent hours with JOC's kids. He did a great job of assimilating all the info out there about the sheep he killed, how many of which species along with insights into JOC's Africa, India and Iranian hunts.

The area that I struggled with was Anderson's lack of willingness to write about the darker side of JOC. In a couple of places, Anderson heads to an interesting topic, mostly about JOC's interpersonal relationships and his wife, then stops the trail with - "out of respect for the family, the story dies here". What? What is the purpose of an autobiorgraphy? Write the story, then let the reader decide.

Anyway, the book opened my eyes to the side of JOC that showed he likely wanted to be a novelist vs a gun writer but had greater perceived success as gun writer. He did write one published novel, that apparently was pretty good, then wrote another late in life that was partly self biography that was well done also. He is quoted as sayin - " I would rather be a top gun writer than a second rate novelist."

Based on what I read in the book, he became a hunting writer to put food on the table of his 4 kids and alcoholic wife, than chase his passion. I sensed he was conflicted with this as he seemed to be an extreme loner that would have preferred turning out a novel every couple of years rather than monthly columns for a hook and bullet magazine.

This brought him fame, but did not fulfill him.

Other observations by the author included that JOC was an elitist - really did not like the general public (who really does other than Hillary?). He enjoyed the trappings of great wealth but did not have it in the way he wanted. Enjoyed the benefits of having access to a lot of fine "things" in life, but never really felt he earned it even though he worked extremely hard. This may have come from being raised without a father.

In the end, if you are a die hard Jack O'Connor guy, you will find this book interesting leaving you with a few more questions than you had. I know it did me.

PS - I am not a JOC fan per se. He intrigues me but I have always felt he condescended to share his writing with me rather than offer it to his readers. I have read a couple of his books and formed this opinion after reading "The Last Book" published 6 years after his death. His true colors seemed to show forth in that book. The colors were not pretty.

I would rate this an 8 on content and a 5 on authorship due to the author not telling the entire story and being a cheerleader rather than a biographer. All of this is on the dogcat scale!

Thanks Dogcat. I had an Outdoor Life subscription starting at age 12 about 1965, so Jack informed many of my views on rifles and shotguns -- and on what it meant to be a very good writer.
Over the years I have heard he could be a real profane SOB, as well, although I didn't realize it was Eleanor who had the juice problem.
I doubt we'll ever see a true and complete biography.

I have that book as well, it is interesting. My father guided a lot of the One Shot Antelope hunts in the 1970s.

He didn't think much of him. Just wasn't an everyman's guy. Elitist is what I had heard.

He met a lot of celebrity hunters back then: Joe Foss, Chuck Yeager, O'Connor, Roy Rogers and so on.

Reminds me of Terry Wieland.

BWW:

I may know your father. I was a One Shot team member in 1982 and participated in its hunts for at least a dozen years after that, and came to know many of the local guides.

(Craig Boddington, Doug Petzel and I set the aggregate team time record with under 30 minutes for three one-shot kills.)

I never met Foss, but Roy Rogers attended most years, as did Yeager and many other celebrities in those days. I'm not sure about this, but I don't think Jack O'Connor ever shot on a One Shot team.

Bill Quimby

I have the book also, very good one, but it feels like something missing. But being a author is a lonely profession they say so much will be different from time to , and person to person. I think it is a good book anyway .

I have the book and I enjoyed it. People are people and I am pretty sure each of us has his faults. I have to hand it to gun writers for their patience in dealing with a sometimes lunatic public. I can't imagine having to respond to fan mail every day from some not so cogent admirers.

The writers compete with each other and it must have been pretty brutal. Their livelihood depends on the public buying their work. I know it must be pretty hard on the wife and kids of a guy that hunts and writes for a living. Eleanor shot more game than most of Jack's competitors did.

I liked his writing because it was clear and to the point. It wasn't flowery and he told a good story. I don't think he ever competed at shooting. Hunting was his passion and he was good at it. He hand loaded and had his own opinions about stocks and cartridges.

Although he is mostly remembered for his championing the 270, he liked and used many other calibers. He said that he hated to see people complain about the 270 because it was a good cartridge for most north American game.

He will remain among my many favorite gun writers. They all have good points and bad after all they are just people.

Joe