John Graves and Amazon

[Hirsch]

After the urging of many from here and a neighbor who use to run The Colorado 100 and still works it I ordered John Graves Goodbye to a River. While at it I also ordered his Hardscrabble, From a Limestone Ledge: Some Essays and Other Ruminations About Country Life In Texas, and My Dogs and My Guns. By selecting used book the total including shipping was $25.27. Having used them before I strongly commend Amazon and their used books vendors to the members here.

[bowgarguide]

Hirsch
I read the book and after all the hype I was disappointed in it ,noting like I imagined.
Ron

[DarrellS]

Me too, Ron. He does a lot of rambling in his writing. Kinda hard to figure out if he is talking past, present, or future a lot of the time.

[gfmd33]

On the other hand I enjoyed the book. Yes he may do a bit of rambling, but it kind of fits since he is writting a book as he travels down the river. I know for me as my home water that I grew up on is changing it is very sentimental to read the book as I too have had to say goodbye to the river I knew growing up. I also enjoy Indian stories and while I am not sure whether all of them in the book are factual they are at least entertaining.

[fisher of people]

And I thought it was one of the greatest books ever! Takes all kinds, right?

[Hirsch]

Well I will give my two cents after I finish the book. In the meantime I have found used books through Amazon a bargain for those who have not used them. Those books normally retail about $65.00 in paperback. I have found their service fast and a pleasure to use.

[gfmd33]

That is true, Amazon has always seemed to have good deals on books, although I almost exclusively listen to all my books on tape now, much better use of time commuting to work than listening to a talking head on the radio.

[MarkCM28]

I ended up liking Hard Scrabble more than Goodbye To A River. Both are entertaining reads.

[bmbmd]

I can't imagine anyone who loves the Brazos could not enjoy that book. I read it for the first time in junior high school, back in the sixties. I read it at least once a year, just to remember. My wife gave me an autographed, hardcover copy of GBTAR for my fortieth birthday-seventeen years later, it remains one of my most prized posessions. Mr. Graves has been recognized as the official historian of the state, and the low water bridge on Highway 16 as it crosses the Brazos below PK is now known as the "John Graves Memorial Bridge"'. Read it again, slowly. Read it as a narrative of a time, a people, and a way of life that is no more.

[texnomad]

John Graves was part of a group of codger writers that camped together for years. The only other member of the group that I caught a name for is Leon Hale. His columns in the paper were always funny.

[Hirsch]

I noticed he has collaberated with Wyman Meinzer to write two books using Meinzers photography. One is on Texas Rivers and the other on Texas Hill Country. I may have to get those down the road. They are available through Amazon also.

Wyman Meinzer has been called the Texas State photographer. For those who are not familar with his work this West Texas slide show is worth 5 minutes.

http://www.wymanmeinzer.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bowgarguide]

BMBMD
I am not knocking the book ,it just wasnt what I expected.
Now I doubt anyone can love the Brazos more than me
Now I read the books about Verlen Kruger and couldnt put them down so it is different strokes for different folks.
Ron
Just a little side note most of the movies that the critics love I hate so maybe I am just an outlaw in what I enjoy.
Ron

[rockin4m]

Leon Hale.... Great writer, also a rambler. From Washington county, modern version of J. Frank Dobie. My favorite!!!

[Strider]

I am glad I'm not him. Imagine growing up with the Brazos in its natural state, then seeing dam after dam being built. I would be traumatized if they built a dam on the Brazos between me and the Gulf. Truly traumatized. I bet no one would want to read what I said about it.

Dams and introduced species (stripers, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, etc) have turned the Brazos into something other than what nature designed it to be. I'm proud of the natural state of our river here in Central Texas. Today I saw hundreds of striped mullet in the Brazos 200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. No other Texas river has that.

Kim

[bowgarguide]

Rereading this thread made me realize why I was disappointed in this book, I was looking for a description of the things and places on the river that I can not experience or see because of the lakes and dams covering them.
Ron

[rodloos]

I think I got my copy of "Goodbye to a River" from a local 1/2 price books, but I have bought other used books from Amazon have been pretty satisfied with them.

Do note that Amazon has to start charging sales tax on orders delivered to Texas starting today (July 1).

[Dr. Woggy Buller]

Me too, Ron. He does a lot of rambling in his writing. Kinda hard to figure out if he is talking past, present, or future a lot of the time.

What else does a river do than ramble and meander?
His generation, the one that still carries(d) connotations about the native way of life in these parts can teach us about the actual connection to the land and culture that our waterways carry.

The ultimate and original TK(canoe)F post in my opinion

[bowgarguide]

Woggy
His generation and mine are the same or close anyway.
Ron

[Hirsch]

Woggy
His generation and mine are the same or close anyway.
Ron

Ron, You are in mighty fine shape for 92!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Graves_(author" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

[bowgarguide]

Hirsch
there is a little over 20 years different , but the folks I learned to fish the Brazos and my bowhunting mentor .
And the folks that taught me to shoot a rifle and pistol would all be well over a hundred now if they were still alive.
They taught me alot of the old ways well and one was a heck of a historian and had a photographic memory . I listen well and learned alot from them.
Folks have always told me I should have been born 150 years ago.
Ron

[Hirsch]

One that taught me a lot was born in 1898 and served in the trenches of WW1, but he was my grandfather, two generations removed. Another is my father who was born just a few months after Graves and was a Gunnery Sergeant at Guadalcanal. Neither were near my generation though.

Anyway it was meant only for humor. If you are offended I am sorry.

[bowgarguide]

No Offense , just explaining my take on things was molded by folks even older that Graves.
Ron