Outdoor Chronicles

Hardcover w/ Dust jacket 219 Pages

We hold a great affection for the deep tradition of American storytelling. The ability to spin a yarn that can hold our attention and provide a gentle direction for life is something that has been with us for a long time. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain or Ernest Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories hold us with their gentle wit and carry us away for just a little while. In Outdoor Chronicles, Jerry Hamza takes up the gauntlet of the storyteller to take readers away for a little fun. There are already plenty of how-to fishing and outdoor books, and this is not one. Hamza’s stories will not make you a better caster or shooter, but they will make you want to spend more time fishing or hunting.

This book is a collection of outdoor stories wrapped in the human condition. They were written with an eye toward honesty and cynicism. They will make you laugh out loud, and you will want to carry them with you wherever you go. If this book goes missing, it’s a sure thing that, when you do find it, it will be in the possession of a member of your household, regardless of their interest in casting a fly. The stories cover the gamut from a fishing trip to northern Canada to a little stream that was actually better than remembered, to how the baby boomers almost trampled a sport to death, to a solitary trek along railroad tracks during a cold, dark, and dreary February, and many more.

Jerry appreciates the smaller things that turn out to mean a great deal in a world dominated by electronics and the endless commercial hustle. The fishing matters, of course, but Jerry recognizes all the other elements that complete the experience. And there's no better representation of this philosophy—short of spending a morning in a boat with Jerry himself—than the stories here."
—Jim Butler, associate publisher, Fly Rod & Reel

"Anybody who can catch big wilderness trout while simultaneously boogying solo to his iPod music as wolves howl, and who has gleefully done-in his smartphone using a 12-gauge deer slug like some latter-day Luddite, is my kind of guy. Hamza is the real deal, as are his stories—full of wonder, wicked good zingers, and the wisdom that if we wait, 'someday' will get away from us all."
—Jerry Gibbs, fishing editor emeritus, Outdoor Life

Jerry Hamza has been everywhere, and done more things than you have. In this memoir, he mixes irreverence, hard-won serenity, and even a bit of wisdom into a seamless whole. Read him for the pleasure of his insights; it is the next best thing to sharing a boat or a blind with him."
—Stephen J. Bodio, author of Eagle Dreams and other books.