The Wild Host: The History and Meaning of the Hunt

by Rupert Isaacson, Isaacson Rupert

Overview

A beautifully illustrated history of hunting; a meditation on the meaning of hunting spiritually and culturally; and a very personal hunting account. Destined to be controversial, Rupert Isaacson justifies and celebrates hunting while acknowledging the realities of a modern world of heightened compassion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586670931
Publisher:	Derrydale Press
Publication date:	01/28/1955
Series:	Derrydale Press Foxhunters' Library Series
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	7.76(w) x 9.92(h) x 1.15(d)

About the Author

Rupert Isaacson lives in Austin, Texas. He is well-known to the foxhunting community through his regularly featured hunting articles in Hunting and Country Illustrated magazines published in the UK. He is a full time travel and environmental writer specializing in Africa.

Editorial Reviews

The Wild Host provides a personal and penetrating look at the world of foxhunting past, present, and-in a speculatory way- future.

In and Around Horse Country

A master wordsmith, with skill crafted from years of magazine writing, Isaacson is an articulate and eloquent guide through the ages and the mysteries of the hunt.

The Fauquier Times- Democrat

Isaacson manages to educate the reader without droning on like a schoolmarm or imposing his views like a fanatic. Instead Wild Host is a joy to read. Isaacson is a master wordsmith, an articulate and eloquent guide who takes readers through the mysteries of the hunt.

The Chronicle Of The Horse - Nicole Lever

Isaacson manages to educate the reader without droning on like a schoolmarm or imposing his views like a fanatic. Instead, Wild Host is a joy to read. Isaacson is a master wordsmith, an articulate and eloquent guide who takes readers through the mysteries of the hunt.

Both words and pictures serve as the illustration to Isaacson's main philosophical thrust: "We need to hunt. We need it as a mechanism by which we stay in touch, close touch, with nature."

Bookshelf- The Chronicle Of The Horse

Isaacson manages to educate the reader without droning on like a schoolmarm or imposing his views like a fanatic. Instead, Wild Host is a joy to read. Isaacson is a master wordsmith, an articulate and eloquent guide who takes readers through the mysteries of the hunt.

Both words and pictures serve as the illustration to Isaacson's main philosophical thrust: "We need to hunt. We need it as a mechanism by which we stay in touch, close touch, with nature."

The Chronicle Of The Horse

A fox-hunting enthusiast and travel and environmental writer, Isaacson (Southern Africa on the Wild Side) presents both an informative and lavishly illustrated history of "the cult and legend of The Wild Hunt" (or Wild Host, or Furious Host) and a thoughtful discussion of the present and future role of the hunt. Beginning with the prehistoric hunter-gatherer ritual of the "sacred chase," Isaacson examines in detail the evolving stages of the practice of hunting. In the process, he examines some intriguing connections between the practices of such hunting cultures as the San (Bushmen) of the Kalahari and the Cree of northern Quebec and present-day, highly formalized versions of the hunt. Isaacson opens his investigation with a question: "Is there still a place for such an arcane many would say barbaric ritual in our modern world?" Although his consideration of the question is both balanced and nonconfrontational, his closing reflections reveal where his sympathies lie: "Formalized and ritualized as hunting has become, it is still very much a part of this symbiotic relationship between man and the planet on which he relies." Recommended for public and academic libraries. Robert C. Jones, Central Missouri State Univ., Warrensburg Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal