A Man Made of Elk - by David Petersen (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

From the Foreword by Don Thomas: "Like all of the few 'outdoor' books that truly deserve to endure, A Man Made of Elk is, well...different. That's logical enough, for the same can be said of its author. A former Marine pilot and current backwoods intellectual, idealist, iconoclast, and, yes, hunter, Dave Petersen defies categorization as adroitly as his terrific prose.... I know deer hunters, bear hunters, and sheep hunters, but I don't know anyone else who identifies as completely with one species of game as Dave Petersen identifies with elk. This book's title goes beyond metaphor; the guy is made of elk."

Review Quotes

"Like all of the few "outdoor" books that truly deserve to endure, A Man Made of Elk is, well ... different. That's logical enough, for the same can certainly be said of its author. A former Marine pilot and current backwoods intellectual, idealist, iconoclast, and, yes, hunter, Dave Petersen defies categorization as adroitly as his terrific prose. ... I know deer hunters, bear hunters, and sheep hunters, but I don't know anyone else who identifies as completely with one species of game as Dave Petersen identifies with elk. This book's title goes beyond metaphor; the guy is made of elk." -- Don Thomas, from his foreword to this book

"I have never known a more passionate hunter than David Petersen.... As his wife says, he's beyond the point of just wanting to kill or even watch elk; he wants to be one." -- Ted Williams, from his foreword to Heartsblood

"David Petersen is a careful man in the forest. He moves unobtrusively and lusts to be alone.... He is familiar with every path taken in the forest by elk and deer. At all times he understands everything around him -- odors, casual noises, birdcalls, impending weather. When a dead twig snaps somewhere, he knows what stepped on it, how much the creature weighs, and what its intentions likely are.... More than any other author I have read, David Petersen can explain a hunter's heart and the need for a renewed acceptance of this heart if humanity, which requires healthy ecosystems, is to survive." -- John Nichols, from his foreword to On the Wild Edge

"For nearly forty years, [David Petersen] has seized and savored every opportunity to hunt whitetails, wild turkeys, antelope, mule deer, caribou, Coues deer, geese, grouse, quail, snowshoe hares. His drive to come to know each of these creatures and to hunt them honorably and well is pure and fierce. But let me be clear. Petersen is an elk bum." -- Dan Crockett, from his foreword to Elkheart