Here’s Word On Top Books

Outstanding books on wildlife, estuary fly fishing and other outdoors topics have been published in recent weeks. All would make excellent Chistmas gifts.

Among the best:

Sierra Club Books has published five outstanding books on wildlife. Three are “The World of” books, including “The World of the Penguin,” “The World of the Shorebirds” and “The World of the Wolf,” each $27.50. The other two are “Orca, Visions of the Killer Whale,” $27.50” and “Mark of the Bear,” $30.

Jonathan Chester, a nature photographer who became fascinated with penguins several years ago, has included numerous color photos of each of the penguin species in The World of the Penguin and tells much of what is known about the captivating birds that waddle comically.

Candice Savage, a Canadian woman who has written nine natural history books, examines the complex wolf society and the animal’s often sad relationship with man in The World of the Wolf. Her book is illustrated with numerous superb color pictures of wolves.

Harry Thurston, another Canadian writer, writes in The World of the Shorebirds about the fast-flying, restless birds that fly in flocks of thousands and pause momentarily along beaches during their incredibly long migrations. Some of the numerous shorebird species are featured in color pictures.

Bear stories by 10 people, including a chapter from Ernest Thompson Seton’s “Grizzly Bear,” are featured in Mark of the Bear, edited by Paul Schullery. The essays reinforce man’s belief that bears are magnificent, unpredictable, powerful and unsociable, yet are fiercely protective of their cubs. The color pictures are terrific.

By calling the orca a “killer whale,” Peter Knudtson says in his fascinating and informative book, Orca, Visions of the Killer Whale, people “have forever branded this species with a quasi-criminal moniker, one that associates it not just with other big, fierce predatory animals but also with the most despised and debased members of our own species.” The orca is an efficient predator, as well as a highly intelligent animal, and Knudtson’s fine book dispels some of the myths and makes a good case for not keeping orcas in captivity.

Two excellent books on fly tying, both published by Lyons & Burford, were published the last few weeks. They are Talleur’s Basic Fly Tying, by Dick Talleur, $35, and L.L.Bean Fly Fishing Handbook, Dave Whitlock, $18.95. The books are among the best this writer has seen the last few years. If you’re looking for a good book on tying or want one as a gift for a friend or family member, either book would be an excellent choice.

Talleur’s 8-1/2x11-inch spiral bound book contains all the information a person needs to know about how to tie everything from simple patterns to the most complicated flies. Whitlock’s 7x10-inch softcover book covers every aspect of fly fishing and is illustrated with scores of drawings made by Whitlock, an excellent illustrator. Both books will be used by those who conduct fly tying classes.

The Estuary Flyfisher, by Steve Raymond, published by Frank Amato Publications, $29.95. This is a book that needed writing and it’s done by a veteran fly fisher who authored five other books on fly fishing, including the classic, “The Year of the Angler.”

If you’ve wanted to know how and where to fly fish for Pacific salmon, char, trout, sea perch, rockfish and a few other fish that either live or are periodically in estuaries, this is the book for you.

The Stoeger Publishing Co. has produced four paperback books of interest to gun owners. They include 1997 Shooter’s Bible, $22.95 Gun Traders Guide, $21.95 Complete Reloading Guide, $34.95 and Gunsmithing at Home, Lock Stock & Barrel, $19.95.

All but the reloading guide are editions of books known by thousands of gun owners. The 608-page reloading guide, by John E. and Robert Traister, may be the most comprehensive book on reloading. It contains hundreds of illustrations and complete technical data.

Experience the World of Shad Fishing, by Lenox Dick, published by Frank Amato Publications, $7.95. The author has packed a lot of information on shad and shad fishing in this 45-page paperback. He includes recommendations for tackle, lures and flies and lists many of the most productive shad fishing rivers, including the Columbia.

The Art of Adventure, by Galen Rowell, published by Sierra Club Books, $30. Rowell, one of the world’s best-known adventure photographers, included many of his most beautiful color photos in this 9x12-inch softcover book.

As might be expected, most of the photos are of mountains, but Rowell also has included numerous pictures of people and wildlife. Among the photos is a much-published picture of a rainbow over the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

, DataTimes MEMO: You can contact Fenton Roskelley by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 3814.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Fenton Roskelley The Spokesman-Review