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9781623490119

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Author Rob Sawyer deftly, deeply, and with an understanding borne of a lifelong love of waterfowling, wildlife, wetlands and history, chronicles what arguable was one of the most economically important, alternately fascinating and disturbing, and least recounted industries in the state's history. The... book... is a in-depth look at the history of commercial harvest and sale of wildlife, particularly waterfowl, in Texas, [and] takes the reader on a journey... Sawyer balances the potentially dry recounting of how the market hunting business worked the influences of railroads and the development of ice-making machinery and other technology with insightful, witty, and well-rounded accounts of the people involved in the business. And he wonderfully describes the abundance and variety of the wild fowl on which the industry preyed. He also ably paints the dark picture the incredible toll market hunting took on Texas' wild fowl... Sawyer gives readers an excellent trip through the years. He did that. And more. --;/div>--Shannon Tompkins Houston Chronicle (12/11/2013)

Author Rob Sawyer deftly, deeply, and with an understanding borne of a lifelong love of waterfowling, wildlife, wetlands and history, chronicles what arguable was one of the most economically important, alternately fascinating and disturbing, and least recounted industries in the state's history. The... book... is a in-depth look at the history of commercial harvest and sale of wildlife, particularly waterfowl, in Texas, [and] takes the reader on a journey... Sawyer balances the potentially dry recounting of how the market hunting business worked the influences of railroads and the development of ice-making machinery and other technology with insightful, witty, and well-rounded accounts of the people involved in the business. And he wonderfully describes the abundance and variety of the wild fowl on which the industry preyed. He also ably paints the dark picture the incredible toll market hunting took on Texas' wild fowl... Sawyer gives readers an excellent trip through the years. He did that. And more. --Shannon Tompkins--Shannon Tompkins Houston Chronicle (12/11/2013 12:00:00 AM) Even though market hunting has been illegal for quite some time, and appropriately so, it remains nostalgic and perhaps somewhat romantic for many waterfowl hunters. Sawyer's work takes us back to that time and provides us a glimpse of an era of abundant waterfowl and vast marshes and estuaries. Market hunting has been covered for some other areas but not for Texas; this treatise fills that void. Learning of this history may cause us to wish to hunt these areas today as a connection to our past, and that would be a great adventure. --Michael E. Berger, retired wildlife division director, Texas Parks and Wildlife--Michael E. Berger (8/16/2012 12:00:00 AM) The stories in this book have been told for years over breakfast buffets in small Texas towns, but never so vividly or accurately. They document without prejudice a fascinating subculture that operated legally and otherwise for so long as the resources allowed and until enforcement gained the upper hand. As an avid Texas waterfowl hunter and former guide, turning these pages comes as naturally as tossing decoys or whistling to incoming pintails. --Doug Pike, host, The Doug Pike Show --Doug Pike (6/4/2013 12:00:00 AM) This book does a thorough job of capturing an era in Texas that no one wants to talk about. This book will make a significant contribution to the understanding of when and why wildlife conservation became important in the hearts and minds of Texas sportsmen. --Fred C. Bryant, director, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University in Kingsville--Fred C. Bryant (8/10/2012 12:00:00 AM)

Author Rob Sawyer deftly, deeply, and with an understanding borne of a lifelong love of waterfowling, wildlife, wetlands and history, chronicles what arguable was one of the most economically important, alternately fascinating and disturbing, and least recounted industries in the state's history. The... book... is a in-depth look at the history of commercial harvest and sale of wildlife, particularly waterfowl, in Texas, [and] takes the reader on a journey... Sawyer balances the potentially dry recounting of how the market hunting business worked the influences of railroads and the development of ice-making machinery and other technology with insightful, witty, and well-rounded accounts of the people involved in the business. And he wonderfully describes the abundance and variety of the wild fowl on which the industry preyed. He also ably paints the dark picture the incredible toll market hunting took on Texas' wild fowl... Sawyer gives readers an excellent trip through the years. He did that. And more. --Shannon Tompkins-- (12/11/2013) The stories in this book have been told for years over breakfast buffets in small Texas towns, but never so vividly or accurately. They document without prejudice a fascinating subculture that operated legally and otherwise for so long as the resources allowed and until enforcement gained the upper hand. As an avid Texas waterfowl hunter and former guide, turning these pages comes as naturally as tossing decoys or whistling to incoming pintails. --Doug Pike, host, The Doug Pike Show -- (06/04/2013) This book does a thorough job of capturing an era in Texas that no one wants to talk about. This book will make a significant contribution to the understanding of when and why wildlife conservation became important in the hearts and minds of Texas sportsmen. --Fred C. Bryant, director, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University in Kingsville-- (08/10/2012) Even though market hunting has been illegal for quite some time, and appropriately so, it remains nostalgic and perhaps somewhat romantic for many waterfowl hunters. Sawyer's work takes us back to that time and provides us a glimpse of an era of abundant waterfowl and vast marshes and estuaries. Market hunting has been covered for some other areas but not for Texas; this treatise fills that void. Learning of this history may cause us to wish to hunt these areas today as a connection to our past, and that would be a great adventure. --Michael E. Berger, retired wildlife division director, Texas Parks and Wildlife-- (08/16/2012)

Author Rob Sawyer deftly, deeply, and with an understanding borne of a lifelong love of waterfowling, wildlife, wetlands and history, chronicles what arguable was one of the most economically important, alternately fascinating and disturbing, and least recounted industries in the state's history. The... book... is a in-depth look at the history of commercial harvest and sale of wildlife, particularly waterfowl, in Texas, [and] takes the reader on a journey... Sawyer balances the potentially dry recounting of how the market hunting business worked the influences of railroads and the development of ice-making machinery and other technology with insightful, witty, and well-rounded accounts of the people involved in the business. And he wonderfully describes the abundance and variety of the wild fowl on which the industry preyed. He also ably paints the dark picture the incredible toll market hunting took on Texas' wild fowl... Sawyer gives readers an excellent trip through the years. He did that. And more. --Shannon Tompkins-- (12/11/2013) Even though market hunting has been illegal for quite some time, and appropriately so, it remains nostalgic and perhaps somewhat romantic for many waterfowl hunters. Sawyer's work takes us back to that time and provides us a glimpse of an era of abundant waterfowl and vast marshes and estuaries. Market hunting has been covered for some other areas but not for Texas; this treatise fills that void. Learning of this history may cause us to wish to hunt these areas today as a connection to our past, and that would be a great adventure. --Michael E. Berger, retired wildlife division director, Texas Parks and Wildlife-- (08/16/2012) The stories in this book have been told for years over breakfast buffets in small Texas towns, but never so vividly or accurately. They document without prejudice a fascinating subculture that operated legally and otherwise for so long as the resources allowed and until enforcement gained the upper hand. As an avid Texas waterfowl hunter and former guide, turning these pages comes as naturally as tossing decoys or whistling to incoming pintails. --Doug Pike, host, The Doug Pike Show -- (06/04/2013) This book does a thorough job of capturing an era in Texas that no one wants to talk about. This book will make a significant contribution to the understanding of when and why wildlife conservation became important in the hearts and minds of Texas sportsmen. --Fred C. Bryant, director, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University in Kingsville-- (08/10/2012)

Author Information

R. K. Sawyer is a petroleum geologist based in Houston and a manager at the Thunderbird Hunting Club in Matagorda County, Texas. He is also the author of A Hundred Years of Texas Waterfowl Hunting: The Decoys, Guides, Clubs, and Places, 1870s to 1970s.

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