Woodcock Rising

It seems as though wherever wingshooters and dog people get together, and the talk turns to the things they read and the writers they respect, the name Steve Smith is one of the first mentioned. As an editor, he is one of the two longest-serving, continuous outdoor editors in history thirty-five years and counting. In his long career as a writer, he has written hundreds of magazine articles, and Woodcock Rising is his twentieth book. His friends, hunting partners, cohorts, and collaborators include the likes of the late Michael McIntosh and Gene Hill. As a publishing executive, Smith has launched eleven magazines, including the prestigious Shooting Sportsman; started two book-publishing houses; and has been responsible for a division of a company that produces thirty-six titles. But through all of this, there was always woodcock. Smith did his graduate work on them, has hunted them in a dozen states and provinces, waits impatiently for the spring skydancing displays, and still can't sleep the night before the season opens. In the words of famed author Tom Davis: "Other gamebirds excite; the woodcock beguiles. With his inimitable blend of wit, insight, expansive knowledge, and deep but lightly worn wisdom, Steve Smith beautifully chronicles his lifelong love affair with this enigmatic charmera journey sure to delight all of us who've had our hearts similarly stolen. For a long time, I've been of the opinion that one book, Guy de la Valdne's Making Game, belonged in the library of every woodcock devotee. Now, with Woodcock Rising, there are two."