Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/496918
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 7 9 o o k s B Jim Casada The grounds and buildings of the National Sporting Library & Museum are reminiscent of a college campus or perhaps a country estate. made any effort to expand or update the Sheldon collection. Had they done so, the Ivy League institution would now have a magnificent holding of inestimable potential for anyone researching subjects relating to conservation, hunting, fishing, and life outdoors. Fortunately, the Sheldon collection is covered fully and is the sole listing in John Phillips' Bibliography of American Sporting Books, 1582–1925, published shortly after Sheldon's death in 1930. And in 1997 Meadow Run Press, now an inactive sporting publisher I hope to cover in a future column, brought out a continuation of the Phillips bibliography with M. L. Biscotti's A Bibliography of American Sporting Books, 1926-1985. Together, the pair forms a logical starting point for anyone wanting to take a comprehensive look at the evolution of American sporting literature. They also offer a solid road map for creating a truly comprehensive collection of works on American sport—no such holding, outside of the Library of Congress, presently exists. P erhaps it is just as well. In today's world, the ivory tower and the hunter's ethos are seldom ideal soulmates—although such was not always the case. Consider the life of Theodore Roosevelt for example. Indeed, in many parts of current academia, even in fields of study such as wildlife biology, a distinct anti- hunting bias prevails.