Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/742011
A s a reader, I've always had a particular affinity for highly personalized material—auto- biographical or biographical accounts, collections of stories detailing specific experiences of the author, memoirs, and the like. My explanation is the same one I used to offer university students back in my teaching days: If you don't find the activities of your fellow human beings of interest, then either the guy standing in front of the classroom (me) isn't doing his job, or else some self-examination might be in order. After all, we move through life constantly interacting with people, and if they happen to have shared passions such as hunting and fishing, then surely our common ground ought to be appealing. That is definitely the case for me, and as a number of books have recently crossed my desk and tickled my fancy, they will probably do likewise for my fellow sportsmen. Not too many issues back this column covered the writings and literary career of Steve Bodio, one of the most interesting Books By Jim Casada RECENT SPORTING MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, AND MORE and gifted sporting scribes active today. An individual who has long been interested in the far horizons of sport in terms of approaches, such as falconry and ancient, largely forgotten breeds of hunting dogs, Bodio has turned his fascination to the venerable Asian sight hounds known as tazis. In his new book, The Hounds of Heaven: Living and Hunting with an Ancient Breed (ISBN 978-1-5107-0571-5, hardbound in dust jacket, Skyhorse Publishing, signed copies from the author, c/o P. O. Box 709, Magdalena, NM 87825, $27 postpaid). In his book Bodio delves into the history of the breed, ancestors of better-known breeds such as Afghans and salukis (The tazis' ancestors, or the breeds that have the tazi as an ancestor?), tells a fascinating tale of how the tazi first laid hold of his hunter's soul, and relates his personal experiences in training (and being trained by) them. With unexpected information at every turn, from how Russians tried to extirpate the breed because it epitomized the independent resilience of tribal people of the Asian steppes to unraveling the enchanting, and at times exasperating, character traits of the tazis he trained, this is a compelling book. Those who know Bodio's writing would expect no less; those who don't will discover to their delight that he is, like the tazi, a breed apart. 174 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S Steve Bodio with two of his tazi hounds, a breed that the Russians tried to eliminate because the animals reflected the independent resilience of natives living on the Asian steppes. Right: arabs with a Falcon by Alberto Pasini.