Making Game: An Essay on Woodcock - Paperback

by Guy de la Valdène (Author), Russell Chatham (Illustrator), Robert Demott (Foreword by)

Guy de la Valdène's beautifully written essay (and first book) is an ode to an iconic bird, part natural history, and part hunting memoir. It's a well-regarded and undisputed classic--an edgy, elegant examination of the habits and history of a reclusive gamebird, the Woodcock, native to Europe and North America, a bird that's been hunted and celebrated since Roman times. Valdène writes exuberantly of the bird, the hunt, and the feast, gracefully balancing the obsessions of a naturalist, sportsman, and gourmand.

Author Biography

Guy de la Valdène was a writer, photographer, and sportsman who was raised in the United States and France. His essays have appeared in publications such as Gray's Sporting Journal and he wrote five books; Making Game: An Essay on Woodcock (1985), For a Handful of Feathers (1995), Red Stag: A Novel (2003), The Fragrance of Grass (2011), and On the Water: A Fishing Memoir (2015). He died in 2023.

Robert DeMott, a former English professor, is an Editor-at-Large for The Upland Almanac and co-editor (with Dave Smith) of Afield: American Writers on Bird Dogs. He lives in Athens, Ohio.