American Buffalo

Praise

“Captivating . . . [Rinella is] an engaging, sharp-eyed writer whose style fuses those of John McPhee and Hunter S. Thompson.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
“One part Hemingway sparseness, and one part anthropological history of buffalo hunting over the past few thousand years . . . an adventurous and educational tribute to a great American animal.”—Men’s Journal

“Rinella one-ups his previous book, The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine, by going after the massive and mythical buffalo. . . . Rinella’s tale of tracking buffalo in Alaska is alluringly visceral in its description. His multichapter description of killing, skinning and chopping up a buffalo cow is alternately stomach-turning and riveting. It’s easy to understand the allure of hunting, of respecting and living off the land, under Rinella’s unsentimental tutelage.”—Time
 
“Eloquent, smart and obsessive . . . Rinella is a learned, wry voice in the wilderness.”—Time Out New York

“Thrilling.”—The Star-Ledger

“A fascinating piece of outdoor writing and a gonzo meditation on the history of the mighty beast in our national life. Rinella’s passion for his subject, intelligence and moments of craziness bring to mind another wild American spirit: the early, effective Hunter S. Thompson.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“A rich, engrossing, well-written book, and total brain candy for fact addicts.”—Bloomberg
 
“Fascinating . . . a very complex, wonderfully written book.”—The Christian Science Monitor
 
“Engaging . . . brings home the satisfactions of one man’s self-reliance in an age when little we do alone so directly supports our survival. Too, it’s a journey into the snowy north, where the beauty and bounty of a faraway land come powerfully alive.”—The Seattle Times

“A sleep-with-your-safety-off narrative of Rinella’s quest to shoot a wild bison in Alaska—and a testament to . . . the writer’s passion for his subject.”—Outside magazine

“Part hunting memoir, part trivia-soaked history of the buffalo—as if pulled straight from the brainpans of Steve Irwin and Ken Jennings.”—Details

“Brims with . . . historical tidbits . . . the breadth of Rinella’s knowledge is impressive.”—Rocky Mountain News

“Rinella’s complex weave of guilt and pride, of understanding and qualified embrace of historical necessity, make this book an education not just in what we put in our mouths but in why and how people like and unlike us have done so—a lesson for the head, the heart and the stomach.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Rinella’s understated prose shows great flexibility, and he is by turns moving and downright funny. An experienced outdoorsman and hunter, Rinella writes with authority about the process of turning a living creature into steak, and easily renders an enormous amount of historical and scientific information into a thoroughly engaging narrative.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A fluently written celebration of life.”—Kirkus Reviews