The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family

by Walt Harrington

Book Overview

When Walt Harrington was first invited to Kentucky to hunt with his African American father-in-law and his country friends--Bobby, Lewis, and Carl--he was a jet-setting reporter for The Washington... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087113862X
• ISBN13: 9780871138620
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Everlasting Stream

Any outdoorsman, especially one that rabbit hunts, will truly enjoy this book. It shows the feeling of true friends and the value of sharing time together. The interaction of the group reminds me of my buddies I have been hunting with for nearly 40 years. It also talks about the importance of friendship and family all intertwined into a very outstanding book. I plan on buying a copy for each of my hunting buddies and family.

GREAT BOOK FOR HUNTERS

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK FOR MY HUSBAND WHO IS A RABBIT HUNTER HE LOVED THE BOOK ALLL THE STORIES OF THE MEN & THEIR HUNTS.. I ALSO GOT ONE FOR HIS BROTHER HE & HIS WIFE BOTH LOVED THE BOOK A GREAT BOOK I HAVENT READ IT YET BUT LOOKING FOWARD TO READING IT. I RECOMEND IT TO ALL HUNTERS OR ANYONE WHO LIKES A GOOD GOOD TRUE STORY OF JUST PLAN PEOPLE HAVING A GOOD TIME ENJOYING FAMILY & FRIENDS WE ALSO SAW THE SPECIAL ON PBS WHICH WAS GOOD. JUANITA

"Everything's beautiful if you look at it right."

The Everlasting Stream, by Walt Harrington, is a hunting book that isn't a book about hunting. I had read a brief review about this book being a good addition to the pro-hunting literature. Well, it was, in a sense. Harrington is a fine writer, and most pro-hunting books tend to focus on the charismatic megafauna like deer and elk. Harrington's focus is on the common and ordinary, the prolific cottontail. No trophy hunting here; this is all about hunting for meat. What does Harrington say in defense of hunting? "Animals bleed. Live with it" (p. 146). "It doesn't matter to a rabbit what kills him - fever, flukes, worms, weather, hawks, or me. The rabbit is dead" (p. 184). "Killing an animal doesn't deaden the human conscience; it enlivens it" (p. 184). "Hunting isn't golf or tennis, which demand only technical mastery. Hunting isn't merely an exercise in male bonding, as so many believe. Hunting has moral gravitas" (p. 185). "It is people who enjoy the fruits of the kill without feeling the ominous responsibility of the killing who are morally delinquent" (p. 186). "I'm not supposed to hunt without guilt. I'm supposed to hunt despite the guilt" (p. 187). "Long ago, a woman at my table said to me, 'I can't believe you killed those little bunnies.' I now know what I should have said in response. 'I can't believe you ate those little bunnies without killing one'" (p. 189). Harrington isn't perfect. He confesses a time when "I fire, and the rabbit tumbles, heels over head. When I reach down, the rabbit suddenly kicks his hind legs violently and drubs my hand twice before I can pull away... I use the butt of my gun like a deadfall and club the rabbit's head. After I do, his left eye dangles from its socket. I take out my knife that I will give to Matt at Christmas, slice the eye free, and put the rabbit in my bag" (p. 214). I certainly hope he removed the shells from his shotgun before using it as a club. And although Harrington did not appear to be apologetic for his act, there is a line between killing an animal and torturing it. It is this line that society scrutinizes. He hints at its existence with his "It doesn't matter to a rabbit what kills him..." comment; however, it does matter to society, and I would say it should matter to the hunter as well. With this said, this book is much, much more than a book about hunting. Harrington explores issues of manhood (and boyhood), parenting, memories, and livelihoods. He discusses race relations (Harrington's hunting buddies are black while he is white), politics, friends, and folklore. He reflects on his passions, and eventually makes some drastic, life-altering decisions. All in 217 pages. The subtitle says it all: The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family. Harrington's father repeatedly said to him, "Everything's beautiful if you look at it right." I'd say this IS the theme of the book. If you are not a hunter, keep reading thro

excellent

brand new book for a great price a most excellent book my husband is enjoying

Three tales in one

"The Everlasting Stream" is a tale about male relationships, about self discovery and about hunting that does justice to all three subjects. While many books use one story as a vessel to carry another, this develops all three stories simultaneously and completely.Author Walt Harrington portrays himself as a snobby Washington Post reporter who finds himself tramping around Kentucky fields, shooting rabbits with his father-in-law's hunting buddies to prove he is not above them.Through the Thanksgiving hunts, Harrington comes to respect the men. He comes to understand himself and to wonder how he so misplaced himself. He grows up with his son and reconsiders his relationship with his late father. Through it all, he thinks deeply about the experience of hunting, turning inside out his initial revulsion to it. In the end, the hunts lead him to make a profound change in his life.Harrington finds answers, real-life answers, and not the clear-cut, no-regrets answers of cardboard stories.As Harrington re-evaluates his life, male friendships and hunting, you will, too. It's a journey worth taking, and Harrington is an engaging guide.