The Witchery of Archery was the main inspiration for the increase of interest in archery in the United States at the beginning of the century.Dr. R.P. Elmer wrote of it "That wonderful little book has had as much effect on archery as Uncle Tom's Cabin had on the Civil War!"
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Romantic view of archery and hunting Comment: This book presents quite a romantic perspective on archery and hunting with bow and arrow, something which can kindle interest in the sport, but also bring up sadness for a way of life that at the present time is largely lost and gone. One of the great ironies of the book is that while the author condemns those who would plunder nineteenth century wildlife with the lowly shotgun, (which required so much less skill to use than the longbow!)he himself tells story after story of going out into various American wildlands and shooting dozens of herons, cranes, woodpeckers, and pretty much any number of any bird that the whim of the moment inspired in him, including the now-extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Which just goes to show that one can be as irresponsble with a bow and arrow as with a gun, in spirit if not by numbers. Yes, Maurice Thompson, many a US citizen who in this day and age attempted to find himself a place to live out your beautiful stories of the grand old days when boys had plenty of space to explore and camp and dream, would be saddened to find himself limited to the tiny spaces left between ever-increasing private property holdings and restrictive US Fish and Game laws. And if he tried to imitate your adventures, he might well end up in jail. NOt that it isn't valuable to dream. And the romance of archery can certainly be kindled by this sweet book with its delightful nineteenth century flavor. The book also has an appendix on the concrete specifics of building a bow, fletching, string and shooting techniques.
