I’m astonished!

[orpington]

I searched on line for a copy of Robert Ruark’s classic Horn of the Hunter at my local library and they don’t have a copy.

Worse yet, I expand the search to include all thirteen area libraries and none of them have it as well.

This is very unfortunate.

 

[chicharrones]

I searched on line for a copy of Robert Roark’s classic Horn of the Hunter at my local library and they don’t have a copy.

Worse yet, I expand the search to include all thirteen area libraries and none of them have it as well.

This is very unfortunate.

Was the book known for being in libraries in the past? A different time with a different library audience, perhaps?

 

[Bennj]

As long as a copy can be found, our local public library will get a book not in their inventory if requested. Maybe give that a try?

 

[Gbro]

A local library almost always has a table with books for sale and I keep an eye on it.
I got Andersonville by MacKinley Kantor for $2.00
A Pulitzer Prize winner!
But It can be found online for a few bucks with postage usually higher!
Have you checked digital libraries?
I love all the Roark books!
The visuals stick in my head seem like forever!
What comes to mind as they are processing a Bull Elephant???

 

[flightsimmer]

I found it on Amazon for less than $20.00 new.
One said $0.00 but I don't understand that.

 

[PapaG]

I searched on line for a copy of Robert Roark’s classic Horn of the Hunter at my local library and they don’t have a copy.

Worse yet, I expand the search to include all thirteen area libraries and none of them have it as well.

This is very unfortunate.

Wife bought me one for Christmas. Wonderful.

 

[DT Guy]

I found it on Amazon for less than $20.00 new.
One said $0.00 but I don't understand that.

That was probably a Kindle book, priced using some Amazon credits you might have earned.

Larry

 

[orpington]

I just thought this book to be a classic worthy of every library. And worth reading again.

I’m surprised that every library doesn’t have it, or, at the very least, at least one library of the thirteen in the consortium of libraries nearest to me.

I reasoned this is an example of how times have changed. Maybe no longer PC for a library these days?

 

[Riomouse911]

I just thought this book to be a classic worthy of every library. And worth reading again.

I’m surprised that every library doesn’t have it, or, at the very least, at least one library of the thirteen in the consortium of libraries nearest to me.

I reasoned this is an example of how times have changed. Maybe no longer PC for a library these days?

Not being a librarian this is merely a guess, but it could be that older books not exceeding a minimum number of days out over the course of a couple years get rotated and sold to make way for newer books? No library has unlimited shelf space for every possible title ever printed, so maybe it fell victim to something like this.

Stay safe.

 

[doubleh]

Modern times most likely. My local library disposed of all books like that plus reference books on how to do many things years ago. They removed all the shelving that contained all these wonderful books and turned the space into a children's reading area that seldom has any children at all in it. It now has only one section of children's books and one of adult fiction.

I have found many older books online from used book sellers for very good prices and many of them have appeared to have never been opened. Kindle is a good source too. I found a Jim Corbett, the man eating tiger and leopard hunter in India, book there for only 99 cents last year.

 

[rust collector]

The tastes of the reading public do change, and libraries are intended to serve current interests. Otherwise they are archives.

I am sure you spelled Ruark's name correctly when you did your search. Astonished may be a bit hyperbolic, not unlike Ruark's writing.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I'm a retired librarian and can testify that Riomouse and doubleh are both correct. Not that I agree with the policy of favoring new books over old, but that's what's taught in library school (often by people who don't actually use public libraries!)

Happily, according to worldcat.org, there are plenty of copies available for interlibrary loan:



You can even buy a brand new copy from B&N:

Horn of the Hunter: The Story of an African Safari|Paperback

No other book can give you the feel of Africa like this one can.

www.barnesandnoble.com

 

[shafter]

In the last decade many old books have been purged from libraries.

I can usually find what I want on Amazon or Ebay for pretty reasonable. A good hard copy of a book is worth paying a little extra for.

 

[tark]

I think one of the chapters in that book is titled "Use enough gun." Ruark tells of the time he tried to kill a big boar wart hog... with a 220 Swift !! After shooting the poor beast several times he turned to his PH and said "Gimmie the &#$*?@# elephant gun!! He had the head mounted and placed inside of one of his closets in his home. When one opened the closet door a light came of and one found themselves staring at a very menacing hog head!

Ole' Bob was quite the character. Wish I could have known him...

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

The library down in Lawrence has a sale a few times a year. You can find some really good stuff.
Plus there's a great used book store just a few blocks from KU Med that I'll visit after my every six month check up.
Finding and buying the older books is just another version of hunting for me.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I think one of the chapters in that book is titled "Use enough gun." Ruark tells of the time he tried to kill a big boar wart hog...
Ole' Bob was quite the character. Wish I could have known him...

Got a hardback copy in the shelf next to my computer.

 

[tark]

Then it was an actual book, not a chapter. Thanks, Dave.

 

[buck460XVR]

Not being a librarian this is merely a guess, but it could be that older books not exceeding a minimum number of days out over the course of a couple years get rotated and sold to make way for newer books? No library has unlimited shelf space for every possible title ever printed, so maybe it fell victim to something like this.

^^^This. Used to be the dream of every school boy to go to Africa and safari like Robert Ruark. Not so much anymore.

 

[Riomouse911]

^^^This. Used to be the dream of every school boy to go to Africa and safari like Robert Ruark. Not so much anymore.

Indeed, even as a “seasoned” adult I bought the safari books by Shelby, Ruark, Taylor, Bell and Hemingway. Like a kid, I dreamt of the rugged trips they chronicled and how awesome their experiences were.

Stay safe.,

 

[rtroha]

While my library doesn't have it, there are two copies available via the lending network it belongs to. If I wanted to read the book I could place a hold on it and within 7-10 days it would arrive at my local library for me to pick up.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Then it was an actual book, not a chapter. Thanks, Dave.

Watch your mailbox.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Indeed, even as a “seasoned” adult I bought the safari books by Shelby, Ruark, Taylor, Bell and Hemingway.

Don't forget Jim Corbett. A superb hunter, writer and all-around good egg.

 

[orpington]

^^^This. Used to be the dream of every school boy to go to Africa and safari like Robert Ruark. Not so much anymore.

That’s probably the case and represents a SAD state of affairs. Certainly my dream.

My brother in law’s father is retired US Navy and my BIL is afraid of guns. Not sure if he was raised quite right. I handed him a Springfield 1898 rifle in .30/40 Krag once and he looked like he might puke.

 

[doubleh]

Don't forget Jim Corbett. A superb hunter, writer and all-around good egg.

View attachment 1254315

Out of all of them Corbett was my hero. He willingly went into places after the man eaters that you couldn't have dragged me with a team of large mules. He was also very good at describing the terrain, the people, and India in general back in that era. I was amazed at all the miles he traveled in his adventures on foot. 25 miles a day was just an ordinary day to him and he did it day in and day out.

Selous' book about hunting Africa left me cold, so much so in fact that I never completed reading it. It was mostly about the number of animals he killed. Teddy Roosevelt's book was much better written and included much about the county he covered and the people he encountered. I have the Ruark book that started this thread somewhere but cannot remember exactly where.

 

[jeepnik]

My wife was a librarian for over forty years. It's a matter of space. Books that aren't checked out often aren't replaced. Some are even pulled from the shelves to make space for newer, mostly fiction, books that aren't checked out.

The reality is that libraries have fewer and fewer non fiction books yearly. Most folks wanting information on a given subject now use the internet.

Libraries started to get computers so folks could use them. Now just about everyone has a computer in their pocket. You can download books from most libraries. But most of these are fiction.

Ask any librarian and they'll admit brick and mortar public libraries are heading the way of the Dodo as every years more and more older books are digitized