Meat Eater by Steven Rinella – Thoughts and Review
“To abhor hunting is to hate the place from which you came, which is akin to hating yourself in some distant, abstract way.”
Steve Rinella, Meat Eater
A beautifully written collection of hunting stories, Rinella takes the reader through his experiences doing what countless generations of humanity have experienced to procure food. As he navigates the country for sustenance through modern day challenges in addition to the unchanging challenges of hunting, Rinella still finds beauty and love in the wilds of the US.
This was an amazing second pick to expand my hunting genre list. I’m not a hunter but first read Cameron Hanes’ book Endure and was very interested in the hunting discussions. When I recently saw Meat Eater in my library I figured I’d try it out and see what happens. I definitely have no regrets and I love all of the stories and info that Steve Rinella provides.
“The horn seemed to encompass all the danger and beauty of a place that would just as happily kill you as let you walk on it.”
Steve Rinella, Meat Eater
As I’ve come to understand it, depending on the hunger, the hunt can more than obtaining food for oneself or his/her family. In the modern world, it’s an ancestral re-connection with nature and the processes that helped advance society so well.”
He also gave me some new things to think of regarding fishing. Where I had seen it as a very boring activity (and which I have absolutely no patience with to catch any fish for food), Rinella discussed its similarities with hunting. I’d be curious to find and read anything about fishing that’s similar to these two hunting books I’ve read so far. I think it’d be cool to look at Valentine Thomas’s new cookbook. I found her on an old episode of Joe Rogan where I found some similarities between her and I (but her story is so much cooler). Valentine quit her job as a lawyer to spearfish full time. She’s a badass.
“Many modern people are motivated to fish by the same factors that motivate them to hunt, things such as adventure, communion with nature, physical activity, a love of process and acquired skill, and a desire for an intimate connection to one’s food.”
Steve Rinella, Meat Eater
Read on and go outside today.
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