· The Book: "The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou"
· Author: Roland Cheek
· Publisher: Skyline Publishing
· Cost: $21.95 paperback
· Book Signings: today from 6-8 p.m. at Walden-books in Great Falls; Friday, 3 to 6 p.m. at Don's Sporting Goods in Lewistown; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at BookMark It in Great Falls and from 1 to 3 p.m. at Barnes and Noble in Great Falls.
Roland Cheek probably has forgotten more about elk hunting than many of us ever will know.
But what the veteran outfitter, guide and outdoor writer remembers and packs into his new book makes it worthwhile for anybody who pursues the elk.
The new book is "The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou and other Elk Stories."
The cover of the book also advises it is "driven by the wild wapiti" and is a graduate course in what makes elk tick."
Cheek, whose column regularly appears in the Tribune, writes from his home in Columbia Falls where he retired after more than two decades of trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Cheek lays claim to being in on the formulation of the 80/20 rule: That is 20 percent of all elk hunters take 80 percent of the elk.
He also pioneered the concept that elk are a lot like white-tailed deer and an eastern deer hunter likely will be a better elk hunter than most people.
Cheek's engaging style is conversational--I think you'd hear these stories around a campfire at about 7,000 feet after two fingers or so in the bottom of the cup.
I particularly enjoy the several chapters that deal with youngsters--generally Cheek's grandson--learning to hunt.
We ride along as the youth grows into a world populated by wise old hunters who long ago gave up the need to kill.
The boy remains mystified by those who don't need to kill to have a successful hunt and yet yell at the tops of their lungs when they return to their favorite spot in the high country.
This is not a nuts-and-bolts how-to guide to hunting elk. But the information is there, along with the recollections of a lifetime of guiding others into elk country.
Cheek's book will help its readers learn about the kinds of places elk use each season of the year and provide insight into the habits of the elk.
There also is guidance on being better prepared for traveling in elk country and some practical advice on equipment selection.
Cheek also is the author of "Learning to Talk Bear."
- By Michael BabcockTribune Outdoor Editor
Explore! Magazine says:
"Roland Cheek is an extraordinary teller of outdoor tales." Explore! goes on to say: "Hot on the tail of his successful bear book, The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou is a full-life tale about one of North America's most mesmerizing creatures, the wild wapiti. It's a book for those who care about wildlife of all kind, to understand grazers and carnivores, mosquitoes and hop toads."
BOOK REVIEW
"The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou"
By Roland Cheek
Skyline Publishing, Columbia Falls, Mont.
$21.95
artfully describes his own evolution as a hunter where the kill becomes progressively less important while the enjoyment of the total experience becomes increasingly stronger.
He revels in the enthusiasm of kids and grandkids as they begin hunting. He describes his own continued enthusiasm even though filling his own tag becomes relatively unimportant.
Few writers have ever done so masterful a job in explaining why hunters hunt while also providing an enjoyable text on how to hunt.
Jack McNeel is the former regional wildlife educator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. He is a regular contributor to the Sunday Perspective section to The Press.
By JACK McNEEL Special to The Press
If you are, were, or ever hope to be an elk hunter,"The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou" is a must read book. It should be mandatory reading for every hunter education student as well as instructor.
Roland Cheek has done an incredible job in portraying both the how to and why of elk hunting. He has woven an entertaining mix of how to hunt elk with many tips from a lifetime as hunter and outfitter in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness with a similar mix of chapters about the whys and moralities of hunting.
Perhaps it should be equally recommended for the nonhunters because Cheek
I am so impressed I want a copy sent to Lisa Brown, with my compliments, She will take my place as Hunter Education Instructor. After 35 years, I think some new vigor is in order.
- Don Smith / Hot Springs, MT
Tammy Meck writes in the Glenwood Post (Glenwood Springs Colorado):
The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou isn't just about the hunt. It encompasses many aspects of elk, from 'how-to' tips for finding, watching or hunting elk to preserving their habitat.
Rural Montana Magazine says:
As in his book, Learning to Talk Bear, this new book, The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou, is as much about the human/animal relationship as it is about the animal itself.
My wife tells me it is the first book she has seen me read and not put down until I am exhausted.
- Asa Asaturian / Carbondale, IL
Show & Tell Magazine calls Roland a
...humorist, and says he's clawing his way to success because he's becoming 'bearish' on writing. Show & Tell goes on to say: The Phantom Ghost of Harriet Lou delves into the wapiti's habits, haunts and history.
Roland Cheek is a born storyteller.
- The Register Herald / Eaton, OH
[Colorado guide Bill Tidwell]