Synopses & Reviews
Writing for magazines and newspapers for more than twenty years, including two decades at
Field and Stream, Bill Heavey has become famous as Americas everyman outdoorsman, unafraid to draw attention to his many and varied failuresfrom sporting French lavender deodorant to scaring a UPS man half to death while bowhunting in his front yard.
Heaveys 2007 collection If You Didnt Bring Jerky What Did I Just Eat?, co-published with Field and Stream, the leading American outdoors magazine, was a resounding success that went into multiple hardcover printings. This new book, again co-published with Field and Stream, collects more of Heaveys top pieces from the magazine, as well as the best of his writing from the Washington Post and elsewhere. In this far-ranging read, Heaveys adventures include nearly freezing to death in Eastern Alaska, hunting ants in the urban jungles of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and reconnecting to cherished memories of his grandfather through an inherited gun collection.
With Heaveys trademark witty candor, You're Not Lost if You Can Still See the Truck traces a life lived outdoors through the good, the bad, and the downright hilarious.
Review
Ive read Bill Heaveys page since the earliest days of my career. Hes one of my all-time favorite writers. Hes funny, fearless and always up for anything. If he could fish as well as he writes, Id be in trouble. Fortunately, he cant.”—Kevin VanDam, winningest professional bass angler of all time.
Bill Heavey isnt just one of my favorite writers, though he is. Hes also one of my heroes, proof that you can make an adult living by being witty, insightful and spending an awful lot of time outdoors. Thats the dream, and its chronicled in this book. Buy three copies.”—Tucker Carlson
If you think of Bill Heavey as just a humorist, you'll be selling him short, but it's his intelligent, unforced humor that hits you first and stays with you the longest.”—John Gierach, author of At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman and All Fishermen Are Liars
Review
Bill Heavey is one of the best magazine writers in America. No, he doesnt work for the
New Yorker. He writes for
Field and Stream, the popular journal for hunters and fishermen. Outdoor writing has a dim reputation as a soapbox for braggarts who crow about hooking a monster marlin or bagging a 24-point deer. But Mr. Heavey will have none of that. . . . Not since Jack Londons stories has the stark danger of freezing lived so largely on the page. . . . . As the tongue-in-cheek title of Mr. Heaveys collection suggests, this isnt always or even usually a serious book. Think Erma Bombeck in camo gear, and youll get the sensibility of many of these pieces.”
Wall Street JournalA reader doesnt have to hunt or fish to appreciate Heaveys gift for storytelling. . . . The best essays, here, in fact, are heartbreakingly tender. . . . This is a hard book to classify, and thats its biggest strength.”Christian Science Monitor, 10 excellent books you might have missed in 2014”
Remarkably engaging and often hilarious. . . . Even those who have never baited a hook, assembled a tree stand, or sat in a duck blind will quickly find themselves drawn into Heaveys world with colorfuland occasionally dangerousaccounts of outdoor life.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Bill Heavey is the man who put the lure in failure. Hes my kind of fisherman, deer hunter, and wing shot. Which is to say the, um, very amateur kind. But who wants to hear about some braggarts cast and blast triumphs when you can hear about Bill catching a 14-inch largemouth bass on a pink Shakespeare Ladies Spincast Combo? Even I have never done that. At least not sober.”P. J. ORourke
Ive read Bill Heaveys page since the earliest days of my career. Hes one of my all-time favorite writers. Hes funny, fearless and always up for anything. If he could fish as well as he writes, Id be in trouble. Fortunately, he cant.”Kevin VanDam, winningest professional bass angler of all time
[Heaveys] self-deprecating tales make us laugh. . . . [He] writes about the good times as well as the demons of his outdoor life. Some chapters are for soul-searching, not just fun and games.”Cleveland Plain Dealer
Humorous and thought-provoking essays on what it means to be an outdoorsman. . . . Readers will sense that its possible to fail at your mission and still have a grand time if you dont take yourself too seriously.”Kirkus Reviews
Bill Heavey isnt just one of my favorite writers, though he is. Hes also one of my heroes, proof that you can make an adult living by being witty, insightful and spending an awful lot of time outdoors. Thats the dream, and its chronicled in this book. Buy three copies.”Tucker Carlson
If you think of Bill Heavey as just a humorist, you'll be selling him short, but it's his intelligent, unforced humor that hits you first and stays with you the longest.”John Gierach, author of At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman and All Fishermen Are Liars
Heavey examines an eclectic variety of topics, from hunting to fishing to relationships and even lifes more profound mysteries. His perspective is that of a devoted, if not always expert, outdoorsman. If in doubt, he makes fun of himself. . . . Fellow outdoorspeople are the target audience, but the overall quality of the writing may draw even stay-at-homes.”Booklist
Bill Heavey has become famous as Americas everyman outdoorsman, unafraid to draw attention to his many and varied failuresfrom sporting French lavender deodorant to scaring a UPS man half to death while bowhunting in his front yard.”DL-Online
About the Author
Bill Heavey is an editor at large for Field and Stream, where he has written since 1993. His work has appeared in numerous publications including Mens Journal, Outside, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Best American Magazine Writing.