Synopses & Reviews
First Place, Florida Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft Award andldquo;If you enjoy outdoor adventure flavored with colorful characters and wry humor, this book is for you. Follow dedicated wildlife officers as they use their wits and skills in the pursuit of poachers and wildlife law violators.andrdquo;andmdash;Tom Mastin, forester and managing broker, Mossy Oak Properties Legacy Realty Services
andldquo;Lee recounts his amazing and challenging career as a Florida game warden with wit, wisdom, and careful attention to detail. You will travel with him as he boats the St. Johns River, walk beside him as he wades past resting alligators, and listen for that gunshot on a cold Putnam County night.andrdquo;andmdash;Jeff Hahr, former patrol supervisor, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
In the underbelly of Florida, hardened poachers operate in the dark, out of sight and away from residents who sleep soundly through the night. But poachers are not the only midnight hunters. In the stateandrsquo;s public wilderness tracts, cattle ranches, and water courses, wildlife thieves are stealthily and silently tracked.
Most people have never imagined the often dicey, comical, and sometimes bizarre job of a Florida game warden.and#160;Backcountry Lawmanand#160;tells what itandrsquo;s like to catch an armed poacher in the actandmdash;alone, at night, without backup or a decent radio to call for help. These stories describe the cat-and-mouse games often played between game wardens and poachers of ducks, turkeys, hogs, deer, gators, and other species. Few people realize that andldquo;monkey fishingandrdquo;andmdash;electrocution of catfishandmdash;had the same outlaw mystique in the rivers of Florida as moonshining once did in the hills of Georgia and Tennessee.
With thirty years of backcountry patrol experience in Florida, Bob Lee has lived through incidents of legend, including one of the biggest environmental busts in Florida history. His fascinating memoir reveals the danger and the humor in the unsung exploits of game wardens.
Bob H. Leeand#160;spent over three decades as a water patrol officer on the St. Johns River and a land patrol lieutenant in Putnam, St. Johns, and Flagler counties. Before retiring in 2007, he taught man-tracking classes through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Review
andldquo;As thrilling as any Indiana Jones epic.andrdquo;andmdash;
Florida Times-UnionReview
andldquo;Pure joy to read. . . .
Backcounty Lawman has something for everybody, including white-knuckle boat chases in the dark, surveillance on bird poachers, deer decoy operations, and even an entertaining, yet important, pollution case.andrdquo;andmdash;
International Game WardenReview
andldquo;A fast, fun read that anyone who has spent much time in the Florida outdoors will thoroughly enjoy.andrdquo;andmdash;
Fishing WireReview
andldquo;Lee . . . tells quite a story. As he relates his experiences you feel like you are sitting beside him in his 18-foot fiberglass andlsquo;Old Timerandrsquo; patrol boat.andrdquo;andmdash;
Panama City News HeraldReview
andldquo;Entertaining, enlightening and occasionally hilarious.andrdquo;
andmdash;Outdoor WireReview
andldquo;Between the flat out laughs is a glimpse into what can be a deadly job.andrdquo;andmdash;
St. Augustine RecordReview
andldquo;An inside look at the sometimes amusing and sometimes scary things game wardens must do to catch fish and wildlife law violators.andrdquo;andmdash;
Sun SentinelReview
andldquo;Details the many cat and mouse games poachers and game wardens play, featuring interesting real-life characters on both sides of the law who are constantly changing their tactics to stay one step ahead of the other.andrdquo;andmdash;
Woods andlsquo;n Water