After reading The New Age Hunter, I corresponded with author Anthony P. Mauro, Sr. concerning his recently published book and issues that face the hunter today. While we didn’t always agree with each other, we worked to be sure the other operated with a clear and correct understanding of the tenants we held. Our exchanges and evaluations of thoughts and opinion were intellectually engaging and progressive. Such movement toward cooperation affirms that many intelligent, concerned people are among our ranks as honest and involved hunter-conservationists.

Mauro provides the general populace with an articulate blueprint of the complex and advantageous dynamics of hunting. The New Age Hunter is Mauro’s attempt to responsibly present hunting in an honest light despite the dark shadows so oft cast upon the sport by ignorance. So what, or more accurately who, is a new age hunter?

"The new age hunter is actually an educated huntsman, one who is armed with the knowledge of what hunting is today and what it can be in the future. He or she is also a historian[,]…a visionary, a confident leader entrusted with securing the future of the sport. The new age hunter is a scientist, archaeologist, biologist, theologian, sociologist, political activist, hunting expert, and educator of wildlife-management practices, all rolled up into one…The new age hunter is an anarchist who advocates change for the benefit of our precious natural resources and wildlife[,]…a bureaucrat whose inertia helps preserve our rich hunting traditions" (The New Age Hunter, xii).

This book reads like a thoughtful exposition or treatise on the interaction - past, present, and future - between society and the practice of hunting. I believe that many tenured hunters have likely already been exposed to a substantial portion of the material in this book, yet its usefulness is still evident. The Institute of Business Ethics, Boone & Crockett, and Safari Club International resonate precise creeds of ethics; Mauro incorporated these and other creeds of ethics and fair chase into his book. Various approaches to conservation and sustainable use are discussed at length. Readers are not left floundering for a way to perpetuate traditional values in postmodern times; the final section deals with the future and perpetuation of the integrity of the sport of hunting.

We cannot afford to let anti-hunting sentiment adulterate and misconstrue the art and essence of the hunt. Nonetheless, it happens, but lest you believe everything you hear, read on. Mauro rectifies misconceptions regarding the foundation and philosophy of hunting and unearths the niche of the hunter in modern times.

In compiling this well-organized and readable piece, Mauro pulls quotations from Shakespeare, Thoreau, Leopold, and T. Roosevelt that are both relevant and literarily satisfying. Each chapter is introduced with a compelling anecdotal tale that lends connectivity to the work. These tales take place in North America as well as Africa, and they quickly become experiences owned by the reader, too.

Wonderful imagery throughout the book smothers the occasional error in grammar or punctuation. The body of our PH that becomes rigid with excitement upon spotting game in the bushveld. An encounter with a black mamba. Feigning sleep in anticipation of a first hunt. Blunders and successes of adventurous expeditions, you will find them all in The New Age Hunter.

Admittedly, the chapter entitled "Where Men Can Be Men" seems at first glance to insinuate difficult terrain ahead for the ardent women hunter. As a huntress protective of my passion, my initial quip at the bolded heading is probably predictable. That said, what Mauro has to say is interesting and undeniably grounded in truth. The female reader has the opportunity to glean from his perspective yet another thing of beauty offered by hunting: the manifestation and maturation of a genuine masculinity, a manliness of which Teddy Roosevelt’s works were almost evocative, that seems to be so lacking in the present generation. A young man who learns to respect a firearm will likely regard those with whom he comes into contact with similar kindly reverence and chivalry. I am confident that the woman is made to complement and not compete with men in all facets of life, hunting included. The New Age Hunter neither caters to nor dissuades the woman hunter from her ambitions. Masculine and feminine pronouns are used; the playing field is level. This is a fair treatment of the rightful place of the modern-day hunter in contemporary society.

Mauro, like most articulate hunter-writers, gets his points across amiably yet forcefully. The addendum serves as a spicy postscript of sorts, showcasing anti-hunters’ outrageous behavior by merely parting the curtain to reveal various criminal acts of eco-terrorists. Pie-throwing People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) targeting an Agriculture Secretary for the United States and other cases of radicals "maturely" underscoring their agenda speak for themselves and are definitely heard through this book. Prepare to be amused.

I implore you to read The New Age Hunter and allow this book to infuse you with zeal, that you might savor the contributions of our pastime and introduce others to the effective and rewarding management tool we call hunting. Let it remind you who you are.