Outdoor Adventure Set

Ghost Buck

In Ghost Buck, outdoorsman Dean Bennett takes readers along to the place where he feels most connected to nature and his family––Camp Sheepskin. Guided by his family’s camp register, photos, and letters ranging from the 1800s to the present, Bennett reflects on his annual visits to his Western Maine camp since his boyhood. Through intimate narrative, he recalls hunting triumphs and defeats, including the elusive Ghost Buck that haunts the camp’s surrounding forest. This multi-generational tale combines memoir, history, and politics as it illustrates the environmental and cultural changes that have altered hunting and the rural culture of the Maine woods. Ghost Buck is not a book about how to hunt, but rather a story of how a tradition like hunting in Maine can forge unshakeable family bonds.

 

A Life Lived Outdoors

From laugh-out-loud funny to deeply poignant, A Life Lived Outdoors 
presents a collection of hand-picked essays by George Smith, one of Maine’s favorite outdoor writers, 
exploring the way life should be, could be, and sometimes is in the great state of Maine. He set aside 
the political columns for those about home and camp, family and friends, life in rural Maine, hunting and 
fishing, and other outdoor fun. There’s something for everyone in this collection that celebrates 
approaching life with humility and humor, as well as a passion for 
adventure.

 

Evergreens

There is nothing that outdoors columnist John Holyoke loves more than a good story. In his book, Evergreens, Holyoke shares a curated collection of his favorite essays featuring people who are passionate about the outdoors, as well as his memorable encounters with creatures—from salmon to deer to moose to squirrels—that fascinate and confound him. Sprinkled throughout are memories of the events that have shaped him as he recounts the benefits of spending time with friends in the woods, fields, and waters of Maine. As Holyoke says, “I am here to take you on an adventure. Along the way, you’re welcome to laugh, or cry, or smile, or reach for the phone to call an old friend and tell them that they still matte

Dean Bennett, author of Ghost Buck

Dean Bennett, a lifelong Maine resident, went on his first hunting trip to his family’s Camp Sheepskin at the age of three and has spent each hunting season since at the camp. Bennett has been a cabinetmaker, curriculum developer, education program evaluator, college professor, and author. An advocate for the environment, Bennett names deer hunting as a pastime, and simultaneously has stressed the importance of environmental ethics while serving on various environmental organizations over his lifetime. He lives in Hallowell, Maine, with his wife, biologist Sheila K. Bennett. Ghost Buck is his tenth book.

 

George Smith, author of A Life Lived Outdoors

George A. Smith, author of A Life Lived Outdoors, was an outdoor writer, award-winning newspaper columnist, and television show host. The former executive director of the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine, the state’s largest sportsman’s organization, Smith was an avid outdoorsman and traveler his entire life. He wrote for The Maine Sportsman magazine, The Kennebec Journal, and The Morning Sentinel. In addition, he penned a regular blog for Down East magazine and The Bangor Daily News. When he was not hunting, fishing, birding, or writing, he enjoyed hunkering down with a good book and maybe a cold beer—he was very fond of Maine’s microbrews.

 

John Holyoke, author of Evergreens

John Holyoke is an award-winning journalist who has been entertaining and informing readers of the Bangor Daily News for twenty-five years. His natural curiosity has helped make him a master of the “People Story,” and his job as an outdoor editor has allowed him to travel to some of the state’s most special places in search of experiences to savor and tales to share. Holyoke grew up in Brewer, graduated from the University of Maine in Orono, and has been writing for newspapers since sixth grade. He is an avid hunter and fly fisherman who loves spending time at the family camp on Beech Hill Pond in Otis. John lives in Brewer with his wife, Karen, his three stepchildren, two dogs, and one cat.