Making Game

Guy de la Valdène's beautifully written essay (and first book) is an ode to an iconic bird, part natural history, and part hunting memoir. It's a well-regarded and undisputed classic—an edgy, elegant examination of the habits and history of a reclusive gamebird, the Woodcock, native to Europe and North America, a bird that's been hunted and celebrated since Roman times. Valdène writes exuberantly of the bird, the hunt, and the feast, gracefully balancing the obsessions of a naturalist, sportsman, and gourmand.

Guy de la Valdène was a writer, photographer, and sportsman who was raised in the United States and France. His essays have appeared in publications such as Gray's Sporting Journal and he wrote five books; Making Game: An Essay on Woodcock (1985), For a Handful of Feathers (1995), Red Stag: A Novel (2003), The Fragrance of Grass (2011), and On the Water: A Fishing Memoir (2015). He died in 2023. Robert DeMott, a former English professor, is an Editor-at-Large for The Upland Almanac and co-editor (with Dave Smith) of Afield: American Writers on Bird Dogs. He lives in Athens, Ohio.