Fall/Winter 2000

Hot Off the Press
with Beth Giachelli and David Watts

Flyway To Heaven
by Boo Holowell
Reviewed by Beth Giachelli

Have you ever met Boo Hollowell? If you haven't you should. Have you ever read his book Flyway to Heaven? If you haven't, you need to do that too. Flyway to Heaven is a pocket size waterfowl identification book that is waterproof and buoyant.

According to Boo Hollowell, "I wanted it to be small enough to fit in a coat or vest pocket and be out of the way. When it gets cold and something rubs across your face, it hurts!" There are pictures of waterfowl on each page with facts about them underneath that make the identification easy. Boo's niece, Martha Weathers, did the illustrations.

As soon as I walked into Boo's office for the interview, he immediately began talking and showing me that his book would float. He then showed me a book that had been in water since three days before Thanksgiving, 1999. And you guessed it - with the rub of a cloth, the book was dry and in perfect condition.

Boo must have seen the look on my face as I tried to take in everything he was saying, because he started laughing and said, "All of this talking and extra detail is just the lawyer coming out in me."

One of my first questions to Boo was "Where on earth did you get the idea for a floating book?"

"Well," Boo said, "I've been hunting with people all over the United States and Canada and they were only familiar with wood ducks and mallards - a very limited amount, I might add, when you see the many different species found in the United States. I wanted these people to see what else is out there. To be honest, though, I didn't know all that much until I did this book," he said. "I guess I got the actual idea from a Ducks Unlimited book that I really liked that kept getting wet and eventually ruined. I got the idea of waterproof paper from Doug Hedderman. The paper had to be special ordered and I tested it out myself for three months before I made any commitment to using it. I also had help from Dana Cupid she helped with the overall design of the book."

Boo told me women were his target, but not just for the "hunting and learning" reasons. "I don't think many men will buy this because they don't want to admit that they have questions about ducks or that they don't know everything." Boo continued, "I do think, however, that if a woman buys it and gives it to man, he will be more inclined to look at it." Boy was he right. I took the book home to see what my husband Jeffrey would say and wouldn't you know it, his exact words were "What do I want to look at this thing for?" I told him I just brought it home to see what he thought, set it down on the coffee table, and went to the kitchen. When I came back into the den, there he was looking at the identification book. I told this story to Boo, and he told me Jeffrey was no different than most men before they actually look at the book.

Boo also commented that he targets younger hunters. "They seem to be more interested in the book than the older hunters. For instance, my son Ashley, a dental student in Alabama, and his friends really seem to enjoy thumbing through the book and looking over the identification tips," said Boo.

Before leaving the interview, Boo told me he had one more story to tell - I guess that was the lawyer coming out in him again! Boo began, "My wife Darlene and I were at an expo. I was showing a guy my book and he said he didn't need it because he knew everything about ducks. So I asked him the difference between a black duck, a mottled duck and a Mexican duck. The deal was if he didn't know he would buy one of my books. He told me 'nothing,' and was wrong. The bars on the wing patches are different. Anyway, he lost the bet and had to buy a book." That just goes to show that even the most experienced of hunters (or the ones who think they are experienced) can get some good out of Flyway to Heaven. I know that that will be one stocking stuffer Jeffrey gets this year and I highly recommend the book to men, women and children, whether they be for gifts or for themselves.

The detailed information in Flyway to Heaven came from accredited internet information and Boo's 30 years of hunting experience.

To order a book for yourself, call Boo Holowell at 1-877-378-3103 or visit his website (www.duckbooks.com). The cost is $9.95.

To Catch the Wind: A Photographer's Journey
by Stephen Kirkpatrick
Reviewed by David Watts

In his search to capture the perfect photograph of a bird rising to meet the sun or an insect landing upon a wildflower, Stephen Kirkpatrick of Jackson waits countless hours on misty shores, in rainy swamps, on snowy mountains. Much of that time he spends reflecting upon the Creator's plan for him and recording those thoughts in journals. Kirpatrick shares his musings and wisdom in his latest book, To Catch the Wind.

His often eloquent words confiding pain and passion, comfort and grief, doubt and hope are not new. Thoreau Emerson and John Muir, among many others, have written similar in often quoted essays and poetry. However, To Catch the Wind is unique. Kirkpatrick, a master of nature photography, has coordinated his inner journeys questions and epiphanies with images captured from magnificent moments in the wild. The result is a profound affirmation of faith rooted in reality.

Snippets of journal entries are arranged chronologically over a three year period. It was a time of profound changes in Kirkpatrick's personal life. To illustrate this spiritual and emotional probing, one hundred photos were selected from portfolios as early as 1984, and as recently as Spring 1997. Thirty-four of the shots are from Mississippi locations. The rest are from across North America -- from Alaska and Canada to Florida.

Part of the success of To Catch the Wind is certainly due to editing by Marlo Carter Sibley of Madison. Jackson designer Heidi Flynn Allen's graphic talent pulls words and images into a satisfyingly cohesive book. K&W Prepress deserves credit for impeccable technical production.

A timeless pleasure to read and view, Stephen Kirkpatrick's To Catch the Wind: A Photographer's Journey is a treasure to give or to receive. P.S. The book has a surprise "ending."