Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska JIM REARDEN....Queston.

Is there anyone who "TODAY" has the type skills that Jim Rearden had...?? The skill with the written word..?? Especially with reference to Alaska reality. THANK YOU.

Phil Shoemaker writes better and I have been waiting for his book. Chuck Wirscheim and Lew Bradley are writers of the first class as well.

THANKS. I am not sure what the service is that I am questing for. But Rearden did that service, and did it extremely well.

Has Phil written others?

I like what I’ve read of Reardon.

What’s your favorite? (Not Glaser)

I’m not the sharpest spoon in the shed and I didn’t realize Phil wrote a book, what’s the title? What’s it about…..😂

I’m on the hunt for more good Alaska reading material so any recommendations are appreciated. Wirscheim and Bradley I don’t think I’m familiar with either?

Phil has been in the process of writing a book for about three years. It is composed of many of his experiences as a bear guide but it will cover alot about rifles and the history of guiding as well. Right now, he has been doing write ups on facebook called Tools of the Trade where he has been writing up the different guns of his family members and how they set them up and what roles they play. His articles have been slowly building up into a book and he has mentioned that he is in the final stages of production several times.

Lew Bradley's RampagesI-III are probably the most comprehensive sheep hunting book series ever written. Long, disjointed books are often not very good. But his books are incredibly good. He has a lot of stories that aren't really developed by other writers. He is a straight sheep nut and his writing reflects that. Its not for free. A book series costs more than 400 dollars. However, they are incredible. He is presently working on Volume 4 which should also be very much worth it.


Chuck Wirscheim's book Alaska Won or Lost is a classic. It tells the story of what sheep hunting was like and how the hunters were like in the 1960s through 1990s. Chuck has taken some amazing rams and guided with Gary Green, Skip and Marty Rinio under Howard Knutson in the Brooks Range after the Feds closed the Wrangells. AGL4Now- You probably crossed paths with him.

Marty Meirotto's In the Land of Wilderness is also very good. Marty is a good bit different from the way that he is pictured in Mountain Men. His book is a great story and tells more about trapping than many books. I am just saying that it is worth having a place on a book shelf.

Well, that is my favorite. I usually read that once a year, in the winter.

These were good as well:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38588394-old-alaska

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21997762-the-wolves-of-alaska

That’s my extent of Reardon’s writings so far.

I have always enjoyed Jim Reardon’s stories

Rearden was very pleasant to talk to, the one time I phoned him. He had a great belly-laugh.

I believe the subject was moose, and some one had made a claim here about something Mr. Rearden had said or done. Wrongly as it turned out. And the conversation got side-tracked after that for 15 minutes or so......

Lew's my neighbor, and our family has known him for half a century. He was a physical ed teacher in Wasilla, and is a fitness kook. The guy runs up the mountains. His house is a virtual museum of sheep horns, including fossilized specimens he finds on his non-hunting sojourns in the mountains. He served a couple terms on the BoG some years back. If you're interested in Dall sheep hunting, Lew is the ultimate sheep hunter for sure. I've seen him at Valley guns shows selling his books. He's a fun guy, and still made of iron.

Thanks gentlemen! I’ll be beginning my reading material search today. 👍🏼 I look forward to Phil completing his book and that’ll be a priority for me when the time comes.

Iron…Alaska’s Wolfman is a favorite of mine as well. I’ve read it 3 times in the past 3 months. I also reread Two into the Far North by Margaret Murie….I enjoy that book too because she dealt with and talks about some of the same people that Frank dealt with in Fairbanks back in the teens and twenties.

Thanks for the reading suggestions.

He's writing for God now, in the Happy Hunting Ground.











Unidentified bear hunter on Kodiak Island in the early 1950s.
If that ain't Jim Rearden it ought to be.
The picture is a metaphor for the virtuosity of Jim Rearden's life.

I believe that last picture is of Joe Want. Another guide that should write a book.

Has anyone read the book about John Swiss..??
https://www.boone-crockett.org/bc-worlds-record-polar-bear

I have been considering writing a book of "events" and wondering who best to edit it. The book about John Swiss is full of good accounts. But lacked something in the telling. An edge of the experience was lost between Johns telling and the authors final product. That "edge" is what Jim Reardon could recreate in words.
The reason I started this thread is, I am wondering who currently has that editing skill.

Do you have a link to those “Tools of the Trade” articles? I can’t find them anywhere. Thanks

Thank you

Thank you!