Book Birthdays celebrate one year of a book’s life in social media posts, reviews, and more. This month we’re saying Happy First Book Birthday to Hush of the Land: A Lifetime in the Bob Marshall Wilderness (Bison Books, 2024) by Arnold “Smoke” Elser and Eva-Maria Maggi.
About the Book:
Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, Hush of the Land tells the captivating story of Arnold “Smoke” Elser’s early days as a packer in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Bitterroot Mountains. Share the joys and thrills of summer rides, harrowing grizzly bear encounters, fishing in clear mountain streams, and many nights around a campfire within some of the West’s last wild lands. In this lively narrative, Elser recounts how his testimony for the Wilderness Act, and the fight to preserve and expand Montana’s wilderness lands, influenced his career as an outfitter and educator and gave him a voice at the center of Montana’s conservation movement.
A Word from the Authors:
Smoke doesn’t like talking to a computer. “A look in somebody’s eyes tells me more than anyone could say,” he used to say. But when you’re 90, don’t like to fly, and have fans all across the country, Zoom it is. So, in November, he took the plunge. Hundreds of viewers from 24 U.S. states joined us for a webinar sponsored by the Back Country Horsemen of America—and we had a great time.
Smoke guided them on a summer trip through the Bob Marshall Wilderness, complete with a thunderstorm, a grizzly bear, and some long-legged spiders in a cave. While we couldn’t see anyone’s faces on the screen, we could still feel their excitement. One woman from Florida later wrote to say how much she enjoyed “riding” in the Bob Marshall Wilderness while sitting in the shade of a palm tree in her backyard. A local reader shared that she watched from her couch, her cats purring on her lap.
We signed dozens of books, and the wonderful team at Fact and Fiction Bookstore (THANK YOU BRYN!) in Missoula shipped them across the country.
It turns out Smoke changed his mind. He actually enjoyed talking to a computer from the comfort of his old stone barn in Missoula. That said, he still prefers looking into people’s eyes and shaking their hands—and he definitely wouldn’t buy a horse or mule online!
Last week, I sat down to tally up all the book events Smoke and I have done since last March. Between public and private storytelling sessions and readings, we’ve done twenty-two events! That doesn’t even include interviews, class visits, public talks, or videos.
It’s been a busy year, but an incredibly fun one, too! Thank you to EVERYONE—in particular Thelma, Judson, Lynda, Julie, Tammy, Edda, and Noam—who made this tour possible. Without you, our readers from all across the U.S. and the world, there would be no Hush of the Land.
Reviews:
“The stories will warm your heart, make you think and remind you of every first step you took on a good trail. Get a cup of coffee or a strong cup of tea, pick up his book, and sit back and enjoy Hush of the Land.”—Milana Marsenich, Roundup Magazine
“It’s a beautifully written book and every chapter is an engaging read. A good book should be like an onion, peeling apart layers of the story as one goes and Elser and Maggi have done a masterful job of that.”—Chris Peterson, Hungry Horse News
“Anyone who has a passion for recreating in the backcountry, horseback riding, fishing, or hunting will enjoy this book. Smoke and his family, crew and guests will keep you reading each story to its end and waiting to see what happens next in the backcountry of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.”—Deb Schatz, Back Country Horsemen of America Monthly
“Hush of the Land is a heartwarming collection, a tribute to both the landscape and those who traveled with Elser, forming a connection that only wilderness can offer.”—Maggie Doherty, Flathead Beacon
“The book would be equally at home at a national park gift store as it would be cited as a primary source in an academic publication. Smoke’s book is a regional treasure for anyone interested in the history of the northern Rockies, postwar America, and wilderness literature.”—Joseph Esparza, Environmental History
“A reader with no knowledge of designated wilderness will gain an eyewitness account of what it is and what it took to preserve it. A reader with no knowledge of horses, mules, or pack trains will gain a longing for the saddle. But even scholars and explorers of the Bob will learn something new and find it all charming.”—Charles Hayes, International Journal of Wilderness
“Hush of the Land is a fascinating account of Elser’s many years of leading pack trips for hunters and tourists into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and other backcountry destinations in western Montana. The books is rich in stories fo the clientele he served.”—J. William T. “Bill” Youngs, Montana: The Magazine of Western History
Interviews
On Social Media:
Hearing the 'Hush of the Land,' Smoke Elser and Eva-Maria Maggi discuss their new book, Hush of the Land, chronicling decades of mule packing trips in the Bob Marshall Wilderness – Seeley Swan Pathfinder https://t.co/X1NBZ3Ptkm
— problembear (@problembear) March 15, 2024
An earlier form of “A Word from the Authors” appeared on the Hush of the Land substack.
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