I very much enjoyed Rinella's book, "American Buffalo." This collection was much weaker, however, lacking any focus or broader history. Further, Rinella's writing feels less honest; frankly, his justification for hunting seems cliched rather than honestly and deeply felt. I was also troubled by Rinella's repeated disrespect for hunting regulations. ( )

I read half of this book, and I still intend to finish it someday. I really enjoyed the parts I read though – Rinella is an excellent storyteller, and I learned a lot. I stopped because it got a bit too visceral to be reading the whole book in one go, not because of any flaw in the book.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of Steven Rinella, so I feel that I did not have any preconceived notions of him as an author or a hunter. I found him to be an excellent writer and storyteller , and I often read parts out loud to the family to share in the humor of some of his stories. I think he gave the reader a fair assessment of his own motivations and background for being a hunter, although he does little to address the debates about ethical treatment of animals (which I am not certain this book would actually be the place to discuss them to begin with). I did find myself rather put off by the chapters about trophy-hunting Dall Sheep and Cougar ("just to see what it tasted like"), but I am personally opposed to trophy hunting as it is and I did appreciate his honesty in these hunting stories. I find his writing style to be an easy read, and I might even pick up another book of his in the future. ( )

Hunting has become a sensitive topic throughout the United States - especially hunting with guns. Why would a person feel the need to go outside and kill an animal with a gun, bow, or trap when they can go to the store and get any meat they want much more easily? Steven Rinella tries to answer "why [he] hunts, who [he is] as a hunter, and what hunting means to [him]" in his book Meat Eater. One of his primary arguments is who we have descended from - hunters and, especially in America, frontiersman. Rinella claims that "to abhor hunting is to hate the place from which you came, which is akin to hating yourself in some distant, abstract way." Throughout the book he argues the differences between hunters and agriculturalists, and how humans have traded the activity of hunting for more worthless activities such as golf. Some of his biggest arguments are how a hunter is able to feel and understand the essence of an animal; to understand what an animal's life is worth, more-so than anyone else; to feel an intimacy to the animals he is willing to trade his life for; how the risks of hunting makes the hunter feel more alive than he otherwise would feel; and how the hunter invariably thanks the animal for what it has provided the hunter.

These arguments and messages are sprinkled throughout the book in anecdotal form. To say he is able to write entertaining stories is an understatement; Rinella is a gifted writer able to grasp the reader with his stories and words. At the end of each story arc/chapter, Meat Eater offers a unique addition: tasting notes, in which Rinella explains what animals taste like, how to prepare them, and how best to, or interesting ways to, serve each animal. Unfortunately, the idea is fantastic but the execution is lacking - the main problem is how the notes relate to the stories. The second chapter contains stories about hunting squirrel as a boy, and the tasting note is about squirrels - interesting enough to pique the interest of even a non-hunter. However, from then on the tasting notes don't always match the animals in the chapter. For example, chapter seven is about catch-and-release fishing and some adventures he had with a friend. They hitch-hiked to Mexico and camped on a beach to catch-and-release one of the most well-known and notorious sport fishes. At the end, he was hungry and came to an epiphany to cook this bonefish, but the tasting note on the next page detailed salmon. Unfortunately he draws the reader into a specific type of animal, but doesn't always take advantage of that interest to explain the nuances of that animal's unique taste.

Unfortunately, Rinella doesn't exactly answer the questions pervading his book - the why-to, at least - in a convincing enough manner to ease the sensitivity of hunting. What's left, though, are some interesting hunting stories and tips for hunting, cooking and general camping. ( )

Rinella uses a conversational style to describe his memories hunting and fishing. While the simplistic style could use a bit of dressing up, it still managed to describe the wilderness and fondness for it well. I didn't always agree with the author, but he knows his topic inside and out and presented his thoughts coherently. There's lots of things to learn: cooking tips for squirrel and cougar, survival skill tips, and general notes on trapping, trailing, fishing, and shooting. I would have enjoyed Meat Eater a lot more if the author didn't describe his illegal hunts and evasive actions avoiding detection by rangers; yet, the author's honesty was appreciated, especially when he talked about hunting ethics. I'm torn about the final verdict on Meat Eater. Would I be friends with Rinella? Probably not. Would I trust Rinella to keep us alive if we were stranded in the wilderness? You bet. ( )