Quote Originally Posted by STait View Post
I agree totally with you Alex, and Tony, I haven't read Stevens's book but I love Turners book. I'm hoping to get "Observations" in a week or so. I respect many of the guys on here saying how good the book is. I'm never to old to learn something new, or be reminded of effective techniques.
Hi Steve,

'Observations' is unlikely to alter what you do in the field, and frankly, given your obvious talents and experience, may alter little or nothing of what you do --- but I'll be waiting with bated breath to hear your thoughts on it.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

I remember talking to Ray about falconry literature, and the merits of various contributions. I told him that 'Observations' had been a revelation to me at the time I read it, and was interested to learn it had been to him also, some twenty years earlier (of course, ground breaking literature appears less ground breaking as its influence takes effect, much as can be seen with Ray's own book Gamehawk, but nonetheless, true classics remain forever relevant).

Sadly, the best of Stevens' observations remain unread by most modern falconers of even limited experience, who have little inclination to read chapters entitled 'Hooding and Manning', 'Taming' and suchlike, believing they have nothing left to learn in that respect.
There are absolute gems littered throughout his book, and if just one of them makes a positive contribution to your falconry, well, I can't wait to hear.

Best wishes,

Tony.