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Robert Chester Ruark
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The Old Man and the Boy Paperback – August 15, 1993

by Robert Ruark (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 752 ratings
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This classic captures the endearing relationship between a man and his grandson as they fish and hunt the lakes and woods of North Carolina. All the while the Old Man acts as teacher and guide, passing on his wisdom and life experiences to the boy, who listens in rapt fascination.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    August 15, 1993
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.85 x 8.95 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    080502669X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0805026696
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Filled with homespun humor and salty common sense. This is a book to be savored slowly, and kept and cherished.” ―Herald Tribune

“Written with great joy . . . the book is a delight to read.” ―Library Journal

About the Author

Robert Ruark (1915-1965) was an author and columnist. His many books include The Old Man and the Boy, Poor No More, and The Old Man's Boy Grows Older.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Paperbacks; Reprint edition (August 15, 1993)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 080502669X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805026696
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.85 x 8.95 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 752 ratings

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Robert Chester Ruark

Robert Chester Ruark

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
752 global ratings
A Timeless Classic.
5 Stars
A Timeless Classic.
A beautifully written story about the relationship between the author and his grandfather as he grew up as a young boy in North Carolina hunting and fishing. The descriptions are very evocative and the homespun wisdom of the author's grandfather is timeless and priceless. You will treasure the tales and want to read this book again and again.
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Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasure to Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2023
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There are some few books that are simply a treasure; a pleasure to read, and texts you won't forget. This is one of those for me. Robert Ruark's episodic exploration of boyhood with the mentorship of a loving grandfather is easy to read in short story after short story, but collectively it tells a moving tale of growing up with great meaning and purpose. The prose is simply delightful as well.

I read this slowly, because I didn't want it to be over. I will begin reading this to my 8 year old son, soon. One of the best things I've ever read.
2 people found this helpful
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Utah Blaine
5.0 out of 5 stars This is what every man's boyhood should have been like
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2007
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This book contains 29 quasi-biographical short stories about Ruark's youth in North Carolina during the Depression and Prohibition. These stories are about fishing and hunting and appreciating nature and, most importantly, learning life's lessons. The narrator (The Boy) describes his fishing and hunting adventures with his grandfather (The Old Man). The Old Man teaches the Boy how to shoot, how to safely handle a gun, how to maintain a boat, the habits of various types of fish and game, etc. At the same time, the Old Man is giving the boy many of the more important life's lessons about respect (for both oneself and others), the value of education, women, and a sense of responsibility. This is a great book. Each of the stories is relatively short (say 10 pages) and written with an easy prose. You could easily sit down and blow through this book in an afternoon, but after I read the first few stories, I wanted to savor every one and draw it out. As you're reading these stories, you'll smell the salt air of the ocean or the smoky aroma of game cooking over an open fire. Ruark may not satisfy the literary critics and write prose like Hemingway or Faulkner, but he is certainly one of America's greatest writers. I don't understand why he isn't more widely read, I only discovered his writing about a year ago myself. In any case, I can guarantee that you will ponder your own childhood as you read this book, and by the time you finish this book, you'll be thinking about what it is you really want to do with the rest of your life. I agree with one of the other reviewers, I would give this book 6 stars if I could. These are stories about hunting and fishing, but they are also stories about growing up and about life.
17 people found this helpful
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Taylor Garcia
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have Book for Outdoors Men and Women
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2024
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Even if you are not active in the outdoors this book will show you greater perspective and appreciation for the outdoors. You can also learn a lot. I have given this book to several friends who are not avid hunters or anglers and the common take away from this is a new perspective on the outdoors!
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Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars important book
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2024
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This book is an old friend. I gave copies to my grandsons years ago. This copy is going to a great- grandson, after I re read it for the 150 th time.
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Kay
5.0 out of 5 stars Story Telling Time
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2023
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A must read for any looking to understand a man's mind, a boys curiosity and the way he learns best.
This book takes you back to a way more simpler time, in the south where life is a a gentle pace anyway...
Yet, in this era it was simply, sublime. :)
2 people found this helpful
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Bill Schwicker
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2021
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Politically incorrect but charming tale of a boy's coming of age under the tutelage of his grandfather near the mouth of the Cape Fear (NC) River in the 1920's. Hunting (birds, ducks, deer), fishing, and marsh boating are coated in salt, sunburn, and sea.
One person found this helpful
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douglas dewolfe
5.0 out of 5 stars Winter Read
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2024
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Best book ever to read in winter!
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Walker McKay
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books of all time
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2023
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This story of a boy growing up hunting and fishing in eastern NC in the 30's and 40's is wonderful. His grandfather teaches him to be a man through lessons in the woods and water. I read it to my boys when they were old enough to understand and I think it's the only book both of them have read on their own (for the second time) that wasn't assigned to them in school. (one's in college, the other about to graduate high school). Warning: there is some language that is not appropriate (racial slurs) that may have been tolerated when the book was written. Despite those references, it's a great book you may go back to time and time again like i have.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rishav Sanyal
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
Reviewed in India on May 27, 2023
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Simply great
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Noella
5.0 out of 5 stars A Touching Coming of Age Story
Reviewed in Canada on December 15, 2020
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I've read this book several times over many years, but the copies were always ancient and falling apart as the book was out of print. So pleased to have a new and larger copy of the book with larger font and illustrations to enjoy.
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ray the bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars Great, I wish I had read it 20 years ago!
Reviewed in Germany on February 15, 2013
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Classic Ruark, a must for anyone who loves nature, hunting and fishing, and most especially, a clean undisturbed sense of human dignity and values.
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G. Cowley
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2012
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This is a very good book to give to a boy. Some adults will find it a bit 'folksy' or sentimental in places, but there is as much interesting information in it and (importantly) more good advice about shooting, hunting and life in general than in any other book I know of.

Ruark was a man's man and lived a varied life, he travelled, fought in a war, hunted and drank - often too much. An American, he died aged 49 in London in 1965. He was one of the world's most famous writers in the 1950s and 1960s.

The sequel 'The old man's boy grows older' is also worth reading.
2 people found this helpful
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Justin Bryant
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
Reviewed in Canada on February 4, 2019
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What a breath of fresh air in a world that teaches of male privelidge and toxic masculinity. The old man was a gentleman teaching his grandson in being a man and ethical hunter.
One person found this helpful
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