Cogan's Woods: A Celebration of Hunting, Family, and Kentucky

by Ron Ellis, Rick Bass

An “evocative memoir of Ellis’s yearly squirrel hunts with his father in 1960s Kentucky”— Publishers Weekly

In Cogan’s Woods, Ron Ellis fondly recalls annual August hunting trips with his heading toward the great forests of Kentucky in the family Mercury, exploring the foggy woods and hills above the Ohio River. While they searched for game, Ellis’s father imparted his wisdom to his son, passing on a legacy of appreciation for the natural world.

This lyrical account of a beloved time and place celebrates a father-son relationship nurtured by a landscape that shapes the men and draws them back year after year.

“A celebration of cherished things—friendship and family, storytelling and nature, the physical senses.” —Rick Bass, author of Why I Came West

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[In]

Impeccable writing. Beautifully crafted memoir of a time and place and relationships. We should all be so fortunate to have such moments in ours lives.
I assign 5 stars to writing that I know I will forever return to. Ron Ellis has given me one.

[Gary Usleaman]

I loved how it felt simultaneously like the description of a day in the woods as a lifetime in the woods

[Michael Powers]

Fantastic and nostalgic book that brought me back to my childhood and spending time out in the woods hunting.

[Jake Hogue]

The book Cogan’s Woods was a good book and I really enjoyed reading it. It wasn’t a very difficult book to read but I connected with the book because I hunt with my dad just like Ellis did with his father. The book showed how a father and son can bond with each other through the shared passion of hunting. I would recommend this book to classmates because it shows how important family is and how a little hobby like hunting can create a huge bond between father and son. This is an effective book although it is not extremely detailed, but it gets the point across to its readers. I think it was a powerful book to read because I had such a strong connection with how Ellis and his father became closer together through hunting.

[Julie Rautio smith]

While Ron Ellis is no Gordon MacQuarrie, I really enjoyed this book. The relationship between a father and son develops and deepens with each excursion to Cogan's Woods. The description of the land and its inhabitants is beautiful. A quick and satisfying read.

[Carolyn Tassie]

Nice writing and some great descriptive passages, but not fond of the subject, squirrel hunting.

[Psbenjamin]

Absolutely beautiful....