STRONG LEGS AND A FULL QUIVER is a compilation of stories about the author's life and how wildlife, wild places, and hunting helped define who he was, who he wanted to be, and where he would find challenges, lessons, and rewards in life. His passion for archery, and the use of traditional bows and arrows for hunting, was central to his journey. He grew up in a hunting family, and venison was a primary food. Hunting to fill the freezer was never a question posed in his home; how it was done was. The author grew in his awe of the history, simplicity, and lethality of recurve and longbows and learned to shoot them accurately and use them effectively to take a wide variety of game. He focused on the total experience: learning an animal's habits, gaining skills to stalk closely, using restraint before releasing an arrow at an animal, and utilizing it fully once harvested. The book acknowledges that the author found value in all of his hunts, whether successful or not, but that food was generally the underlying purpose of the activity. Because of this he often includes favorite recipes of harvested game at the end of a chapter.
The stories include lessons, dangers, and sometimes humor in the author's real-life accounts of over 50 years of adventures from around the globe. The book includes 15 chapters, dozens of stories, and over 50 photographs.
Robin West grew up in Oregon but moved to Alaska in 1978, soon after graduating from college with a degree in wildlife science. He worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 35 years as a biologist, manager, and administrator. He lived in Mississippi, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest and worked on projects from Siberia to remote Pacific Atolls. His passion for wildlife and wild places defined his professional life and carried over to his private life as well. In his spare time, Robin enjoys hiking, canoeing, camping, hunting, fishing, wildlife photography, wilderness travel, and writing. His first book, THIRTY OF FORTY IN THE 49TH, shares adventures from Robin's first thirty years of professional work (in Alaska); his second, IS THE LEFT EVER RIGHT?, shares his faith (while discussing Christianity and politics in America); his latest book, STRONG LEGS AND A FULL QUIVER, shares stories of a personal passion: bowhunting with traditional archery equipment. Robin is retired and lives with his wife Shannon in Soldotna, Alaska, close to children and grandchildren. They continue to enjoy nature, travel widely, and remain active in a variety of conservation efforts.
