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  • Meat Eater

  • Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter
  • Written by: Steven Rinella
  • Narrated by: Steven Rinella
  • Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (11 ratings)

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Meat Eater

Written by: Steven Rinella
Narrated by: Steven Rinella
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Publisher's Summary

“Revelatory . . . With every chapter, you get a history lesson, a hunting lesson, a nature lesson and a cooking lesson. . . . Meat Eater offers an overabundance to savor.”—The New York Times Book Review

Steven Rinella grew up in Twin Lake, Michigan, the son of a hunter who taught his three sons to love the natural world the way he did. As a child, Rinella devoured stories of the American wilderness, especially the exploits of his hero, Daniel Boone. He began fishing at the age of three and shot his first squirrel at eight and his first deer at thirteen. He chose the colleges he went to by their proximity to good hunting ground, and he experimented with living solely off wild meat. As an adult, he feeds his family from the food he hunts.

Meat Eater chronicles Rinella’s lifelong relationship with nature and hunting through the lens of ten hunts, beginning when he was an aspiring mountain man at age ten and ending as a thirty-seven-year-old Brooklyn father who hunts in the remotest corners of North America. He tells of having a struggling career as a fur trapper just as fur prices were falling; of a dalliance with catch-and-release steelhead fishing; of canoeing in the Missouri Breaks in search of mule deer just as the Missouri River was freezing up one November; and of hunting the elusive Dall sheep in the glaciated mountains of Alaska. 

Through each story, Rinella grapples with themes such as the role of the hunter in shaping America, the vanishing frontier, the ethics of killing, the allure of hunting trophies, the responsibilities that human predators have to their prey, and the disappearance of the hunter himself as Americans lose their connection with the way their food finds its way to their tables. Hunting, he argues, is intimately connected with our humanity; assuming responsibility for acquiring the meat that we eat, rather than entrusting it to proxy executioners, processors, packagers, and distributors, is one of the most respectful and exhilarating things a meat eater can do.

A thrilling storyteller with boundless interesting facts and historical information about the land, the natural world, and the history of hunting, Rinella also includes after each chapter a section of “Tasting Notes” that draws from his thirty-plus years of eating and cooking wild game, both at home and over a campfire. In Meat Eater he paints a loving portrait of a way of life that is part of who we are as humans and as Americans.

©2012 Steven Rinella (P)2023 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“Full of empathy and intelligence . . . In some sections of the book, the author’s prose is so engrossing, so riveting, that it matches, punch for punch, the best sports writing.”The Wall Street Journal

“Steven Rinella is one of the best nature writers of the last decade. . . . This book was a page-turner.”—Tim Ferris

“Rinella’s writing is unerringly smart, direct, and sharply detailed.”The Boston Globe

What listeners say about Meat Eater

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Excellent stories

Mr. Rinella does a great justice by articulating the often misunderstood motivations and mentalities of hunters. The stories in this book are intertwined with meaning and philosophy without being overly burdensome. I have enjoyed this book twice now.

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Excellent!!

Love the whole thing ! Good stories and done by the author. Well put together! Probably my favourite of his books

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Superb

Steve is by far my favourite writer and narrator. This book is no exception. A fun learning experience from one of the industries best.

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Read by the author makes a world of difference

I enjoyed the writing in the original version, but I had a hard time getting through it due to the narrator. With Steve at the helm, this version is greatly improved!

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great book

This book takes u on adventure in each chapter, leaving you wanting more! great book

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  • Katie Malloy
  • 2023-12-03

Well written

Steve is a great writer and narrator. Love his audio books. I always enjoy them.

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  • James Robertson
  • 2023-12-01

Real life application of knowledge and lessons

Fantastic writing about a subject I’m becoming increasingly more fond of. A book that provides context around the background and ethics of an American hunter in modern times.

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  • Audrey
  • 2023-11-29

Great!

Steve has a wonderful way of telling a story that a lot of hunters don’t typically have.

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  • Mason Royer
  • 2023-11-29

Doesn’t live up to the hype

The narration is bad, it sounds like the author is reading the book out loud and for the first time. He does come off as passionate though so I give him some credit for trying.

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  • Josh
  • 2023-11-26

Rinella is my favorite

The book was fantastic, I like listening to Steve read it even more. I now need to get all his other books

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  • Dominick
  • 2023-11-15

Dude writes the shit out of a story

Love the enthusiasm and emotion that pours out in every sentence. You can tell he truly lives and believes these words.

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  • Thomas Pruett
  • 2023-10-25

Inspiring and Philosophical

Great book to not only hear amazing hunting and family stories from a respected outdoorsman, but a book that makes you think about the why's of hunting, which we need more of a discussion on. Not to mention the great tasting note sections.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2023-09-14

Meat eater review great production as always

The detailed accounts by Steven Rinella are very descriptive. A very well written book that describes the accounts of a true hunter and outdoorsman thanks for the story Mr. Rinella!

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2023-08-25

Left with a longing for the woods

What an amazing book, listening to it right before deer season left me wishing opening day was tomorrow!

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  • Theodore Hunt
  • 2023-08-17

Awesome

Steven, I hope you don’t mind me being on a first name basis but since I have purchased a few of your books I took the liberty.
You are an exceptional writer not only for your stories but for your anecdotal thoughts and descriptions of your own thoughts. I am a almost seventy year old man who has hunted and fished since I was a child. The wood and waters of Maine have always been my “church “ and a place to go for a spiritual sojourn. You do a hell of a job of taking me on that journey just listening to your book. Thank you

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