This book will take you up the hills and hollers and down the rivers of West Virginia. It is a collection of stories written by one of West Virginia's finest outdoorsmen. I have been asked many times by everyone from our governors to our visitors, "What does wild and wonderful West Virginia mean?" From now on, I think I will just hand them this book to explain.
Dave Arnold - River Outfitter since1977 and Tourism Commissioner - State of West Virginia since 1989.

On these pages Chris Ellis does more than offer a collection of hunting and fishing stories; he presents a study of how a particular place's woods and waters can shape a person. If the Mountain State is your home, you'll feel its influence on your soul even more deeply after reading these accounts. If it's not, you may consider moving-or at least making an extended visit.
Adam Heggenstaller, Editorial Director, Game & Fish

Whether weaving tales about his recent adventures in the hills of West Virginia, or recounting stories of his youth, Ellis has a way of sharing his passion for the outdoors that will leave you with a smile on your face and a yearning to hit the woods to create your own memories.
Pete Muller - National Wild Turkey Federation

I've known Chris Ellis for nearly a quarter-century, dating back to when he was a rangy young man living not too far from Beckley, West Virginia and the New River Gorge. He was raised on the banks of the Elk River. While his work in outdoor communications and promotions over the years has taken him all over North America, he stays true to his West Virginia home and roots.

Ellis is an accomplished trout angler, a skilled river raft driver, an enthusiastic squirrel, turkey and deer hunter. In fact, he was one of the wonderful West Virginia crew in 2004 who helped when we put together a deer hunt for the first wounded warrior ever to take such an adventure directly out of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He has run his own outdoor destinations and guiding business, working with the West Virginia tourism office on outdoor destination marketing, worked public relations and marketing from some well-known outdoor brands and is now the marketing chief for Timney Triggers. During much of that time he has also written regular articles for the Herald Dispatch in Huntington and the Register-Herald in Beckley.

Last fall, Ellis told me he was compiling a book of some of his favorite stories and memories of growing up and living in the Mountain State. It's out and titled, "Hunting, Fishing and Family - From the Hills of West Virginia." All of the articles were originally published in the two newspapers cited above.
If you read this book, you'll learn a lot about Chris Ellis; his home, his passions, his values. It isn't a single, long-spun narrative but a collection of short stories - vignettes really - that are rarely more than a couple pages long.

Each conveys a memory, emotion or philosophy related to an outdoors experience, often connected to sharing that experience with a loved one. The book is full of testimonials to his parents, kids, dogs and, especially, his grandfather. I loved the story where he explained what separated his grandfather from the typical weekend angler. Similar tales reveal his boyhood wonder at watching the old man operate. Ellis explains how he wants to pass along the oral history and lessons to his own children and grandchildren. Ellis said he hopes people find it a nice collection of what it meant to grow up and live in his special part of America.

The book is a fast 123 pages, in a compact 5.5x8.5-inch size with no photos or illustrations. If you hunt from a turkey or deer blind or treestand, it's an easy one to slip into a pack. Read a story or two, then scan the woods or field. Repeat process...