By Dan Cherry

The complexities of modern life have brought new demands to one of the outdoor's bastions of hunting adventure, that of being a guide, and with changing times have come new demands for success in this traditional field. Author-guide, Dan Cherry of Missoula, Montana, with dozens of national magazine articles to his credit in many of the major magazines, has also worked as a hunting guide in Montana's back country for more than a decade. He's the ideal person to produce this thoughtful book, SO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE A GUIDE, that he's subtitled“Guidelines to a Successful Guiding Career.” Anyone who's ever wanted to know what it takes to be a successful guide will find helpful material in Cherry's book.

While some people still hold a romantic notion of guiding, Cherry dispels that myth quickly in noting that the most common denominators of contemporary guiding are hard work and long hours, just as it's always been. However, he also touches on profound changes in guiding requirements brought on by societal changes, greater environmental awareness, and outfitters who require guides with greater people skills to augment their outdoor skills. In 12 chapters and more than 80 photographs in this 192-page book, he covers such things as What it Really Takes To Be a Guide, Responsibilities of a Guide, Dealing With the Client, Meeting the Client's Expectations, Dealing With the Outfitter, Common Guide Problems, Women and Guiding, The Future of Guiding, Choosing a Guide School, and a special and personal chapter for hopeful guides titled What's In It For Me. He also includes a listing of outfitter associations, a note on guide schools and training. 192 pages, softcover.

ISBN 0-912299-61-4 So You Really Want To Be a Guide – $13.95