Country Bookshelf is proud to present Eva-Maria Maggi in conversation with Arnold "Smoke" Elser in celebration of Hush of the Land.
The event at a glance:
On September 14th, please arrive early to secure your seat. Seating is general admission first come, first serve.
At 2:00pm the event program featuring Clayton Page Aldern and Darby Minow Smith will begin. The speakers will take audience questions following their program.
After the talk, Eva-Maria Maggi and Arnold"Smoke" Elser will be available for book signing.
Can't attend in person? Order a signed copy of Hush of the Land on our website or by calling 406-587-0166. Signing requests will need to be placed 24 hours before the event.
About Hush of the Land:
This inspirational memoir chronicles the six-decade quest of packer and outfitter Arnold “Smoke” Elser to protect wild lands by bringing thousands of people deep into the mountains of Montana on horseback. With limited financial means and while still in college, the young man from Ohio decided against a promising career in forestry and chose instead to share his love of wilderness with city dwellers by working as a professional outfitter.
Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, Hush of the Land tells the captivating story of Elser’s early days as a packer in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Bitterroot Mountains. Share the joys and thrills of summer rides, harrowing grizzly bear encounters, fishing in clear mountain streams, and many nights around a campfire within some of the West’s last wild lands. In this lively narrative, Elser recounts how his testimony for the Wilderness Act, and the fight to preserve and expand Montana’s wilderness lands, influenced his career as an outfitter and educator and gave him a voice at the center of Montana’s conservation movement.
Arnold “Smoke” Elser is a professional animal packer and a semi-retired instructor of wilderness outfitting and packing at the University of Montana, from which he received a 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award. Elser’s work as an educator and outfitter has been covered in National Geographic and the PBS documentary Three Miles an Hour. He is the coauthor of Packin’ In on Mules and Horses.
Eva-Maria Maggi, PhD, is a writer, social scientist, and packer and teaches courses on wilderness issues at the University of Montana.
Accessibility Information:
The event will take place on the first floor of Country Bookshelf.
All doorways have a width greater than 32 inches with the narrowest being our front door at 35 inches.
The speakers will be using a microphone at this event. Additionally, there will be seating reserved for folks who are hard of hearing in the front row.
Please email staff@countrybookshelf.com if you have any specific accessibility needs and we will do our best to serve you!
Do you or someone you know provide ASL interpretation? Country Bookshelf is seeking an interpreter to call on for future events. Please send information to staff@countrybookshelf.com if there is interest!
| Calendar | Community Events |
|---|---|
| Location | Country Bookshelf 28 West Main Street Bozeman, MT 59715 |
| Date | Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 2:00pm - 3:00pm |
| Duration | 1h |
| Repeats? | No |