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Fisherman, Rancher, Horseman, Spy: True Stories of a Life Well-Lived Paperback – March 21, 2022

by Bayard Kane Fox (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 83 ratings
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The generation of young men who grew up in the shadow of World War II but were too young to fight came of age idealizing patriotism and adventure. They burned to live life to the fullest and do their part in the Cold War. In 1951, when
BAYARD FOX graduated from Yale, the CIA promised a unique opportunity to do both by serving as a double agent. Assigned to Europe, the Congo, and Iran, Fox—who spoke several languages and was always game to learn new ones—
grew disillusioned and resigned after 12 years. Soon after, a horse he was riding cartwheeled on him, shattering his hip. After organizing local fishermen in the Solomon Islands while swimming and diving for two years of rehabilitation, he was able to walk and ride again. Fox bought a ranch in the mountains of Wyoming, 17 miles from the nearest paved road and telephone, and set out with his family on his life’s true work: a sustainable, benevolent, ethical relationship with nature and the animals and people who thrive in it.

This eloquent and brave autobiography of a solitary pioneer evokes those of other men on horseback, such as T.E. Lawrence and Teddy Roosevelt. Their dazzling physical exploits and success in battle made them legendary in their lifetimes, apart from the historical roles for which we remember them. Fox, at 92, reveals a similarly rich life of impossible adventures—and of hardships mastered by grit and mysterious good fortune—in his own spare and unsparing voice. You’ll be riveted and grateful to discover it before he and his generation’s other remaining survivors ride ahead over the last ridge.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    326 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 21, 2022
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.82 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-13
    979-8985944518
  6. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09W5Q6RL7
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Renard Ranch (March 21, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 326 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8985944518
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.04 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.82 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 83 ratings

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Bayard Kane Fox

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
83 global ratings
Hunting Fishing Riding around the world Loving it all
5 Stars
Hunting Fishing Riding around the world Loving it all
This is the life story of Bayard Kane Fox. I liked reading about his adventures in Pennsylvania, with the CIA in France, Germany, Congo, in the Solomons and finally in Wyoming where he created Bitterroot ranch and Equitours.
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Top reviews from the United States

Kerry Russell
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2023
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Well written history of an unusual life full of adventure. Mr. Fox lived the life many people dream about.
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Dr. Jasper Rine
5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring lifetime, with enough adventure, insights, and dedication for three lifetimes.
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
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I used to think that I have led and active and reasonably adventurous life. But the author of this book has left me in the dust, even if I were to have done everything I ever dreamed of doing. His experiences behind the iron curtain in Poland, in Iraq in the time of the Shah, as a western firefighter, a south Pacific entrepreneur, a Wyoming rancher, and a early proponent of the Wilderness Act are gracefully described with the calm understatement and humility of a man who treasures the natural world. I might have found the narration difficult to believe had I not had the pleasure or meeting the author when my wife and I spent time at his horse ranch. She's a rider, I am a fisherman, and a highlight of my life has been a few days fishing with Bayard Fox on his home waters and hearing just a small sample of the stories of his life. -Jasper Rine, Professor, UC Berkeley
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5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful life :)
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2023
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It is not like me to write a book review. Although I have read many books in my life, few is any hit a personal cord with me. So here I go… Fisherman Rancher Horseman Spy by the author Bayard Kane Fox told a tale of a life well lived and adventures that few will experience. Each chapter is a story in its self but is also intertwined in a rich life progression that I found honest and to the point. It is so refreshing, following Bayard through the history of his life and most of the last 100 years. It is defiantly worth the read and I bought six for gifts. Keep up the great work Bayard!!
Rick Heineman
Midland, Michigan
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K. Hanratty
4.0 out of 5 stars A well-lived life, indeed!
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2022
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I had the great pleasure of working for Bayard at Equitours in the 1990s. I have hoped over the years that Bayard would write a book about his life and it was worth the wait! It was wonderful to read more of his background and adventures that took him all over the world. I especially loved hearing about the birth and growth of Equitours, the buying and building of the Bitterroot ranch, and the work that he did as a spy with the CIA and fishing venture in the Solomon Islands that lead to his life in Wyoming.
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Joy Cooke
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful engaging writing, tellin g the story of a remarkable life
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2023
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I met Bayard Fox a few years ago at his ranch in Wyoming when I went there for a week to celebrate my 70th birthday. We guests rode 6 hours a day, with excellent guides and wranglers, and the highlight of the week was a 3 hour ride led by Bayard, who was 89 at the time. (“We’re going to canter across here,“ he said at one point, “but don’t tell my wife.”) The week was magical, a dream come true, and reading this remarkable book brought me back to the lodge, the river, the landscape, the wonder of that week.
Bayard’s book is a story of a remarkable life. It’s a book about wonder, and love of life, and that comes through as he tells the stories of his adventures as well as his deep love of nature, the animals that have shared his life, and the people around him. Reading it, you will feel you know him, and will yearn to sit and talk with him. A beautiful book, written by a beautiful soul.
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Marie Fasulo
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story!
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
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An inspirational read that will keep you hooked! We were lucky enough to spend a week with the author and his amazing family on the Bitterroot Ranch in 2012. As soon as we met Bayard Fox, we knew we were in for an experience of a lifetime. He shared fascinating stories as we rode the ranch, went trout fishing or shared wine on the porch. Since a week was far too short to hear all of them, we were thrilled to find out that he wrote a book. Bayard expresses the passion that he has for his work, his ranch and his family woven beautifully into each chapter.
Marie and Tom Fasulo
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JOAN MOON
5.0 out of 5 stars Never a more appropriate title for an astonishing accounting of a lifetime.
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2022
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Bayard became a friend of mine eight yrs ago when I was preparing to fulfill a goal set 20 years earlier, which was to go on an equestrian African safari. I had seen an article in the Travel section of a newspaper. It included a photo of riders galloping wildly across a savanna in Kenya. I was captivated in an instant, and finally was fortunate enough to make that dream come true with Equitours...the most exhilarating experience of my life. I actually rode right through the Great Migration of thousands of mostly wildebeests and zebras. Imagine!

Since then, Bayard and I have made an almost yearly fishing trip where we have fished for Golden Dorado, bonefish, trout and others. I can attest to his beautiful fly-fishing abilities. Even so, my knowledge of his life was minimal until I read his illuminating book. History lessons, dangerous experiences told, vivid descriptions of nature and places I only dream of visiting and his creation of a life brilliantly lived make for a read you won't want to end.

This is a splendid and worthwhile read!
4 people found this helpful
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F
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible story of a life well lived
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2022
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Bayard Fox's book could easily be the script of a star-studded box-office thriller: adventures in the Solomon Islands, a stint as a double agent, living undercover as a diamond trader in the Congo, hunting in Iran, and owning and operating a dude ranch just outside the most remote town in the continental United States.

Instead, his true story tells true tales that highlight the incredible capacity one person can have to truly live. He paints beautiful pictures of silently stalking elk in the snow, diving for lobsters in crystal clear water, and riding on horseback around the world. Beneath it all is an inspirational message reminding us of the many twists and turns life can throw at us, and of the joys that can come from it all.

For all those wondering about and intrigued by life's endless possibilities, this is the book for you.
One person found this helpful
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M. Casey
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in Canada on April 12, 2022
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I was so pleased to hear Bayard had written down so many of his stories. I have adored sitting on the deck or at the dinner table listening to Bayard tell captivating stories of his adventures near and far, possibly from that day’s adventures or from the past. Such a treasure to be able to read with such detail!
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Christine K.
4.0 out of 5 stars Histoire vraie
Reviewed in France on March 3, 2023
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Lecture de vacances - Style un peu désuet mais bien dans l’ensemble.
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Alexandra Stassino
5.0 out of 5 stars A rollicking good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2022
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Like so many others easily distracted by the digital world, it takes a rollicking good read to make me sit down and thumb through a book in ‘old-school’ analog style - let alone one that causes time to melt away.
But that’s just what I’ve discovered in ‘Fisherman, Rancher, Horseman, Spy’, the marvellous new autobiography by Bayard Kane Fox.
I was so gripped I read it in two sittings.

Ex CIA agent/rancher/farmer/conservationist, Bayard takes us on a journey through his truly extraordinary life spanning nine decades. Along the way, he recounts the fearless exploits of a dying breed - the true adventurer - ending up with the purchase of a ranch in the Rocky Mountain wilderness of Wyoming.
It’s a heart-racing, awe-inspiring account of a pioneering free-spirit.

His descriptive style is spare yet evocative and his philosophy about the wilderness and man’s place in it is a reminder not only of the struggle between those competing forces, but the ultimate fragility of our planet.

In an uncertain and increasingly unstable world that has traded simple values for territorial and financial gain, here’s a lesson to us all - about how true riches can be found in a passion for life and love of our surroundings.
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Tina M
5.0 out of 5 stars What a life well lived!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2022
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I always knew that Bayard was an extraordinary man with wonderful knowledge, fabulous stories to tell, amazing linguistic skills and a never ending thirst for knowledge, but reading this book has brought me such pleasure and even more admiration for him and all the family. I’m one of the lucky group of people who have spent time on Bitterroot Ranch as well as having done several of the other life changing rides Bayard has included. I recommend it to anyone who loves horses, history, anthropology or just great tales.
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