author
Frank A. Bates
1858–1915
An outdoors writer with a naturalist’s eye, he wrote lively books and sketches about camping, birds, hunting, and the New England landscape. His work blends practical know-how with the curiosity of someone who loved being out in the field.
1 Audiobook
Camping and camp cooking
by Frank A. Bates
About the author
Frank Amasa Bates was an American author, naturalist, ornithologist, and historian born in Braintree, Massachusetts, on March 5, 1858, and he died there on December 20, 1915. He is best known for writing about the outdoors in a way that feels both useful and observant, with a strong interest in camping life, wildlife, and local history.
His books include Camping and Camp Cooking and Stories of Lake, Field, and Forest: Rambles of a Sportsman-Naturalist. Those titles give a good sense of his range: part practical guide, part nature writing, and part record of everyday experience in woods, fields, and waterways.
Bates also wrote on historical subjects, showing that his interests reached beyond the campfire and into the past of his home region. That mix of hands-on outdoor knowledge and careful attention to nature makes his work appealing to listeners who enjoy classic American writing about life outside.