There's More To Fishing (Than Catching Fish) is a real treat, especially
in a angling book market which seems to have a lack of books other than how-do or
which include gratuitous sex.
"Fishing is about more than catching fish. It is a way of life. It is the North
Star that orients us. It is a natural way of life in an increasingly unnatural
world. It is the mother lode, the touchstone, the bedrock of our being.
It allows us to fulfill our predatory instincts that still smolder from the
evolutionary fires of our hunter-gatherer past. It grounds us, roots us
to who we are and why we are here. It is more than that."
So begins Tom Alkire' entertaining and insightful book on the pleasures
of the fishing life. Time spent catching fish is only the kernel of the fishing
life. Surrounding the moments of catching are the months of anticipation
and years of memories. There's More To Fishing (Than Catching Fish)
is about the friendships that grow with the fishing days, about getting to
know a home water, traveling to distant and unknown waters, about the
food and drink of the fishing camp, about the workings of the natural
world. It's about fishing as youngsters and as old-timers, about the
contemplative evenings spent in front of the fireplace with fishing on
our minds, about the underlying romantic nature of fishermen and how
the act of fishing leads to the angler' infamous disregard for the truth.
The author is highly perceptive with great humor. He writes with grace of
the natural world which functions according to it's own timeless rhythms.
It is a world of wild western river, Florida salt flats, and salmon-choked
Alaskan waters. It is a world of thunderstorms, whitewater driftboats and
the poignant cycle of salmon returning to their natal waters.
Tom's book is peopled by family, friends, liars and seers. It is a world seen
through the eyes of a quizzical angler in search of fish and other mysteries
of life.
It is a book from the heart, one I could not put down. Winter is coming,
get it. ~ DLB
There's More To Fishing (Than Catching Fish)
180 pages, 5 3/4" x 8 3/4"; black and white photographs
Hard Cover: $24.95 US
ISBN 1-57188-260-5
Published by Frank Amato Publications.
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