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Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis
Howell Raines has gone fly fishing with presidents of the United States and legends of the sport, as well as relatives, childhood friends, and his two sons. Casting deep into the waters of his tumultuous and momentous life -- his storied career at the New York Times, his painful divorce, his seven-year feud with his father, his memorable friendship with fisherman/philosoph
...morePaperback, 352 pages
Published
January 1st 2006
by Harper Perennial
(first published September 21st 1993)
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While there are certainly some obviously editable parts to this book, I am glad that I read this semi-magical memoir which is part fly-fishing primer and part mid-life chronicle. At it's best, there are simple yet enchanting descriptions of some of American's best fishing streams and the beautiful fish that swim in them. At it's worst, there is political snobbery that, I suppose, is to be expected from a former Washington journalist. Though keeping that in mind the author did a fairly good...more
Eben
rated it
Recommends it for:
People who want to understand middle aged men.
Shelves:
books-i-read-during-lunch
I don't completely fit the demographic for this book, which is aimed at middle-aged men and those who would understand them, but I enjoyed it much the same. Howell Raines, who went on to be the executive editor of the New York Times, chronicles his transformation from a fish murdering follower of the "Redneck Way" to a fly fisherman who only kills the occasional fish to eat, and feels damn guilty about it. (In a move that he admits is somewhat hypocritical, Raines speckles his book wit...more
Justin
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fly fishers
Shelves:
fishing-etc,
memoirs
This turned out much better than I expected. Raines knows, importantly, what not to talk about, and he avoids heavy musings on the sorts of questions you associate with midlife crises, yet he's revealing at the same time.
In what I expected to be clunky insertions, he includes sections on famous anglers he's spent time with (such as Ray Scott and Bob Clouser) and presidents who fished. These chapters serve to further explorations about some of his key themes, and rather than being sim...more
In what I expected to be clunky insertions, he includes sections on famous anglers he's spent time with (such as Ray Scott and Bob Clouser) and presidents who fished. These chapters serve to further explorations about some of his key themes, and rather than being sim...more
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A good read. A few dry spells that I struggled through, but in the end glad I kept reading.
Decent book. Enjoyed the parts about fishing with his sons and his buddy Dick Blalock. Could've done without the author's digressions into recipes and esoteric fly fishing issues.
Introspective and insightful
Enjoyable read - some real insights into flyfishing and the male psyche. A little dogmatic in his catch-and-release superiority, but truly fun to read.
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