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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 799.124 EAN: 9780743291736 ISBN: 0743291735 Label: Simon & Schuster Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 224 Publication Date: May 06, 2008 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Studio: Simon & Schuster Accessories:
Editorial Review: Product Description: If John Gierach is living in a fool's paradise, then it's a paradise that his regular readers will recognize and new fans will delight in discovering. Laced with the inimitable blend of wit and wisdom that have made him fly-fishing's foremost scribe, Fool's Paradise chronicles the fishing life in all its glory (catching your biggest fish ever) and squalor (being stranded in a tent during a soaking rainstorm). In Gierach's world, both experiences are valuable, and both evoke humor and insight. Fishermen everywhere will understand Gierach's quest to discover and explore new waters (and then not to divulge the best locations to anyone), the unlikely appeal of winter fly-fishing ("the ice fishing shanty served the dual purpose of group therapy and the neighborhood tavern"), how impossible it is to predict the best fishing ("Everything that happens is entirely familiar, but I don't always see it coming"), or even the absurdity of the entire exercise ("day after day, you're casting a fly that doesn't look like anything to fish that aren't hungry and may not even be there"). Braving trips on small prop planes and down "Oh-My-God" roads alike, Gierach and his fishing buddies pursue bull trout in British Columbia, steelhead in the Rocky Mountains, and pike so fierce that a wise fisherman wears Kevlar gloves for the obligatory trophy photo. But as with any activity that depends on unspoiled wilderness, change is constant. Gierach sees this happening both in the landscape ("You never get to point at a meadow full of browsing mule deer and say, 'You know, all this was once condos.'") and at lodges that now require guests to sign liability waivers ("[I] had a brief vision of herds of lawyers coursing over the tundra in search of litigation"). Just the same, he is always awed by the experience of nature, or as he puts it: "You're on a lovely, remote wilderness river in the Alaskan backcountry. There are people who would make this trip and not even bring a fishing rod." Musing on the enduring appeal of fishing, Gierach theorizes, "We're so used to the fake and the packaged that encountering something real can amount to a borderline religious experience." Equal parts fishing lore, philosophy, and great fish stories, Fool's Paradise may not be a perfect substitute for actually being out on the water, but it's surely the next best thing. Average Rating:
 Rating: - ComfortableGierach is like your favorite flyrod-you know what you are getting-Excellent story telling and putting into words the feelings and actions of anglers/flyfishers. The chapter on cane rods is great and the book is like taking a fishing trip while staying home.. Rating: - Fool not to buyOnce again Gierach knocks another one off. An amusing look at life and the pursuits of ones passion. I highly recommend Fool's Paradise. Rating: - Classic Gierach, Loved It.The only fault I could find is it's too short. Classic Gearach book, True stories funny, warm, and..... well Gierach! Rating:  - Good bookThis is a well written book, but I have enjoyed some of his other books more than this one. Rating: - The Latest in a long line of good reading!Gierach keeps pumping out the kind of material that takes you to the stream with him, but also challenges the reader to feel as deeply about the experience as he does. For any flyfisher who has a "...home river" or enjoys the challenge of new water, making new friends, or watching nature unfurl its majesty before your mind's eye, "Fool's Paradise" is a book you'll thoroughly enjoy. |
