Flyfishing through the Mid-Life Crisis - Softcover

Raines, Howell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385475195 ISBN 13: 9780385475198

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1998

Synopsis

Just as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance used motorcycle repair as a metaphor for the examination of self, Howell Raines uses his lifelong experiences as a fly fisherman to explore his life, politics, gender, roles as a son, husband, father, and journalist, and his attitudes toward aging and mortality. A man who has fished with presidents and Southern friends as well as with his own two sons, Raines chronicles his progress from "the Redneck way of fishing" for quantity and food to the catch-and-release way of his friend and mentor Dick Blalock. Blalock taught Raines that fly fishing is about attitude and friendship, not about catching fish. Raines imparts tips on casting and stream beds gracefully, along with his love for what he calls "waters that move" as he explores the deep funk he fell into at midlife, complete with a divorce, a seven-year feud with his father and brother, and the all-consuming animosity he allowed himself to develop toward his boss at work. By casting into the waters of his own life -- and ultimately reconciling with middle age -- Howell Raines has written a literate, contemplative celebration of life and friendship.

About this title

Review:

"Intriguing and textured.... the book of a highly intelligent man.... He limns the great appeal of fly fishing as well as anyone has done." -- Nick Lyons, "The New York Times Book Review.

"A sweet narrative of friendship, fathers and sons, aging and of course, fishing."--Washington Post Book World

"What a wonderful book Howell Raines has wrought... as lovely as a stream."--Pat Conroy

A sweet narrative of friendship, fathers and sons, aging and of course, fishing. --Washington Post Book World"

What a wonderful book Howell Raines has wrought... as lovely as a stream. --Pat Conroy"

About the Author:

Before stepping down in 2003, Howell Raines was Executive Editor of the New York Times. He is the author of Whiskey Man, a novel, and My Soul Is Rested, an oral history of the Civil Rights movement. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1992.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0385475195
• ISBN 13: 9780385475198
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352