The River Why [1st PRINT / SIGNED]

Duncan, David James

ISBN 10: 0871563215 / ISBN 13: 9780871563217

Published by Sierra Club Books, 1983

About this Item

Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1983. Hard cover. Book Condition: Fine. Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Unstated first edition, first printing with a full number line starting at "1". 8-1/2 tall, 294 numbered pages; textured tan boards with aqua cloth quarter binding, gilt lettering on spine only; plain ivory end pages; fore edge is not trimmed. Book is square, binding tight, very slight crimping of head & heel of spine, lower corners lightly bumped, top of front board has very small abrasion and an all but imperceptible 3/4" long bump. The dust jacket is clean with slight spine fade, general light shelf wear & light soiling; it has a 1/2" closed tear on bottom edge of rear panel, light edge wear at head & heel of spine with only very minor loss of color, 1-1/2" closed tear starts at top front gutter and meanders into color of front panel below the "T", with a tiny chip at the head of this tear; publisher's original price of "FPT $12.95" listed on the upper right corner of front flap, indicating that this is a first state of the dust jacket. Condition of book and jacket consistent with being very gently read. Very legibly signed by the author in thin blue felt tip pen on the title page above his printed name.

Seller Inventory # BMR-2020-9-10-3

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The River Why [1st PRINT / SIGNED]
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books
• Publication Date: 1983
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0871563215
• ISBN 13: 9780871563217
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Since its publication by Sierra Club Books nearly two decades ago, The River Why has become a classic, standing with Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It as the most-read fiction about fly-fishing of our era. Duncan's protagonist, Gus Orviston, is an irreverent young flyfisherman--a vibrant character who makes us laugh easily and feel deeply, and who speaks with startling truth about the way we live.
Leaving behind a madcap, fishing-obsessed family, Gus embarks on an extraordinary voyage of self-discovery along his beloved Oregon rivers. What he unexpectedly finds is man's wanton destruction of nature and a burning desire to commit himself to its preservation.
The River Why is a tale that gives a contemporary voice to the concerns and hopes of all living things on this beautiful, watery planet. It is the story of one man's search for meaning, for love, and for a sane way to live.

Review

Praise for The River Why:
"A whirlwind, madcap, humorous and sensitive novel" "New York Times""

Praise for The River Why:
"A whirlwind, madcap, humorous and sensitive novel" New York Times"

"A hymn to the waters of the earth and the wholeness of life. It is also funny." Miami Herald"

"A veritable epic of flyfishing... done in a high-velocity, exuberant style, sprawling in scale, heedless of form... The feeling for and evocation of the imperiled natural world is rhapsodic in its intensity; the writing energetic, literary in a distinctly American way... So amiable is the prevailing tone that the flowing narrative is able to absorb Koranic and Eastern mysticisms, Tao, Sufism, Zen-the religions of oneness and gospel of love-without turning into the kind of maudlin choral chanting that so often disfigures treatments of fusion of self and the world." Publishers Weekly"

This is a modern-repeat, modern -tale of maturity and redemption. Christian Science Monitor"