FISHING BAMBOO. By John Gierach.

(1997) ND 1st edition reprint. 8vo (155 x 232mm). Ppx,113. Line illustrations by Glenn Wolff, bibliography. Green cloth-backed boards.

The fascinating story of Gierach's love affair with the bamboo fly rod. "With the deftness of a surgeon, John Gierach thoroughly succeeds in a delicate operation - removing the mystery surrounding bamboo fly rods, while leaving the romance intact. Fishing Bamboo is both an informal treatise and a wonderfully engaging appreciation of rods and craftsmen, past and present." (Ted Leeson). "Classic on classic: Gierach on cane. John takes you there, puts the rod in your hands." (Dave Hughes). "The split bamboo fly rod and the mystique that goes with it is a subject that deserves just the right mix of skepticism and reverence, and John Gierach is just the writer to supply this, in a fascinating book that explains what the excitement is all about." (W.D. Wetherell). "What John McPhee once did for oranges, John Gierach now does for bamboo fly rods. The trick is to convince the reader that an apparently arcane subject is really as fascinating as the author believes, and Gierach succeeds mightily, all in an easy sort of fireside prose that belies the occasionally technical nature of the subject matters." (E. Donnall Thomas, Jr).