FLY FISHING THROUGH THE MIDLIFE CRISIS. By Howell Raines.

(1993) 1994 paperback edition. Small 8vo paperback (130 x 200mm). Pp352. B/w photographs and illustrations.

Howell Raines is a professional journalist and long-time flyfisher. In this book he recounts his fly fishing adventures, in which he gives a good account of the historical and contemporary social background of the places he fishes and the people he fishes with. Finding some sort of link between this variegated collection of people is the thread running through the whole narrative. Incidental to this, Raines extends the same principle to his family, principally his father and his sons, and in so doing avoids any note of self-indulgence which might have tempted other authors. More than just a collection of episodes, this book offers a connected narrative from beginning to end and is never less than a good, solid read.