The Complete Angler: A Connecticut Yankee Follows in the Footsteps of WaltonHarper Collins, 2010 M11 16 - 336 pages James Prosek has been called "the Audubon of the fishing world" by the New York Times. A passionate fisherman and talented artist from a young age, he published two illustrated books on fish and fishing while still an undergraduate at Yale. After winning a traveling fellowship to follow in the footsteps of Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler became his obsession. He was fascinated by Walton, a humble man who won the friendship of kings, and he was intrigued by the book's philosophies concerning the timelessness and immortality that could be achieved by fishing. Although Walton was sixty when The Compleat Angler was published and Prosek only twenty when he set off to visit England, they each had traits in common: a love of fishing and an extraordinary ability to make friends. This is the story of a young man's pilgrimage through England, fishing the waters that are now privately held. Along with wonderful stories about good times, great fishing, and fine eating, this trip becomes an exploration of Waltonian ideals: how to live with humor, wisdom, contentment, and simplicity. The original watercolors complementing the text are wonderful. Like Walton's book, The Complete Angler is not about fishing but about life. Or rather, it is about fishing—but fishing is life. |
From inside the book
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... told them during my interview that Walton's words spoke to me , that fishing was my passion , and that his book represented and defended every facet of the art more lucidly than I ever could . " JAMES PROSEK James Prosek has been called ...
... told me that I was going to England . It was through Steve Parks that I made my first connection with a piscatorially challenged Englishman . David Scott , a slim and physically frail man of about thirty , who looked much younger , had ...
... told me the names of the various artists who painted the English equestri- an scenes on his walls . His home was packed with sketches and paintings of foxhunts , the walls decorated with the mounted snarling heads and bushy tails of ...
... told through the generous and sociable character Piscator , who is Walton himself . The conversations between Piscator and Venator are the essence of many of our own on the stream and remind us that friendships developed through the ...
... told them what I planned to do in England . When I expressed uncertainty as to whether I might be favorably received by the upper classes of Englishmen who owned the water where I would be fishing , Bloom remarked , " Nonsense my dear ...
Contents
1 | |
21 | |
Fishing and Friendship | 49 |
The Life of Izaak Walton and an Adventure | 77 |
Holy to Fishermen | 131 |
Good Company Makes the Way Seem Short | 149 |
The Trout in Our River Are Larger | 191 |
Fresh Sheets That Smell of Lavender | 231 |
Fishing with Rheingold | 283 |
Mind the Butterfly | 299 |
Chapter 11 | 311 |
Epilogue | 320 |
Acknowledgments | 321 |
Recommended Reading | 322 |
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References to this book
Deep Trout: Angling in Popular Culture William Washabaugh,Catherine Washabaugh No preview available - 2000 |