If John Gierach is living in a fool's paradise, then it's a paradise that his regular readers will recognize and new fans will delight in discovering. Laced with the inimitable blend of wit and wisdom that have made him fly-fishing's foremost scribe, Fool's Paradise chronicles the fishing life in all its glory (catching your biggest fish ever) and squalor (being stranded in a tent during a soaking rainstorm). In Gierach's world, both experiences are valuable, and perhaps inevitable.
Fishermen everywhere will understand Gierach's quest to discover and explore new waters, the unlikely appeal of winter fly-fishing, or his dismay at encroaching development. Braving trips on small prop planes and down "Oh-My-God" roads, Gierach and his fishing buddies pursue bull trout in British Columbia, steelhead in the Rocky Mountains, and pike so fierce that a wise fisherman wears Kevlar gloves for the obligatory trophy photo.
Equal parts fishing lore, philosophy, and great fish stories, Fool's Paradise may not be a perfect substitute for actually being out on the water, but it's surely the next best thing.
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Gierach is a first-rank fishing writer-in the same league as Nick Lyons and Bill Tapply-but his thoughtful meditations on friends and family evoke Garrison Keillor.
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Booklist