Overview

Fish have figured profoundly in both human history and imagination for millennia. They are both gifts of the sea, drawing civilizations to the water, and terrors of the deep, holding revelations of the unconscious and the unknown. Today, fly fishing attracts millions looking to escape modern life and reconnect with some primal, meditative instinct to partake in nature's offerings. Gilgamesh to Gierach is a collection of three hundred fishing, water, and fish tales spanning four millennia and numerous genres. More than a historical overview, White has distilled this immense topic into threads that flow through time, from legends and literature to nursery rhymes, poems, and humorous fish tales. Anglers will discover fly fishing's ancient roots and spiritual seekers the fish's religious and existential implications. Among the included voices are Homer, St. John, Ovid, Brendan the Navigator, Dame Juliana Berners, Shakespeare, Walton, Melville, Yeats, Thoreau, Hemingway, Rodrick Haig-Brown, and Norman Maclean. Whether told in full or, more often, condensed, these stories will leave the reader with a strong sense of the fish's significance to many of the world's greatest thinkers. Brimming with jokes, histories, simple folk tales, and great tragedies, this impressive work offers something for everyone.

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9798385205684

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Reviews

"""Scholarly, yet unpretentious, quirky, playful, and packed with angling arcana, fishy folklore, fly fishing classics, and watery wonders, James White's collection is a treasure. White is a friendly and knowledgeable guide whose commentary, insights, and humor combine fluidly with Jim Vandermiller's delightful drawings to make a wonderfully 'compleat' compendium."" --Henry Hughes, professor of English, Western Oregon University ""James White is our delightful new Aristotle of fishing literature: he reels in material from--believe it or not--the twenty-first century BCE to the twenty-first century CE, collecting, categorizing, and commenting not just on fish, books, and authors, but on fables, yarns, jokes, films, and more. And all graced by an infectious enthusiasm and good humor."" --David McCracken, professor emeritus of English and comparative religion, University of Washington"

"""Scholarly, yet unpretentious, quirky, playful, and packed with angling arcana, fishy folklore, fly fishing classics, and watery wonders, James White's collection is a treasure. White is a friendly and knowledgeable guide whose commentary, insights, and humor combine fluidly with Jim Vandermiller's delightful drawings to make a wonderfully 'compleat' compendium."" --Henry Hughes, professor of English, Western Oregon University ""James White is our delightful new Aristotle of fishing literature: he reels in material from--believe it or not--the twenty-first century BCE to the twenty-first century CE, collecting, categorizing, and commenting not just on fish, books, and authors, but on fables, yarns, jokes, films, and more. And all graced by an infectious enthusiasm and good humor."" --David McCracken, professor emeritus of English and comparative religion, University of Washington"

Author Information

James W. White is minister emeritus of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Colorado Springs and retired fishing guide for Angler's Covey. He is author of ecclesial history and fishing books, including Brief Christian Histories and Fly-Fishing the Arctic Circle to Tasmania. White and his wife, Patti, live with their golden retriever, Gilda, in a two-story Victorian home.

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