Distance Casting: Words and Ways of the Saltwater Fishing Life [Hardcover]

Sid Dobrin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

In the summer of 1995, lifelong saltwater fisherman Sid Dobrin accepted a job in the Midwest, taking him far away from the saltwater fishing world that had become a substantial part of his life. The two years he spent away from the ocean gave him the necessary perspective to reflect upon the lure of saltwater fishing familiar to anglers of all types and abilities - the taste of the sea's salty spray while casting into the surf at sunrise; the calm, quiet drift of a boat on one's home water; the sudden tug of a battling fish on the end of a line. The result is this beautifully crafted collection of evocative, entertaining, often funny essays on a range of topics guaranteed to appeal to anyone who has ever cast a line into the sea in pursuit of wild gamefish. Dobrin takes the reader through the sometimes tangled role fathers play in the maturing of a young fisherman; the sanctity and security of fishing one's favorite waters; the special relationships between comfortable fishing partners; the pleasures and pitfalls of drinking and fishing; the mysteries of fly fishing; and much more.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sycamore Island Books (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158160100X
• ISBN-13: 978-1581601008
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,523,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love, Family, and Fishing unfold Amid Good Story-telling, November 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Distance Casting: Words and Ways of the Saltwater Fishing Life (Hardcover)

In _Distance Casting_ Dobrin conveys, through good old-fashioned story telling, the depth of feeling in both his friendships with men, and his relationships with his family members. He does this in-between, and often right in the middle of regaling readers with moments spent doing what he loves best, in the place he loves the most: fishing in saltwater.

This book is a rare glimpse into the ways in which lifelong male-to-male relationships often begin and are maintained in some sporting activity, and the reasons why those activities are so often imbued with such passion. Dobrin manages to let us into this world, and in so doing, into his circle of friends. It's a very nice place to be.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story, and who appreciates a beautifully-turned phrase by a talented new writer; to anyone who's ever gone fishing with their Dad; who's ever enjoyed a day out on the water, and come home salty, tired, and content; who's ever been a child, or revered a parent. Because while this collection of essays is intensely personal, it is also universal in some fairly significant ways.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Distance Casting, October 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Distance Casting: Words and Ways of the Saltwater Fishing Life (Hardcover)

Dobrin's book is an excellent collection of essays that would be of interest to those who fish, to those who enjoy books on the outdoors and the environment, or to those who just like personal, enjoyable writing.

I particularly enjoyed Dobrin's excellent ability to relate his life as a fisherman to his experiences as a person growing up outdoors and to his life as a scholar of English and of outdoor fiction and essay.

Really, this is an intensely personal, vividly described, and enchanting book.

I heartily recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dobrin takes us there., September 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Distance Casting: Words and Ways of the Saltwater Fishing Life (Hardcover)

If you've spent any part of your life involved with a fisherman, you will truly appreciate the stories that Sidney Dobrin has shared with us in Distance Casting.

I laughed out loud at the lengths Dobrin and his counterparts went to to savor only those few moments of fishing glory. Miles between those moments were all the hours of toil that differentiate "fishing" from "catching".

Dobrin takes time to pull the meaningful from the mundane, and to remind us all that there is everything to gain from this effort. Distance Casting brings us in to the "fishing life"; the sport becomes so much more than its face value. It shares values carried into life, families brought to stronger bonds, and friendships entwined in a passion for the water and natural environment.

I whole-heartedly recommend Distance Casting. This book offers so much more than a 'sports story'. Even if you have never fished a day in your life, Dobrin pulls you in and takes you there.