Customer Reviews

Fly Fishing Through The Midlife Crisis

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This book is a poem about life as it unfolds in our middle years and beyond. I have made is a habit of purchasing used copies, when I can find them, and giving them out to friends and acquaintances in return for a promise that the book will be read and passed on. I know from personal testimonials that Hal Raynes' love song has brought both awareness and peace to lives in trouble. If you have an interest in fly fishing, read the book. It expresses the essence of fly fishing. If you have no interest in fly fishing, read the book. It expresses the mystery and majesty of life.

It is hard to believe that I could ever be this positive about someone who is a leftist, liberal news editor like Howell Raines. But the truth is, Mr. Raines has written an outstanding book
that is highly recommended to *anyone*, flyfisher(wo)man or not!

An added bonus are the fish recipes scattered throughout, mm mm good!

This book is a remakable memoir. Raines lets us enter his mind and what I consider his soul. His descriptions of fishing are interesting, serious and humorous but what's more important are his reflections and his insights about people, life, the world, and relationships between parents and children, marriage, friends and people who are different from us,. My first thought after finishing the book was my God, we are so fortunate in the USA. We have endless waterways, forrests, mountains, and wild life. We must do much more in an intelligent
way to protect them.

I've read Raines book and enjoyed it thoroughly. Taken on it's own merit, it is an insightful book about the journey from one kind of fishing to another, a journey that is also an analogy for life. Along the way, Raines offers his political views, but to argue as the other reviewers on this page have done that the book is of poor quality because Raines is a liberal is silliness. Sure, his views may be disagreeable to some, but they are his way of inserting his voice and experience into his writing. The writing itelf is rich and the insights are perceptive. I highly recommend this book.

Skip the discussions in other reviews of the politics of the author - that is not relevant, and not what this book is about. Mr. Raines writes a wonderful, heartwarming story of how fishing was a part of growing up, and then through fishing and one fishing related friendship in particular, of how he came to grips with some of the fundamental issues of life. There is no right or wrong here that the author got, or did not. It is simply one mans experience, wonderfully told with insight and gentle humor, of a passage through life. Fishermen will enjoy the book for the fishing metaphor, others will enjoy it for the story of a special friendship. It is even better as a book on tape, Mr. Raines syrupy southern voice adds just the right tone and inflection to make the story even more memorable.

It's pretty sad that most who've written online reviews of this book have been so prejudiced against Raines because of his association with the New York Times that they can't evaluate the book based on its own merits. Sure, Raines does discuss his own liberal tendencies and opinions, but then how can people turn around and criticize him for being less than forthcoming about his internal beliefs and conflicts? (By the way, Raines spent the entire eight years of the Clinton administration being so relentlessly critical of the President that Clinton was notorious for becoming enraged at the mere mention of Raines' name.)

I also find unfair the criticism that Raines' perspective on the "midlife crisis" is somehow not genuine or revelatory. He's blasted for being discreet about the exact nature of his divorce, and for being circumspect about other details of his personal life. Well, if you want all the dirty details, just read some old issues of "Spy" magazine. The man was subjected to enough gossip and innuendo that it's no wonder he chose not to indulge the readers of this book with any more tidbits.

A genuine "midlife crisis" is not the cliche about buying a sportcar and running off with a blonde teenager - what's really scary about becoming middle-aged is realizing your mortality, and that's what this book is largely about. Howell Raines made friends with a man who became his companion and mentor, and then that man died, and he had a hard time dealing with it. When Dick Blalock died, Howell Raines had to "grow up".

And yes, I am not a neutral observer. Dick Blalock was my father, and I often go back to read Howell Raines' book to "reminisce" with Dad.... "A reader" (too cowardly to post his real name) obviously wasn't paying much attention when he wrote his review of this book.

Really good fishing stories which are ,unfortunately, injected with liberal politics. Why did he have to do that? Apparently he doesn't know that people fish to get away from things like politics.

Would have been close to a 5 rating without the political stuff.

Raines has done a wonderful job in this book on several fronts. It is a very engaging story, chock full of the entertainment we long to read for. It is also a wealth of nuggets of information about flyfishing -- those nuggets you won't find in the "how-to" books, but normally only learn through long hard experience. Woven through this great tale however is something much deeper and more personal. It is a story, a fly-fishing instructional book, and practical, down-to-earth psychotherapy for men over 40, all in one compact book. It helps us to recognize those traits we've suffered through and tried to understand. All in all, Raines essentially says to save your head shrink money and go fly-fishing. I've followed his advice - and it works!

Howell Raines writes with an engaging enough style and actually has a few amusing anecdotes. His assessment of the Southern Male "Redneck Way" is somewhat insightful if not an accurate discription of all Southern outdoorsmen. And, the advice that "if you want to keep score, take up golf" is perhaps the most useful he gives to any fly fisher, regardless of ability. A few decent fish recipies are also included. So, if you want to read about the typical bias of a liberal journalist who's purpose seems as much to bash Regan, Bush, and Hoover as to pass on anything useful about the sport of fly fishing, read this book. Personally, I prefer not to mix fishing and politics (especially this brand of partisan liberal Democratic politics) with the unbiased and apolotical joy of fly fishing. I get too much of the former almost daily and precious little of the latter. But perhaps I, too would have more time if I adhered to Mr. Raines' marital and work ethic, the seeming solution to his personal midlife crisis. Not mine

Have never read any prior books by this author. After getting into it, I find that I throughly enjoy his writing. It is a wonderful book and should be read by all anyone who loves fishing and reading about all of the ancillary things that one experiences while going about getting to fish.