The Longest Silence [Import] [Hardcover]

Thomas McGUANE (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: Yellow Jersey Press; First Edition edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0224061003
• ISBN-13: 978-0224061001
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,780,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Life of Sport, November 27, 1999

By 

joe murphy (Seattle, Washington USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing (Hardcover)

"You can't say enough about fishing; but that won't stop me," Tom McGuane wrote half a lifetime ago. He has quite a lot, indeed, to say about fishing. In "The Longest Silence," his precision of language and love of sport conjoin in a life's body of fishing essays.

McGuane is the angler we all hope to emualte. As for imitating his writing, well, lower your head, shake it and smile--it ain't happenin', bro--not in this life. And, of course, this book is nothing short of genius.

If you follow sporting writing in general and McGuane in particular few of the entries in this collection will be new to you, especially the seminal title piece: "What is most emphatic in angling is made so by the long silences---the unproductive periods." Not a problem. Few of us keep our old issues of Sports Illustrated, Men's Journal, Esquire or Sports Afield--rather, we look to compilations such as these to round out our collections. Besides, these essays are only fully appreciated after multiple (re)readings.

If McGuane is a new discovery to you, well, I can only envy you. His fiction--bought, borrowed or stolen--must be read; it is among the finest this country has to offer late in our century.

It's hard to imagine but there are probably those who enjoy McGuane's fiction but are not familiar with his sporting prose. At any rate these writings, many collected here--are without equal. Be McGuane's sporting work new, savor it. If, however, you find it familiar, then let in the dogs, light the fire, build a drink and dig in. It doesn't get any better than this.

Highly, completely and without reservation recommended. Buy this book, read it, cherish it, tell a friend.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, December 21, 1999

By 

Robert H. Miller "RHMiller" (Louisville, Kentucky USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing (Hardcover)

In this latest effort Thomas McGuane easily proves that he is one of the preeminent writers on fishing today, and for that matter of our century. THE LONGEST SILENCE covers a life of fishing ranging from his youthful remembrances of fishing the trout streams of Michigan to more recent experiences pursuing the game fish of the oceans. McGuane combines a dazzling language and style with a real knowledge of the intricacies of the art to produce some of the best prose on angling I've encountered, equalling and bettering that of Harry Middleton, Ted Leeson, and Russell Chatham. This is truly a fine book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful rarity, May 19, 2000

By 

Ian A Bain (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing (Hardcover)

It is unusual to find an author of a fishing book who is as fluent with words as he is with a fly rod. In probability, The Longest Silence will disappoint many diehard anglers anxious for 'how to' or 'where to' information. But it will delight those who relish good writing.

Drenched in atmosphere and with a warmth that glows like the embers of a campfire, this book is about the fishing, rather than the fish. Haunting, mesmerising and tremendously readable, The Longest Silence is a piece of literature that will become a fishing classic. It has been criticized for McGuane's affection for high-cost fishing holes and there may well be some merit in this, but it is the writing and not the locations that generates the fascination.