Customer Reviews

The Norman Maclean Reader

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What a gift to be reminded of the artful life and writings of Norman Maclean, author of "A River Runs Through It". This collection of essays, excerpts, letters and interviews reminds us of the purity of his writing and thinking. He reaches out to all of us as he explores "memories full of pain and joy and everyday reality."

After retiring as a Professor of English at the University of Chicago, Norman Maclean began a second career as a writer. His first book, "A River Runs through It and Other Stories" was published in 1976, when Maclean was 74. In my estimation, it is a classic. (The fact that it is not generally so regarded by the self-proclaimed literary elites of this country is, to me, evidence of an anti-West bias that pervades those circles.) His second book, "Young Men and Fire", published posthumously in 1992, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for general non-fiction. THE NORMAN MACLEAN READER, edited and introduced by O. Alan Weltzien, is Maclean's third and probably last book.

It consists of eleven essays or lectures, most of which were first printed in non-mainstream journals or magazines; drafts of five chapters that Maclean wrote in the early 1960s for an intended book on Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, a project that Maclean eventually abandoned; and selections of Maclean's letters to four different friends.

There are two overlapping audiences for THE NORMAN MACLEAN READER. The first, as might be expected, consists of fans of his previous two books. In particular, I think that those enamored with "A River Runs through It" will appreciate this work. Scattered here and there are comments about what Maclean was trying to achieve in his first book and how he later viewed it. For example: "[T]hey are love stories: stories of my love of craft--of what men and women can do with their hands--and of my love of seeing life turn into literature." For those who wonder, THE NORMAN MACLEAN READER also sheds light on the extent to which "A River Runs through It" was fictional. (Answer: Not very much. For more, see page 174.)

The second prospective audience for this book is those who care about the craft of writing. As a boy, Maclean's father drilled him in revising and condensing his writing until he had pared it down to the essential core. As a professor, most of Maclean's courses were in English poetry, which in particular sensitized him to the rhythms of language, prose as well as poetry. And then as a writer, Maclean was a painstaking craftsman who subjected his prose to numerous revisions. (And it shows - although Maclean's correspondence, which presumably was not heavily revised, reveals him to begin as somewhat of a natural at writing). In addition to the finished products, which serve as exemplars of fine prose, THE NORMAN MACLEAN READER also contains snippets of advice on writing, such as "The last act of labor is to remove all signs of labor" and the sentence quoted as the title of this review.

My personal favorites from the book were (a) two chapters from Maclean's abandoned book on Custer and the Little Bighorn - one chapter on the fate of the Sioux after the battle and the other on the fate of the Cheyenne; (b) a portrait of Albert Abraham Michelson, whose name I did not recognize but who, I learned, was the first American scientist to win a Nobel Prize (principally for measuring the speed of light) and who Maclean knew and admired for his skill in shooting billiards; and (c) "Retrievers Good and Bad", about the succession of duck dogs Maclean's family owned when he was a youth. In fact, his father gave him a dog on the day Norman was born. "[M]y dog turned out to be a duck dog and my father turned out to be a duck hunter and evidently, at least in my infancy, I did not resemble a duck and the dog did not give a damn about me. We talk painfully about father and mother rejections, but if you are going in for rejections, there is nothing like being the supposed infant owner of an animal and wanting to be loved by it and instead being studied by yellow eyes that wished you were a dead duck."

After the movie "A River Runs Through It" came out, I got curious about Norman Maclean. I love the way he tells a story. I finally found this reader. You won't be disappointed!

Norman Maclean didn't spend much time writing, only producing two completed and published books, A River Runs Through It and Young Men and Fire (published posthumously). Both were critically acclaimed and popular books. Two of the stories from A River Runs Through It were filmed, A River Runs Through It, and The Ranger, The Cook and a Hole In the Sky (the latter as a made-for-TV production).

This book helps to fill in aspects of Maclean's work and life that fans like myself have always wondered. The unfinished and previously unpublished work on Custer was his first attempt at a publishable work, started decades before his retirement. The book also touches on some of the differences between his life and the stories he wrote. He also briefly discusses why he made those choices.

The essays and letters included make for excellent insight into the man and his views on writing and the world. I recommend it for anyone who has enjoyed his other work, though I recommend A River Runs Through It as a first entry into his work, rather than this book.

An exciting read!! Superbly edited by a true expert. Fine selection of letters; amazing analysis of George Armstrong Custer; you are with MacLean in his teenage years (and early 20's)working with the Forest Service; and in the classrooms at the University of Chicago. MacLean is a superlative detective as he brings us into the stroggle against fire (and bureaucracy). This inspires me to read more and more of Norman MacLean.

This book is a wonderful read. Living in Montana, I still find that there is so much to learn about a lot of the history and, Norman McLean provides much. Plus, a lot about himself! Very interesting.

Initially I was skeptical about this book but I am glad I ordered it. Having read and re-read A River Runs Through It many times, I enjoyed learning more about Maclean from other vantage points.