Customer Reviews

A Place on the Water: An Angler's Reflections on Home

5 star:		(7)
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This is the first book by Jerry Dennis that I have read, and I love it! I grew up in Michigan and have fished some of the same places mentioned in the book. He shares some very fasinating childhood tales. I couldn't put it down until I had read it from cover to cover. Enjoy!

Jerry weaves a number of tales from his boyhood through life with fine dexterity and aptitude towards the human experience. The short story of Christmas and the death of his friends father was especially touching. You won't be diappointed.

A Place on the Water: An Angler's Reflections on Home
My first review and this book deserves it. "A Place on the Water" belongs on the shelf of every outdoorsman, especially if you have fished the Midwest. Fully captures the joys of youth, family, friends, and the outdoors. The best of short story, outdoor writing.

Jerry Dennis, where have you been all my life? This is an author that deserves awards, accolades, and a place on every bookshelf in America. He's wonderful. A midwesterner to the core, a lover of the great outdoors and literature, a man's man, a dying breed. I recommend Jerry Dennis to everyone. He has a wonderful sense of drama, of place, of struggle and character, of peace and discovery. He's concise. He's observant. He's direct. I wish he was single. His book on the Great Lakes is an absolute favorite (the Great Lakes are one of my big passions) but this little gem on fishing made even this die hard city girl want to take up rod and reel. Read Jerry Dennis. Tell your friends to read Jerry Dennis. I wish I could read him again for the first time. Five glorious stars.

Jerry Dennis' A PLACE ON THE WATER is a quiet treasure of memories early and late. The writing is spare and pristine. Good essay requires truth and no rush to judgment, a healthy restraint from embellishment and, above all, brevity. Dennis succeeds on all fronts. Like a diamond among rubies, the piece entitled "Brook Trout in Traver Country" stands out as an enduring portrayal of time, place, and one truly unforgettable character. Though from Illinois, I have fished and paddled the waters of Michigan for over twenty years now, and as Jerry Dennis suggests, it would take more than one puny life to really know any one piece of it. Think of this book as an elegant, almost hushed, primer on that road. I would like to meet this Mr. Dennis.

My father-in-law lent me his copy knowing that I enjoy both a good read and a day on the water. I really enjoyed Mr. Dennis' home-spun stories which described his love of the outdoors from childhood through adulthood. I also enjoyed the beautiful illustrations. Living and fishing in the upper midwest my whole life makes me feel right at home in the lakes and streams described in the book. I look forward to picking up one of Mr. Dennis' other books.

I think this is probably the best outdoor book I have ever read. Jerry Dennis has a way of making you laugh and realize how much the water means to you as an angler. Every angler should have a copy of this book in their library.