Customer Reviews

On the Spine of Time

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4 star:		(1)
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If you recognize with reverence this closing passage from Norman Maclean's classic "A River Runs Through It", you will equally treasure "On The Spine Of Time". It is a story of finding one's self in the beauty and solitude of the mountain streams of the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. The stories are as much about the history of the area as they are about the experiences of one man as he seeks retreat from the trauma of everyday life in the city. It is a book you will read over and over. In decades of reading outdoor stories I have only found two other books that are as beautiful as this one. The first and greatest has to be Maclean's masterpiece from which I stole the title for this review. The other is John Hersey's "Blues". I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

I love the Smoky Mountains. This book captures the magic of these mountains perfectly. This is one of those books that I couldn't stop reading. I've hiked the Appalachian Trail through the Smoky Mountains and tasted the mountains intimately as Middleton did. His descriptions of the scenery are right on the money. The characters he meets and acquaints himself with are exactly the kind of people one meets while traversing the back country in the Smoky Mountains. I loved this book for the colorful characters Middleton describes. But, there is a whole lot more to the Smokies and it's all told. The geography, the invasive insects, toxic air, Cherokee Indians, founders of the park, and a whole lot more are part of his story, in addition to the subject of fly fishing. If you love the Smoky Mountains like I do you're going to love this book. If you have never been to the Smoky Mountains you're going to want to go after reading "On the Spine of Time". Also, if you like this book, and you enjoy the characters as much as I did, then I suggest you also read the book, "A Walk In the Woods", by Bill Bryson.

This book is about two of my most beloved things- the Smoky Mountains and fishing the streams of them. Sit back and relax while reading this book and let your mind and thoughts be with the author as he bring you into the world of wonderment and splendor that is the Great Smoky Mountains. His descriptive narration of the nature and beauty that surrounds him through his angling expeditions can only be experienced through the depth of one's own mind's eye. This is not imagination but, in fact, a reality that can only be truly experienced first hand. A truly great book for sitting back and getting away from it all and going back in time to one's own relative thoughts and experiences of familiarity.

I think I've reviewed this before. If you've not read Middleton before, do it.

Middleton's book is a real treat. Not only do you get some wonderful tales about fishing in the Smokey Mountain National Park, but you also get some insight into the culture of those living in the area. IN effect, you getting a fishing tale with people who appear to be other worldly and unreal. The fishing takes a back seat to tales of the author interacting with these people, but it is still a fishing book. I would get it and enjoy it because it will cause, or should anyway, you to question why you fish. Great book!!!!

The person who recommended this book to me said it best: "When you read The Earth is Enough all you want to do is fish the Ozarks. Then when you read On the Spine of Time all you want to do is fish the Smokies."

Harry Middleton's writing transitions between his stories of fishing the smokies over the course of a decade create what comes across a seamless story that of a trip into and out of these misty mountains. The story focuses around fly fishing but also looks into the tough mountain characters along the way. The writing on fly fishing occasionally slips into flowery metaphor language that occasionally was a little much, but the whole of the work was amazing.

This book is a very quick read and a wonderful book. It will go into my library of top fishing books that I consider to represent the best in fly fishing writing.

This book is old fashioned, like the "mountains" and area he describes.
The author must use the phrase "cold fast" water about 50 times. Boring.
Move on to Heywood, Duncan, Geirach, Robbins, Rand...etc.

this read uses a mountain trout stream to illustrate a small community and an extended family's way of simple living. packed with laughter and occasional tears. regular "aha" moments. i put it aside to re-read -- probably several times.