The Habit of Rivers (Hardcover)

by Ted Leeson (Author)
Key Phrases: harvest trout, fly tyer, perfect fly, Blue Mountains, Blue-wing Olives, Balls of Fire (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Of all sports, fishing has the richest literature and, in number of titles, seemingly the most of any hobby save chess. This volume outshines all recent entries. As an English professor at Oregon State University, Leeson is amply qualified to write a literate angling book, but his lambent, fluid prose, graced with wit and warmth, far transcends such concepts as qualification. "The craft of angling is the catching of fish. But the art of angling is a responsiveness . . . letting one thing lead to another until . . . you realize some small completeness." These essays are small, elegant completions opening windows to the rivers of the Pacific Northwest (mostly eastern Oregon's Columbia River Basin). In a flyfisher's dialect, Leeson tells an angler's story with the full-throated voice of a naturalist. Those who wonder what it is they're really after out there in the stream will find the answer here. Leeson's work belongs on the shelf next to that of Annie Dillard, John McPhee, Barry Lopez and others of their stripe (and speckle).
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
"The fishing here is invariably superb; always, it's the catching that's up for grabs." Such is the refreshing, sometimes humorous, always gracefully expressed philosophy of Leeson. He believes that fly fishing can take one outside oneself and help one develop new ways of seeing. Leeson fishes as much as 100 days a year; writes for Field & Stream , Fly Rod & Reel , and other magazines; teaches English; ties flies; and knows the literature of the field. Yet this is not a how-to, or what-with, but rather a passionate celebration of the attractions of rivers, trout, and fishing. As in Howell Raines's Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis ( LJ 9/15/93), the arts of angling, writing, and living are blended. Public and academic libraries should acquire this fine book.
- Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558213007
• ISBN-13: 978-1558213005
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #887,083 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must reading for all flyfishers and naturalists, December 26, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Habit of Rivers: Reflections on Trout Streams and Fly Fishing (Paperback)

With the poetic delivery of Maclean, and the naturalist vision of Thoreau, Ted Leeson paints a beautiful,and sometimes comical, mosiac of fly fishing the Northwest. As I read this book I am reminded that the most noble and rewarding aspect of my sport is not the mere catching of fish, but it is the beautiful & mystical arena in which we are privileged to practice it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We need more great fly fishing books, April 3, 2007

By	Bob Fitzsimmons (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Habit of Rivers: Reflections on Trout Streams and Fly Fishing (Paperback)

If you love fly fishing, and like me, don't get on stream enough, settling for a good book on the subject is the next best thing. This was very enjoyable reading. This and Trout Eyes by Bill Tapply are the two recent books I've really enjoyed. I just wish fine books like this on the subject were published more often.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read slowly, it speaks to your soul., February 5, 2007

By	Manxman (Lake Orion, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Habit of Rivers: Reflections on Trout Streams and Fly Fishing (Paperback)

I received this book from my son. He knows me as well as anyone. He knows I'm struggling with my "fishing experience" and looking for direction. I don't need to catch the biggest fish or experience the newest destinations. I need to fish. I need to fly fish. Ted Leeson helped tell me why. This book spoke to my soul. It corrected my direction. I have read many fishing books, some technical some just good stories. The first time, and I'll read it again, I read this book I realized early on that I needed to read it slowly, introspectively. I was in this book. Mr. Leeson spoke to me. He answered my direction question when he said, "In the end, to fish well is to cultivate an arrangement of time and place, of circumstance and perspective. We arrange ourselves into the arrangement, and if the collusion is careful and lucky, we reap a kind of enclosed moment of some sharply felt beauty and significance." The Habit of Rivers is a special book and I recommend it to any fly fisher looking for direction or confirmation.