A good read...
I recently ran out of sci-fi to read so I looked at my stack of books and realized one of my birthday presents hadn't yet been cracked open. I had been skeptical due to a couple of Recod Eagle articles that made me cringe due to perceived braggartism. But I decided to give it a go and picked up http://www.amazon.com/River-Home-Explorations-Jerry-Dennis/dp/0312254156. Boy, was I wrong to be a skeptic. This book is really quite good, and righ off the bat, the author tries hard to make the reader realize that he is out to win over anyone with preconceptions. He is successful in my mind. Thanks to Jo and Jerry for the quality read, I am bummed it is done. I actually cried like I was reading "Where the red fern grows" when I read the passages at the end (I don't want to ruin it!). I want my wife to read it, if just for the TC connection, but anyone with a heart and a love for the outdoors would like it. The first 2/3rds are heavily Fly fishing, but the last two chapters are near-Hemingway quality short stories and are quite wonderful. Buy the book if you love fly fishing and reading about it. Get it from a library or friend and read the last couple chapters if you just need a good emotional outdoors story or two... Good stuff, either way. I would be overjoyed to bump into this guy on a river someday and admit my naivete when it comes to the art...