Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing

I had no idea what to get my Dad for his birthday and his wife recommended this book- he absolutely loved it!

Don’t know why but I was expecting a philosophical treatise but, with the exception of the last few chapters it turned out to be a historic discussion of the various aspects of fly fishing. It also focused only on salmon and trout fishing completely ignoring panfish, bass and other species that can be caught on a fly rod.

Whether your interest is history, fish behavior, or why people choose fly fishing, this book covers it. The author never gets far ‘into the weeds’, the broad overview is his goal. That being said, detail usually takes the form of an amusing anecdote. A pleasure to read.

If you're a Kurlansky fan and/or a fly fishing fan, you will enjoy this book. If you're just a Kurlansky fan, this one might not do much for you.

I could not wait to purchase this book and did so the day it was released. This book is a well researched book of the history of fly fishing with the main subject of fly fishing in Europe with a focus on fishing England and fishing in the United states with reference of fly fishing being mentioned in or books written solely about this type of fishing along with the history of fly tying and those who tie flys that are so fanatical about getting the right feathers. It references one fanatical person who robbed a museum to get and sell the right feathers. There was a recent book about this incident. This all being said I was disappointed that this was not about the authors personal adventures when it came to fly fishing or very little of it. I realize not every book can be like a flyfishing book that was made into a movie but I hoped for more especially with this authors reputation.

Very informative about not only the act of fishing but also the fish in the waters around the world.

Anything written by Mark Kurlansky is great! All his books are non-fiction and very historical and knowledgeable. You'll never be disappointed by this author. Very entertaining!

I appreciated that I was able to preorder. Interesting history, well written.

Another well researched and interesting book from Mark Kurlansky. Excellent read