The Complete Angler: A Connecticut Yankee Follows in the Footsteps of Walton: Amazon.de: James Prosek: Englische Bücher

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Prosek has commandeered a unique branch for himself in the long stream of fishing literature. With Trout: An Illustrated History and Joe and Me, he's reeled in the reputation of a modern-day Audubon with a keen eye that translates experience into both words and watercolors. In The Complete Angler, he sets out to tackle the legacy of Isaak Walton, the granddaddy of littoral lit and his 17th-century classic, The Compleat Angler. While still an undergraduate, Prosek convinces the solons at Yale to fund a traveling fellowship for him to fish the waters Walton fished, to ponder their joint obsession with angling, and the fellowship and philosophies inherent in sitting on banks with a rod in your hand. "Fishing is my religion and the trout stream is my temple," Prosek declares proudly, which makes Walton at least a High Priest, if not the Messiah.

You certainly can't accuse Prosek of shrinking from a challenge. Walton's Compleat Angler is one of the towers of English literature. Not only the third most reprinted volume in the language (after the Bible and Shakespeare), it is the rare book that has spanned several centuries of readership without ever going out of print. Stepping into Walton's waders--literary and sporting--and fishing his way through public and private waters throughout Britain, Prosek attempts to navigate deeper, trickier currents than he's previously attempted. What he catches is part homage, part pilgrimage, part meditation, and entirely alluring--a work that balances youthful exuberance with insight and depth. Walton's considerable shadow challenges and encourages Prosek's growth as writer and artist; both his writing and the painting that illustrates this handsome effort are maturing. "I didn't exactly know what I would find," Prosek admits at the start. It's precisely this attitude that makes his journey, and the surprises he snares, all the more enchanting. --Jeff Silverman -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

From Booklist

Prosek won a fellowship to study Izaak Walton's Compleat Angler, the third most reprinted book (after the Bible and Shakespeare's plays) and "the least-read best-known book--on angling at least." The result is Prosek's third book, which centers on his travels in England, where he retraced Walton's footsteps, fishing his trout rivers and exploring London and the countryside. Prosek capably explains the history of Walton's time and analyzes the historic and religous meaning of Walton's writing. Along with historians and students of literature, travelers and anglers will enjoy the trip. Suggest this unique volume--with 18 colorplates of Prosek's beautiful paintings--not only to anglers but also to people who like the literary travel writing of William Least-Heat Moon and Paul Theroux. John Rowen -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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not-so-deep thoughts 26. April 2000

Von Matthew L. Miller

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

This book tries very hard to be "deep" and insightful; it is neither. This is not a book about the human condition; it is a book about a privileged young man fishing with privileged old people.

Prosek does lovely paintings, but the bottom line is that his writing lacks maturity. He violates many rules that should have been drilled into his head during "freshman comp" class. He doesn't show, he tells. He overuses flowery adjectives. And he can be melodramatic to the extreme.

There is no shortage of books about flyfishing that are filled with overblown prose, books that try to make flyfishing something it is not. This book is one of them.

Comparisons to Izaak Walton abound. This gets old after a while. So do the many "characters" Prosek fishes with, who we are told are very interesting and "quite delightful," but most seemed to be pompous, bland individuals.

For some reason, the trip itself bothered me. He got to fish many rivers only because he was a young man of privilege. Everyone he meets is awed by him, mainly because he is an Ivy Leaguer with the right connections. He then makes sure we know that the class-obsessed people he meet complimented him on his "class" and "character." He seems to revel in this, never examining his privilege. Many times I wanted him to quit rhapsodizing over trout and start examining his own life.

I was very disappointed in Prosek as a writer. It lacks the depth of a good travel book (like Fen Montaigne's "Reeling in Russia"). And he can't compare to sporting writers like McGuane, Bodio, Tom McIntyre and Robert F. Jones, all writers whose books reflect fierce joy, love, pain, conflict, and ambiguity.

I understand Prosek is now writing about love. Be very afraid.

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For a painter he's a good writer... 24. August 1999

Von Ein Kunde

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

Let's face it, this is not a very good book. There is a tendency among those who fly fish to readily accept any ink put to paper as elegaic, contemplative and downright superior. Young Mr. Prosek is a fortunate lad, having pulled the wool over the eyes of the academic sachems at Yale to bless his fly fishing vacation in England as the subject of his thesis. He wraps the proposal in the esteemed pages of Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, the most purchased and least read book in the history of print. Prosek forces us to wade through a number of English rivers and some tedious prose, and in this respect he does resemble Walton. His constant comparisons of himself to Walton tend to bog down his writing. He ruminates on how he is standing in the same water that Walton once stood, the worst kind of conceit. You don't even stand in the same river yourself when you happen to be standing in one! The only redeeming feature of this volume is that it is beautiful book, with Prosek's watercolors generously peppered throughout. He is a gifted painter and his first book is one of my favorites. This volume, however, has more of the red herring about it than the noble trout. I admire a good con job, I just hate it when it's pulled on me.

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I really look forward to reading this book 13. Mai 1999

Von Herman Prager, PhD

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

Having read Prosek's other two books (and having thoroughly enjoyed them, and given copies as gifts), I really look forward to reading this one - long anticipated. This young man has unusual talents, and (at least as of a couple of years ago) possesses another rare quality today - humility and politeness.

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