Synopses & Reviews
The 1676 fifth edition of this timeless classic is reproduced with stunning nineteenth-century woodcuts and engravings and an Introduction by Howell Raines.
The Compleat Angler is about how to dream, and that is why we love it". -- Howell Raines
Since its first publication in 1653, Izaak Walton's classic celebration of the joys of fishing has captivated anglers and nature lovers with its timeless advice and instruction. Cast in the form of a dialogue between the experienced angler Piscator and his pupil Viator, the book details methods tot catching, eating, and savoring all varieties of freshwater fish found in the lovely English countryside.
Howell Raines, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis, has provided the Introduction and writes. "The book has lasted so long because fishing has a mystery at its heart. The quest for fish mirrors a more ambitious quest, that search for dreaming contentment that kept Walton on the stream well into the last decade of his ninety years".
This unique edition includes reproductions of etchings and woodcuts from the Major edition of 1844.
Synopsis
An immediate success when if was first published in 1653, Walton's classic celebrtion of the joys of fishing continues to captivate anglers and nature lovers with its timeless advice and instruction. Originally cast in the form of a dialogue between an experienced angler named Piscator and his pupil Viator, the book details methods for catching, eating, and savoring all varieties of fish, from the common chub to the lordly salmon. More than an engaging guide to the subtle intricacies of the sport, Walton's reflective treatise is a graceful portrait of rural England that extols the pleasures of country life.
'The Compleat Angler is not about how to fish but about how to be, ' said novelist Thomas McGuane. ' Walton] spoke of an amiable mortality and rightness on the earth that has been envied by his readers for three hundred years.'