Death, Taxes, and Leaky Waders: A John Gierach Fly-Fishing Treasury

Simon & Schuster, 2001. Trade paperback. Very Good. Wolff, Glenn. Death, Taxes, and Leaky Waders collects forty of John Gierach's finest essays on fishing from six of his books. Like all his writing, these essays are seasoned by a keen sense of observation and a deep knowledge and love of fishing lore, leavened by a wonderfully wry sense of humor. Gierach often begins with an observation that soon leads to something below the surface, which he finds and successfully lands. As Gierach says, writing is a lot like fishing. This is the first anthology of John Gierach's work, a collection that is sure to delight both die-hard fans and new readers alike. To enter Gierach's world is to experience the daily wonder, challenge, and occasional absurdity of the fishing life from such rituals as the preparation of camp coffee (for best results, serve in a tin cup) to the random, revelatory surprises, such as the flashing beauty of a grayling leaping out of the water. Whether he's catching fish or musing on the ones that got away, Gierach is always entertaining and enlightening, writing with his own inimitable blend of grace and style, passion and wit. Gierach's work has appeared in Gray's Sporting Journal, Field & Stream, where he is a contributing author, and Fly, Rod, and Reel, where he is an editor at large. He also writes columns for the Longmont Daily Times-Call out of Longmont, Colorado, the monthly Redstone Review, and a monthly column for The New York Times. Gierach was the 1994 recipient of the US Federation of Fly Fishers Roderick Haig-Brown Award. The award recognizes a fly fishing author whose work embodies the philosophy and spirit of Roderick Haig-Brown, particularly a respect for the ethics and traditions of fly fishing and an understanding of rivers, the inhabitants and their environments.