Ep. 092: John Gierach

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Steve Rinella discusses how this book, which came out in mid-eighties, fell into his lap during college years and helped him feel validated about pursuing a lifestyle focused on fishing and outdoor activities rather than material goods.

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Mentioned as John Gierach's first book, published before Trout Bum.

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Discussed in the context of counterculture literature and fishing writing. Rinella and Gierach discuss whether it holds up over time, with Gierach noting Brautigan is 'still funny' though perhaps 'a little thin in retrospect.'

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Mentioned alongside Brautigan's work as part of the counterculture fishing literature discussion.

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Discussed as an example of New Journalism, where writers brought literary techniques into journalism, dropped pretense of objectivity, and became characters in their own stories. Described as 'not a news story about LSD' but 'a little deeper than that.'

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Gierach describes this as a 'seasons of the Angler thing' - a 'fourth season thing' where he went through the seasons, wrote chapters as essays, published most in magazines, then collected them into a book.

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Discussed as a Zane Grey book that Rinella has at home. Grey is described not just as a writer but as an innovator of tackle and equipment, going into great depth describing custom line making for big game fishing.

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Rinella asks if Gierach has read this book about Alaska, noting that McPhee spends a significant portion discussing oil drums as an ever-present thing, which relates to their discussion about the environmental cost of accessing remote places.

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Gierach's newest book being promoted at the end of the interview. Rinella describes it as worthwhile for anyone who likes to fish or 'being alive on Earth.' This is Gierach's 18th or so book, and all are still in print.