edited by Ted Leeson
Lyons & Burford Publishers, 1996
Comments: There seems to be a well established tradition of anthologies in fishing literature. This may have to do with the fact that most fishing stories are essentially short form to begin with, so assembling collections of them is a natural outcome. Many themes can be used to tie an anthology together, but the best of them focus on stories from the writing luminaries of the genre. This book excels in that regard.
The Gift of Trout was produced by the highly-regarded Lyons & Burford publishers as a fundraising vehicle for the conservation organization Trout Unlimited. It contains 19 stories from a list of authors that reads like a Who's Who of great fly fishing writers. Anyone familiar fly fishing literature will recognize these names. I say fly fishing because all of the stories naturally focus on trout and trout fishing as the subject, and that almost universally implies the use of fly tackle. The book is edited by the writer of another of my favorite fly fishing books previously reviewed here, The Habit of Rivers, by Ted Leeson. The source material is from a group of such adept writers that I doubt it required much conventional editing, but the selection of material and supporting text by Leeson are well done, to say the least.
As a collector of this genre I've encountered many anthologies over the years, though I've been very selective in acquiring many. But this one is certainly worthy of any fishing collection. Though no longer in print, by all means locate a used copy if your interests run to using the dry fly.
Copy Notes: Hardcover, second printing
