I only read the section that contained his newspaper and magazine writings on fishing, not the sections that took excerpts from his books, so the 3 star rating is based on just a small part of the book. ( )

This is an enjoyable collection of Hemingway's many descriptions and depictions and also his knowledge of fishing. Although many of the passages are from Hemingway novels and novella I have already completed, the Nick Adams and various Esquire, Vogue and Holiday magazine articles dating from the 1930s through to the 1950s are well worth having in one collection. I was particular enthralled by the Esquire article where Hemingway outlines the story of the Old Man and the Sea, back in 1936. It makes sense of his theory that the best writing is based on truth but it is completely made-up. Regardless, this book has inspired me to go fishing more often, and I have decided to learn how to fly-fish at the next opportunity. ( )

Even for a Hemingway fanatic like myself who already has the primary sources, this anthology collection of stories, articles and novel excerpts was an enjoyable read.

It places the writing in roughly chronological order with the fishing sketches from the late Paris memoir "A Moveable Feast" becoming part of the first section with the short stories from the early years that relate to fresh water fishing. The Star & Esquire articles in the middle provide a transition from rivers & lakes to deep-sea fishing. The 3rd and final part provides excerpts from the late novels.

There are many reasons to enjoy this collection as separate works from the source material. The masterpiece 2-part short story "Big Two-Hearted River" is a pleasure to read at any time. Being able to read the Irati River passage excerpted from "The Sun Also Rises" emphasizes its joyous nature even more than when it is the respite in the middle of the love & death dance of the novel. Having the several-hour struggle by middle son "David" (a roman-a-clef stand-in for real son Patrick) with a gigantic marlin excerpted from "Islands in the Stream" rescues the best passage of that otherwise relatively weak novel. 32 pages of photographs greatly adds to the atmosphere.

Sadly, in what is packaged as a deluxe edition, there were still typos in something as often printed as "The Old Man and the Sea" e.g. on page 234. So points off for that. ( )