Well, when I decided I wanted to read this book, I assumed it was a nonfiction book ABOUT fishing BY Hemingway. As I think Hemingway's nonfiction is debatably more fun to read than alot of his fiction, that sounded interesting; I was a little disappointed, when I started reading, to find that it was an anthology of writings by him that mention fishing. However, as the misunderstanding is entirely mine, and it's hardly the editors' fault that Hemingway never actually wrote that other book, it's hardly worth a star deduction. After all, the product they put out instead is still a whole lot of damn fun. The first part, consisting of short stories and excerpts, is okay if not perfect (way too many Nick Adams stories right in a row for my taste, and some of the stories seem to have been included simply because at some point a character mentions fishing or thinks about fishing or happens to be in the middle of fishing at some brief point in the course of a story that's actually about something completely unrelated), but the second part, consisting of magazine articles, MAKES the book: unless it turns out Hemingway's estate's been holding out on us, it's the closest I'm going to get to that Hemingway version of 'The Compleat Angler' I was talking about (and, unlike the short stories, isn't already published in fifty other readily-available collections). It's Hemingway at his gritty, snarky, grumpy, conversational, avuncular, funny storytelling best, and more personal than most of his fiction because we know that the first-person narrator is HIM, and not some character whose exact autobiographical status is open for debate. The rest of the book consists of longer excerpts that are well worth it. I remembered the fishing trip in 'Islands in the Stream' being good, but I'd forgotten HOW good; and, as far as I'm concerned, they could have just reprinted all of the goddamn 'Old Man and the Sea.' If you go in knowing what you're getting into, and you like Hemingway, then go right ahead: enjoy. And let me know if you get the same weird cravings for trout I've been dealing with.

I love fishing and Hemingway so this book is a dream.

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 written during the early Paris years that relate to fresh water fishing. The Star & Esquire newspaper and magazine 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 including The Garden of Eden, Islands in the Stream and The Old Man and the Sea.

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 add 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. <"Come on, fish," he sid. But the fish did not come.> on page 234. So points off for that.

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.

Got old after a while

Finished.

Hemingway on Fishing. Enough said. LOL

My favorite selections - obviously: Big Two-Hearted River, and excerpts from Islands in the Stream and The Old Man and the Sea.

So good. If I could converse with my dead literary heroes, Papa would be on the short list.

It was Ok. I'm not sure what I was searching for trying this out. But I didn't connect much with the stories as excerpts and didn't find an overall deeper vibe beyond just some stories about fishing. I don't think that's a Hemingway problem, so much as a me looking for something deeper that this was never trying to be.

From stories of young Nick Adams fishing the rivers of Michigan to a novella about an old fisherman named Santiago fighting off the sharks in an attempt to save his catch, fishing permeates Ernest Hemingway’s writing. In “Big Two Hearted River,” Nick fished near a logged over forest and a burned town, and the narrative established Hemingway’s career as a master of the short story. In The Old Man and the Sea, he revealed the depth of his craft and received a Pulitzer Prize and a Nobel Prize as stamps of approval from the larger society.

The posthumous book Hemingway on Fishing is a collection of some of his best writing on the subject. It includes short stories, journalistic pieces, and excerpts from books. The forward by Jack Hemingway, author of The Misadventures of a Fly Fisherman, reveals a love of fishing shared by father and son. The introduction by Nick Lyons, who edited the volume, gives a more detailed account of fishing as intertwined in Hemingway’s life, his writing, and even his relationship with his family.

The first section of the book is all about fresh water. It begins with four short stories about trout fishing, including the iconic “Big Two Hearted River,” which is, on the surface, just about fishing. The logged woods and burned town suggest deeper issues in the protagonist’s psyche.
Another short work, “Now I Lay Me,” is about a man in a hospital, or possibly a prison, who avoids sleep, and perhaps the accompanying dreams, by consciously remembering every stream he has ever fished. The story hints at Hemingway’s lifelong may have been inspired by knowledge of Jack Hemingway’s own experience as a Prisoner of War, waiting to be liberated by allied forces as they moved through Nazi Germany.

Most notable of the book excerpts is one from The Sun Also Rises, in which the tragic hero gets a respite from the drama of Lady Brit and his other friends by fishing for trout in Spain. The editor also included book excerpts drawn from A Movable Fest and The Green Hills of Africa.

The center section reveals the lesser known Hemingway, the journalist who wrote feature articles for periodicals ranging from the Toronto Star to Vogue, Esquire, and Look. The articles report on opportunities and reveal the finer points of fishing for trout in Wyoming, Canada, and various European locations. Articles devoted to salt water fishing report on tuna fishing off Spain, and marlin fishing in the Gulf Stream, and off the coast of Peru. The story “On the Blue Water: A Gulf Stream Letter,” includes a report of fishermen who rescued an old man in a skiff far from land with the head and front part of a great marlin lashed to his skiff. The remains of the catch weighed 800 pounds. This gem surely inspired his prize winning novella, The Old Man and the Sea.

Section three includes salt water fishing battles of epic proportion excerpted from The Garden of Eden, Islands in the Stream, and The Old Man and the Sea. The first two are drawn from posthumous works, edited and prepared for publication by members of Hemingway’s family.
The fisherman in Islands in the Stream is a boy on the verge of manhood, obviously modeled after one of Hemingway’s own sons. In fact, the cast of characters is drawn from the family and the fishing friends of Hemingway’s days in Havana.

These stories remind us of heroic struggles fought well and fought hard. Some end in victories while others conclude with great loss. All of us have of course experienced victories and losses. We fight and endure as we celebrate victories and recover from defeats. We hope to rise victorious like the Phoenix, above our circumstances. The nonfiction works are strictly about fishing, but in the end, the fictional works are not so much about fishing as they are about struggle and the triumph of the human spirit.

“It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers.”

Not many do or can write about the outdoors the way he did.

Masse fint om fisking. Blir ny fiskestang no :))

Great introduction to Hemmingway. A must read if you are remotely interested in fishing or Hemmingway.