Gilgamesh to Gierach: Four Thousand Years of Fishing, Fish, and Water Stories - Hardcover

by James W. White (Author), Brian D. McLaren (Foreword by)

Fish have figured profoundly in both human history and imagination for millennia. They are both gifts of the sea, drawing civilizations to the water, and terrors of the deep, holding revelations of the unconscious and the unknown. Today, fly fishing attracts millions looking to escape modern life and reconnect with some primal, meditative instinct to partake in nature's offerings. Gilgamesh to Gierach is a collection of three hundred fishing, water, and fish tales spanning four millennia and numerous genres. More than a historical overview, White has distilled this immense topic into threads that flow through time, from legends and literature to nursery rhymes, poems, and humorous fish tales. Anglers will discover fly fishing's ancient roots and spiritual seekers the fish's religious and existential implications. Among the included voices are Homer, St. John, Ovid, Brendan the Navigator, Dame Juliana Berners, Shakespeare, Walton, Melville, Yeats, Thoreau, Hemingway, Rodrick Haig-Brown, and Norman Maclean. Whether told in full or, more often, condensed, these stories will leave the reader with a strong sense of the fish's significance to many of the world's greatest thinkers. Brimming with jokes, histories, simple folk tales, and great tragedies, this impressive work offers something for everyone.

Author Biography

James W. White is minister emeritus of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Colorado Springs and retired fishing guide for Angler's Covey. He is author of ecclesial history and fishing books, including Brief Christian Histories and Fly-Fishing the Arctic Circle to Tasmania. White and his wife, Patti, live with their golden retriever, Gilda, in a two-story Victorian home.