The Alaska Chronicles: An Unwashed View of Life, Work, and Fly Fishing
Posted by admin on Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Product Description
On September 20, 2007, Miles Nolte posted the final installment of his summer job memoir on The Drake magazine’s Internet message board. For seventeen weeks, Nolte had used his laptop and a satellite Internet connection to transmit his semi-daily account of what it’s really like to be a fly fishing guide on a remote Alaskan river. Sitting in his tent above a river packed with migrating salmon and gluttonous trout, he wrote about anglers that he enjoyed guiding and … More >>
The Alaska Chronicles: An Unwashed View of Life, Work, and Fly Fishing
Filed in Fly Fishing Flies | 4 responses so far
Dan T.on 27 Nov 2009 at 1:32 am 1This is a great read and a nice diversion from the stodgy and stoic realm of traditional fly fishing literature. Miles Nolte is an accomplished storyteller with a unique ability to describe time and place without superfluous prose. One of the best books I’ve read in years. BUY IT!
Rating: 5 / 5
richie the pelicanon 27 Nov 2009 at 4:17 am 2OK, so after all the banter back and forth in the fly fishing community, I finally got my copy of Alaska Chronicles.
Good News – It is absolutely fantastic. True grit narrative of being a guide in AK. Miles Nolte does an awesome job of taking you there (even if you’ve never been). Funny, painful and genuine.
Bad News – I stayed up too late reading it and am now exhausted. There are not (yet) any other Miles books for me to pick up once I finish this. I am now twitching like a crackhead to get on the water.
Of course I knew going into it that would at least really like this book because of the subject matter and adventure of the entire thing.
What is so freakin’ great about this book is that it is so real, so funny and so very human. While it is completely entrenched in the blood, sweat, tears (and other bodily fluids that will remain unnamed here) of the fishing guide life, it also completely transcends to anyone who has to deal with clients. The chapter on the “Pinner” was especially poignant. But, the best surprise has been the first-time author’s genuine writing talent. Not only does he paint a very realistic picture, but it is also strewn with the thoughts, emotions, ups and downs that we all go through. That is what makes this such a killer read… even for those of you out there that don’t even fish.
My wife is officially sick of me keeping the bedside lamp on til the wee hours. She is glad Mr. Nolte doesn’t yet have other books. I, however, am not.
I might just start drinking my canned beer at “tent temp”, too.
Rating: 5 / 5
Unknownon 27 Nov 2009 at 6:57 am 3This is hands down one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. His candor and use of language is refreshing as well as insightful. I would love nothing more than to read more outstanding written works by Mr. Nolte.
Rating: 4 / 5
Sally Vanderbinkon 27 Nov 2009 at 8:06 am 4Miles Nolte has an uncanny ability to make characters come alive and thus captivate you as the audience. Every single person you encounter in the Alaska Chronicles somehow makes you think of someone you have met or known before, even if you wish you hadn’t. I found myself unable to put the book down. And this is despite the fact that I have literally fished maybe 10 times in my entire life. And when I say fished, I actually mean holding a snoopy fishing pole with a worm on the end that was literally dropped into the water rather than cast in any recognizable sense of the word. You don’t need to know a thing about fishing to enjoy this story. On the other hand, if you do know anything about guiding, fishing, or Alaska, my guess is that Mr. Nolte’s descriptions and characterizations will ring true with you and it will cause you to appreciate these stories all the more. More than anything else though, the book is full of wit and charm. The book is laugh out loud funny at times and you wonder how someone can get himself into these precarious situations. You might almost question them but there is a genuine honesty about the writing, so that you don’t. Mr. Nolte’s voice is clear and I felt myself wishing the book were not done when it was. I anxiously look forward to his next literary endeavor on whatever subject it may be about.
Rating: 5 / 5