Rating: 
Summary: Glimpse into today?s rural Russia
Review: This book is a travel journal that takes us through the far corners of rural Russia, from Murmansk to Kamchatka. Montaigne's fly-fishing hobby takes him well off the beaten path, to explore the wilds of the backwoods and streams. Along the way, of course, he must pass through small towns and stay with friends and acquaintances in tiny villages. Most of the text is a very vivid, journalistic description of conditions in small town Russia and Siberia today, almost 10 years after the fall of Communism. His analyses of conditions on the ground are comparable to those of other travel-journalists, such as Robert Kaplan. However, he visits places that are unknown for even people like Kaplan, since he avoids the big cities altogether. What struck me while reading this book was how much backwoods Russia is a poor, developing country, with no running water or functioning government services. This makes aspects of Montaigne's travel journal quite comparable to those of writers visiting Nepal or India. Yet, one rarely reads of travel adventures in a European Third World, making this book very unique. All of the prose is not about people and their problems, however, since this is after all, a fishing trip. Montaigne does an admirable job of describing his efforts at fly fishing. Through reading this book, I began to get an inkling for the first time of what the sport of fly fishing is all about. I'm much more interested in culture and travel than fishing, but Montaigne's fishing episodes were written well enough to hold my interest. On the other hand, serious fly fishing enthusiasts may be looking for more about fish than this book provides.
Rating:
Summary: Glimpse into today¿s rural Russia
Review: This book is a travel journal that takes us through the far corners of rural Russia, from Murmansk to Kamchatka. Montaigne's fly-fishing hobby takes him well off the beaten path, to explore the wilds of the backwoods and streams. Along the way, of course, he must pass through small towns and stay with friends and acquaintances in tiny villages. Most of the text is a very vivid, journalistic description of conditions in small town Russia and Siberia today, almost 10 years after the fall of Communism. His analyses of conditions on the ground are comparable to those of other travel-journalists, such as Robert Kaplan. However, he visits places that are unknown for even people like Kaplan, since he avoids the big cities altogether. What struck me while reading this book was how much backwoods Russia is a poor, developing country, with no running water or functioning government services. This makes aspects of Montaigne's travel journal quite comparable to those of writers visiting Nepal or India. Yet, one rarely reads of travel adventures in a European Third World, making this book very unique. All of the prose is not about people and their problems, however, since this is after all, a fishing trip. Montaigne does an admirable job of describing his efforts at fly fishing. Through reading this book, I began to get an inkling for the first time of what the sport of fly fishing is all about. I'm much more interested in culture and travel than fishing, but Montaigne's fishing episodes were written well enough to hold my interest. On the other hand, serious fly fishing enthusiasts may be looking for more about fish than this book provides.
Rating:
Summary: Reeling is a triple pun: What ails Russia today- Read it!
Review: This is not a fishing book. It is a serious study of modern day Russia, warts and all. It is an introspective study through a 7000 mile fishing journey of the Russian people and their attitudes to their govenrment, to their lives and to their destiny. It is a journey through the frightening past as well the terrifying unknown future. One should not read the newspapers these days without fully understanding the Russian people found in this book and the political paralysis that is their government..
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