The Revenge of the Fishgod : Angling Adventures Around the World Book

Fishing is not just fishing, especially when you try your luck in Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, India, and Zimbabwe as well as the usual places. And if you worked for the World Health Organization, as has Dr. von Essen, you could seize the opportunity to land many strange fish in exotic locations. From his broad perspective as naturalist, conservationist, philosopher, and gourmet as well as physician, the author has been able to catch and convey the excitement of the total angling adventure - something of the geology of each locale, its flora, fauna, people, customs - and the special quality of mind to which fishing these far flung places gives rise. Out of a lifetime of camping and fishing as both hunter and nature lover, Dr. von Essen describes his relationship with the fish kingdom. Once, nearly dying from the sting of a fish, he was humbled by his prey. Still fascinated by his experience, he speaks with respect for the deity that monitors the behavior of anglers. "The Fishgod," he writes, "protects the honor of all fish. At least that is my belief." And it is this theme that underlies the stories he tells of his adventures around the world.