Book Review: “A life of letters and rivers”

Long ago, when I was a young man. My father said to me “Norman you like to write stories” and I said yes I do. Then he said someday, when you are ready, you might tell our family story. Only then will you understand what happened and why.

Those words changed fly fishing more than any words in history. Simply because the movie “A river runs through it” exposed the world to the universe of fly fishing and rivers. Unfortunately the movie only gave the world a brief snapshot into the life of Norman Maclean. The book “A life of letters and rivers” takes a much deeper dive into the life and times of one of our greatest storytellers.

The book examines the relationship between his life in academia and the connection to Montana. Those pages give the reader a unique view into the man himself. It opens a view to the struggle between life and his ability to eloquently write about that life. Most readers already know about the travesty of his brother’s death, and its impact on the Maclean family. Few know about his emotional struggle while writing his book “young men and fire”  which was primarily about the Mann Gulch fire, which killed 13 smoke jumpers in 1949. 

Some may say the book delves too deep into his life in academia; however, his time in Chicago is one of the cornerstones that made Maclean who he was.. Rebecca McCarthy did a fabulous job of shedding some light onto the life of Norman Maclean. Through her book she was able to connect the Mountain man, logger, and forest service worker, which at the time included firefighting duties,  to the world class author and teacher. I would give the book a 4.8 out of 5.