Eleven must-have books
Throughout American history, written works ranging from Common Sense to The Jungle have inspired rebellion, social movements and renaissance. In the same way, books have helped motivate conservationists to protect our wild places for future generations of anglers and sportsmen and women.
In the fall 2010 issue of Trout, we put together a short review of the top eleven books we believe every coldwater conservationist should have on their shelf.
Last Child in the Woods is just one of the great books we featured. It discusses the importance of getting the next generation of conservationists out there learning about nature. The book even spurred TU to create its Stream Explorers youth membership.
Make sure you take a look and see what your collection is missing. If there is a book that isn't featured on our list that you feel is an essential read let us know in the comment section.
Comments
Needless to say, selecting the 11 books that we featured in the fall issue of the magazine was no easy task. There are many other books out there that could have potentially made the list. Here are two brought to my attention by our readers:
M.R. Montgomery's "Many Rivers to Cross: Of Good Running Water, Native Trout and the Remains of Wilderness." Publishers Weekly describes this book as an “engaging narrative not just for those who fish but any reader interested in wilderness.” A writer for the Boston Globe and avid fly fisherman, Montgomery traveled to the West seeking pristine streams and native cutthroat trout. His journeys took him from Arizona to Montana, up the Missouri, down the Columbia, across the Colorado and the Rio Grande, into the Great Basin.
"Streams: Their Ecology and Life" by Colbert Cushing and J. David Allan. Published in 2001 by Academic Press, this book is designed for naturalists, anglers, conservationists and other like-minded folk. Attractive and easy to read, it is a book that tells the reader how rivers and their essential life systems work. Former TU President Charles Gauvin describes the book as “a comprehensive volume that covers all the basics of stream ecology and would serve as a useful reference for both professional and lay audiences.”