Dogs That Point, Fish That Bite - (Chapel Hill Book) by Jim Dean (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Jim Dean, longtime editor of Wildlife in North Carolina, offers his personal observations on the pleasures and frustrations of hunting, fishing, camping, and other outdoor pursuits. Dogs That Point, Fish That Bite draws together fifty of the best columns that Dean has written for the magazine over the last seventeen years. The witty, sometimes poignant pieces are arranged into a loose chronicle of the sporting year, with a generous allowance for digression: the first is set in April, on the opening day of trout season, and the last tells of a New Year's Day spent alone in a mountain cabin.

At first glance, hunting and fishing are the focus of most of the columns. Often, however, Dean is after bigger game. A crab that escapes the pot leads him to reflect on the capricious nature of life. The restoration of a cabin at the old family farm evokes memories of family and simpler times. And a May panfishing trip takes on the quality of ritual, performed by two old friends. The consistent theme uniting all the essays is the celebration of wild places and rural traditions that have become endangered in our modern world.

Review Quotes

"Dogs That Point, Fish That Bite . . . is a real hoot -- the poignant, witty, bittersweet, sometimes outrageous observations of a 17-year editor of Wildlife in North Carolina magazine. . . . Wonderful, wonderful reading." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Dean is a master of both observation and inference. He often moves from specific moments to larger musings, and can construct a compelling meditation out of a single crab's release from an overcrowded pot." -- Fly Rod & Reel

"Earthy, intimate, brilliant, and always wise, these outdoor essays spring from the heart and mind of a replete hunter and fisherman. Jim Dean is among the top few writer-sportsmen in America -- I love this book." -- Nick Lyons, author of Confessions of a Fly-Fishing Addict

"Jim Dean brings you his outdoors with long experience, pleasant sentiment and unforgettable wry humor. His hunting, fishing and camping life may have centered in his beloved North Carolina but his pilgrimages to other fields and waters have spiced his stories with memorable comparisons. His book will last." -- Charles F. Waterman, author of Black Bass and the Fly Rod

"The consistent theme uniting all of these witty and poignant essays is the celebration of wild places and rural traditions." -- Fly Rod & Reel

"They say comparisons are odious, but Jim Dean's gemlike stories remind me of another North Carolina writer, the one who gave us The Old Man and the Boy. Like Mr. Ruark, Jim Dean is a master of the short personal essay that you can read again and again and each time find something new, something true." -- Michael McIntosh

"To refer to Jim Dean as an 'outdoor writer' is to qualify or in some way diminish his writing skills. Dean is quite simply a writer with few equals. His works are filled with wisdom and subtle humor, and his style is both elegant and unpretentious. . . . This wonderful book deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who appreciates great writing." -- Tom Earnhardt, author of Fly Fishing the Tidewaters

"What a delightful book! . . . Anyone interested in fishing or hunting will enjoy the wit and humor that Jim Dean weaves into each of his stories." -- The Pulse

About the Author