James W. White 
Gilgamesh to Gierach [PDF ebook] 
Four Thousand Years of Fishing, Fish, and Water Stories

Fish have figured profoundly in both human history and imagination for millennia. They are both gifts of the sea, drawing civilizations to the water, and terrors of the deep, holding revelations of the unconscious and the unknown. Today, fly fishing attracts millions looking to escape modern life and reconnect with some primal, meditative instinct to partake in nature’s offerings.

Gilgamesh to Gierach is a collection of three hundred fishing, water, and fish tales spanning four millennia and numerous genres. More than a historical overview, White has distilled this immense topic into threads that flow through time, from legends and literature to nursery rhymes, poems, and humorous fish tales. Anglers will discover fly fishing’s ancient roots and spiritual seekers the fish’s religious and existential implications. Among the included voices are Homer, St. John, Ovid, Brendan the Navigator, Dame Juliana Berners, Shakespeare, Walton, Melville, Yeats, Thoreau, Hemingway, Rodrick Haig-Brown, and Norman Maclean. Whether told in full or, more often, condensed, these stories will leave the reader with a strong sense of the fish’s significance to many of the world’s greatest thinkers. Brimming with jokes, histories, simple folk tales, and great tragedies, this impressive work offers something for everyone.

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James W. White’s business card reads, ‘Minister, Author, and Fly-Fishing Guide.’ He was Senior Minister of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Colorado Springs and holds degrees from Oklahoma University, Yale Divinity School, Pacific School of Religion, and the University of Denver (Ph D). He is the author of Christianity 101: Tracing Basic Beliefs and Round Boys Great Adventures: Fish-a-logues from Rocky Mountain Trout Waters. He lives with his wife Patti and enjoys taking Gilda, their golden retriever, on long walks and short fishing trips.