Jon Beer writes regular columns for both the Daily Telegraph Weekend section and Trout and Salmon, Britain's leading game fishing magazine. 'There are,' he writes, 'two sorts of book about trout fishing. One sort has titles like How to Catch Very Big Trout. This is the other sort of trout fishing book.' In other words, it's a book about fly-fishing that doesn't take itself too seriously and it will be rapturously welcomed by all those who fish for pleasure rather than for trophies. No matter whether he is experiencing the rigours of a few days' camping in the Scottish hills in the company of a strong-willed Highland pony or exploring the lush chalkstreams of Normandy, Jon Beer is clearly a man who finds fishing fun and can derive amusement, at least in retrospect, from the succession of minor tragedies which are the lot of every angler. He has travelled widely ('Is it possible to buy a ticket to fish here?' is the one phrase he has taken pains to perfect in several languages) and the venues for the pieces in this collection range from Alaska to the Spanish Pyrenees, though most of them are set closer to home in the British Isles. The themes, too, are wide-ranging: there is a fascinating account of the nineteenth-century angler A. Edward Hobbs and his lifelong pursuit of Thames trout ('Hobbs' Leviathans'); tongue-in cheek suggestions for new-fangled inventions which might find a place in the gadget-obsessed angler's bag and some useful hints on where to find fly-tying materials - it had probably escaped most home fly-tyers that they could gather a supply of dubbing by calling in at their local carpet showroom and feigning sufficient interest to pick up a few swatches! The great joy of Jon Beer's writing is that he can convey the full flavour of a day's fishing in a way that enables readers to share his relish for the experience and his pleasure in the people he meets and the places he visits - while passing on some very useful tips in the process, despite his claim that this is not a 'how to' book. This collection will make an ideal Christmas gift for all who love fly fishing and will earn a permanent place on the bedside table of those fortunate enough to receive it.