If Fish Could Scream

In essays sometimes controversial, sometimes reflective, all fascinating, Paul Schullery ruminates on the evolution of fly fishing.

Provocative essays on real-world ethical questions from the world's most influential philosopher Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, Rethinking Life and Death, and The Life You Can Save, he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics. Now, in Ethics in the Real World, Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words. In this book of brief essays, he applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalized, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and what is the value of the pale blue dot that is our planet. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, like Singer’s thoughts on one of his favorite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast. Now with a new afterword by the author, this provocative and original book will challenge—and possibly change—your beliefs about many real-world ethical questions.

‘This book will save lives—human and animals.’ Victoria Thompson is a passionate advocate for the protection of animals from great harm. She movingly describes our appalling failures in this regard and praises those who press for the enlightened awareness and humane treatment of animals. She believes profoundly that we must not continue to think of animals as just resources to exploit—for animals too have a right to live naturally. And she gives us solutions for a kinder world. ‘Victoria’s book is a real ground-breaker and may well become the new bible for those seeking to save our fellow species from immense suffering and even extinction.’ Irina Dunn

A Fish Come True celebrates the enduring joys, mysteries, and miseries of fishing through a series of “what-if” stories: What if someone discovered a fly that worked on every cast? What if we could fish anywhere, any time in the distant past? What if we could explore the fishing on a different planet? What if our sport’s leading thinkers suddenly decided that an infamous trash fish was really cool and a great sporting trophy after all? A Fish Come True answers these and other engaging questions in stories full of sympathy, surprises, good humor, and—most important of all—hope. In this remarkable array of stories, a tour de force of literary styles ranging from unadorned tale to historical mystery to faux press release to science-fiction adventure, Schullery honors the angler’s innate and precious need to hope. And in the midst of this lively storytelling he illuminates the rich rewards and deeply satisfying misadventures that arise from the fulfillment of our angling dreams.

"An anthology of fishing anecdotes, well-researched articles, and dreamlike musings about being a fisherman and living the fishing life"--Provided by publisher.

Recreational or sports fishing is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide and in many countries represents an important social and cultural activity. In some regions, it also contributes significant income to tourism and tackle businesses. In addition to its importance from a social and economic standpoint, the impact of recreational fishing on the environment and on food webs can often be substantial. This important book represents the major output from the 4th World Recreational Fishing Conference held in Norway in June 2005. The conference focused on several topics and targeted all stakeholders in the recreational fishing sector, including researchers, managers, NGO representatives and businesses. This book reflects that diversity, encompassing a variety of approaches within its carefully selected and fully peer-reviewed chapters. Global Challenges in Recreational Fisheries is an essential purchase for fisheries managers, multidisciplinary fisheries scientists, marine and freshwater biologists, ecologists and environmental scientists. The book is highly relevant for graduate university courses in fisheries management and fisheries sciences. Libraries in all universities, government fish and wildlife agencies and research establishments where these subjects are studied and taught will need copies of this important publication.

This marvelous collection features stories from some of America’s finest and most respected writers about one of the world’s most solitary and satisfying sports: fly fishing. For the first time, the stories of thirty-one acclaimed writers including Kim Barnes, Walter Bennett, Russell Chatham, Guy de la Valdène, Robert DeMott, Chris Dombrowski, Ron Ellis, Jim Fergus, Kate Fox, Charles Gaines, Bruce Guernsey, Jim Harrison, Pam Houston, Michael Keaton, Greg Keeler, Sydney Lea, Ted Leeson, Nick Lyons, Craig Mathews, Thomas McGuane, Joseph Monninger, Howard Frank Mosher, Jake Mosher, Craig Nova, Margot Page, Datus Proper, Le Anne Schreiber, Paul Schullery, W. D. Wetherell, and Robert Wrigley come together in one collection. Fly fishers and non-fly fishers alike will recognize in these poignant tales the universal aspects of the appreciation of nature, the necessity of conservation, and the joy and knowledge that come from time spent on fresh and salt water. This is a delightful, handsome volume that captures the allure and spirit of fly fishing and those that love it.

Before Martha Stewart named him her “pet keeper,” and before millions of people turned to him for advice, Marc Morrone had a simple dream: to learn everything he possibly could about every kind of animal and share that knowledge with others. In this lively, colorful memoir, Morrone offers a heartfelt and candid look inside a life well-lived with creatures great and small, from the domestic to the exotic, from frisky ferrets to renegade reptiles to rare parrots. Morrone is an enthusiastic champion of all animals—furred, feathered, or scaled, domestic or wild—and his lifelong adventures take us from his internationally renowned pet store, Parrots of the World, to his home and personal menagerie, covering his media roles on both television and radio. Inspiring, informative, and frequently amazing, Morrone’s story is a memorable tribute to one man’s passion for the world of animals and his enduring commitment to their care. In A Man for All Species, animal expert Marc Morrone weaves thrilling, inspiring, strange, and often hilarious experiences with practical advice gleaned over his forty-year career, revealing a world of adventure and anguish, humor and heart, that every pet owner and animal lover will recognize.