Tom Fort

A tricky one to review. It's very well-written and an enjoyable read (in an often calming, cheerfully banal sort of way). The story of Johannes Schmidt in particular is fascinating and well-told.

My issue was with the writer's starting approach and biases therefore. He is fundamentally an angler, not a scientist or conservationist. He expends many words on tedious kit talk, the taste of the eel, and taking about other anglers in a sort of myth-building breathy way: most of whom he idolises as free-fighting renegades against a modern system of quotas, licenses, and environmental busybodyism.

But the fundamental issues are: 1. The eel is critically endangered. 2. Their decline affects and is affected by worldwide ecosystems. 3. Environmental and fishery agencies have policies in place to address this issue, and some are working, some are not. In comparison to this, some Boomer-generation white men who like to fish in their spare time and find their local Fisheries Officer annoying is very uninteresting.… (más)

A gentle and engaging read as Fort examines the sights, history, and story of one of England’s most traveled roads. Following it on its westward journey from the outskirts of London to the West Country it provoked smiles of recognition, some good memories (especially when it reached the Wiltshire an Somerset chapters - as I drove many of those roads on a regular basis at one time), as well as quite a few moments of “I didn’t know that.” If the book has a flaw is that there is too much focus on getting to, and arriving at, Stonehenge and not enough on some of the lesser known history. I could also have done with less of the politics of road building and the coming and going of various transport ministers, and more about the people he encountered on the road. But any book that leaves you feeling nostalgic for breakfast at a Little Chef is definitely hitting the right notes.… (más)