A River Runs Through It, and Other Stories

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University of Chicago Press, 1976 - Brothers - 217 pages
From its first magnificent sentence, "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing", to the last, "I am haunted by waters", A River Runs Through It is an American classic.

Based on Norman Maclean's childhood experiences, the title novella has established itself as one of the most moving stories of our time; it captivates readers with vivid descriptions of life along Montana's Big Blackfoot River and its near magical blend of fly fishing with the troubling affections of the heart.

The paperback edition is now available with an evocative new cover by acclaimed Montana painter Russell Chatham.

"A masterpiece. . . . This is more than stunning fiction: It is a lyric record of a time and a life, shining with Maclean's special gift for calling the reader's attention to arts of all kinds—the arts that work in nature, in personality, in social intercourse, in fly-fishing."—Kenneth M. Pierce, Village Voice

Norman Maclean (1902-90), woodsman, scholar, teacher, and storyteller, grew up in the Western Rocky Mountains of Montana and worked for many years in logging camps and for the United States Forestry Service before beginning his academic career. He retired from the University of Chicago in 1973.

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About the author (1976)

Norman Maclean was born in Clarinda, Iowa on December 23, 1902. He worked for the United States Forest Service before he graduated from Dartmouth in 1924, where he eventually became an instructor. He received his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1940, where he also became an instructor and received three Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Maclean was the Dean of Students and Director of the Institute on Military Studies at the University of Chicago, where he co-authored the Manual of Instruction in Military Maps and Aerial Photographs. He was also the William Rainey Harper Professor of English at the University of Chicago. Maclean authored A River Runs Through It, a fictionalized account of the relationship with his brother and father and Young Men and Fire, the story of the forest fires that ravaged the Montana forestland in 1949. Norman Maclean died in Chicago on August 2, 1990.

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