Product Description

When James Prosek was just fifteen, a ranger named Joe Haines caught him fishing without a permit in a stream near Prosek's home in Connecticut. But instead of taking off with his fishing buddy, James put down his rod and surrendered. It was a move that would change his life forever. Expecting a small fine and a lecture, James instead received enough knowledge about fishing and the great outdoors to last a lifetime.

The story of an unlikely friendship, Joe and Me is a book for those who remember the mentor in their life, the one who changed the way they look at the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #736777 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-01
• Released on: 2003-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Amazon.com Review
James Prosek is angling's wunderkind. A recent Yale graduate, he debuted in 1996 at age 20 with the well-received Trout: An Illustrated History, in which his precocity with both words and watercolors were charmingly displayed. Joe and Me is a more personal and complex volume, a memoir of a relationship-in-progress that began five years ago when Prosek was caught poaching on Connecticut's Aspetuck River by warden Joe Haines. What follows is an engaging tale of how much the warden and poacher have to teach each other. Prosek's prose has a few glitches, but he's young and can be forgiven; his watercolors, which run throughout, are a catch in themselves.

From Kirkus Reviews
Sweet, innocent, if not particularly artful, recollections of fishing with a local master. At the age of 15, Prosek (Trout: An Illustrated History, not reviewed) got caught poaching, but he also got a second chance and a lesson in life from the ranger who bagged him: Joe Haines. Prosek was nobody's fool even at that vulnerable age--at least as he remembers it seven years later--but he understood that he had plenty to learn from the seasoned fisherman. Haines sensed that Prosek was a kindred angling spirit, so he brought him to small private ponds and streams, beachside for stripers, to the salmon run at Pulaski, to ice-fishing spots, imparting a notion of how to be an outdoorsman with style. Casting a wider net, Haines took Prosek crabbing, showed him how to butcher a bull, took him to a club to hunt for pheasant, hand-fashioned fishing weights with him. The lessons were not just about secret glory holes, though, but about what it means to be tried-and-true; about generosity, responsibility, humor, curiosity, appreciation; about having a warm heart and doing the right thing. Prosek can be a tad priggish (crude jokes offend him), and the writing displays a callowness that fails to wring from a couple of the narratives the power they harbor; this is particularly evident in a story about fishing a lake from which a drowned boy is being pulled. Much of the book is engaging, though, as Prosek describes for us a lost world of sportsfolk--relaxed, comradely, reflective, perceptive--from which he wisely decides to take his cues. Emanating from the pages is a genuine fondness the young man and his elder have for each other's company. Prosek, now a senior at Yale, may well be on his way to becoming a fine writer of the outdoors. (color paintings by the author, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author
James Prosek is twenty-seven and the author of four books. He is a graduate of Yale and published his first book, Trout, at the age of nineteen while a junior there. He lives in Easton, Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Simply wonderful
A fishing guide friend lent us Joe & Me, which I just finished reading on a cold, rainy March afternoon, lying on the couch with a fire in the fireplace. A perfect way to spend the day, although you'll do equally well under a tree or on a park bench this summer. The simplicity of James' writing evokes "My Old Man and the Sea", to my mind one of Hemingway's best. Prosek's watercolors that illustrate the text are a joy as well, and I am ordering the hardcover to keep by the aforementioned couch. A must for anyone who enjoys a respite from the stress of our modern day lives. I can't wait to read more of Prosek's work.

The study of nature, human and non-human, becoming one
Mr. Prosek's book should lend itself as an inspiration to all of us in the outdoor world. I was lucky enough to have a loving father who showed me the ropes of the outdoors, but if I didn't, I would want Joe Haines. Take it as a message to teach your children someday the majesty of the outdoors.

I was hooked.
JOE AND ME is a remarkable collection of essays. There is a curious satisfaction in reading each chapter, even though no thrilling event or unusual action occurs. It is similar to lying in a hammock on a warm summer afternoon listening to the radio braodast of a baseball game. If you would find that boring, more's the pity for you. James Prosek recounts the strong friendship that can develop between people with similar interests---in this case, fishing. The older man, Joe Haines, is eager to share years of knowledge about nature and how to make practical use of it. The young James has his own competence in thise matters, but is quick to accept the gift to expand that competence. The payoff is mutual. And the reader also shares. Now, maybe just another 15 minutes in the hammock and I'll be ready for something more invigorating