{"title":"David Coggins","description":"David Coggins is the author of The Optimist and the New York Times bestseller Men and Style. He writes about travel, style, and fishing for numerous publications, including the Financial Times, Esquire, and his newsletter, The Contender. Coggins lives in New York and fishes regularly in the Catskills, Wisconsin, and Montana.","products":[{"product_id":"the-optimist-a-case-for-the-fly-fishing-life-paperback","title":"The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn \"excellent\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) modern tribute to an ageless pastime, and a practical guide to the art, philosophy, and rituals of fly fishing, by an expert, lifelong angler.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Optimist\u003c\/i\u003e, David Coggins makes a case for the skills and sensibility of an enduring sport and shares the secrets, frustrations, and triumphs of the great tradition of fly fishing, which has captivated anglers worldwide. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten in wry, wise, and keenly observed prose, each chapter focuses on a specific place, fish, and skill. Few individuals, for example, have the visual acuity required to catch the nearly invisible bonefish of the Bahamas flats. Or the patience to land the elusive Atlantic salmon, \"the fish of a thousand casts,\" in eastern Canada. Pursuing these challenges, Coggins, \"a confirmed obsessive,\" travels to one fishing paradise after another, including the great rivers of Patagonia, private chalk streams in England, remote ponds in Maine, and New York City's Jamaica Bay. In each setting, he chronicles his fortunes and misfortunes with honesty and humor while meditating on how fishing teaches focus, inner stillness, and a connection to the natural world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePerfect for the novice, the enthusiastic amateur, and the devoted angler alike, \u003ci\u003eThe Optimist \u003c\/i\u003eoffers a practical path to enlightenment while providing \"a rueful, thoughtful, and very funny examination of an elegant obsession\" (Jay McInerney).","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376889790687,"sku":"9781982152512","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/nlUAatAmBt9781982152512.webp?v=1789228874"},{"product_id":"the-believer-a-year-in-the-fly-fishing-life-paperback","title":"The Believer: A Year in the Fly Fishing Life - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe author of the instant fishing classic The Optimist shares new wisdom, humor, and experience in seven extraordinary fly-fishing expeditions--\"an engaging personal journey about finding what you need to find and keeping it in your heart\" (Kirkus Reviews).In The Optimist, David Coggins tackled the techniques of fly-fishing and meditated on its virtues, recounting his triumphs and failures. Now, in The Believer, he deftly mixes travel, local cultures, further fishing challenges (some knee-buckling in their disappointment), and details his own experience as life and love crowd his time to fish. Self-consciously--and self-deprecatingly--Coggins embarks on seven far-flung fishing voyages, away from screens and social media, not answering his phone, and reveling in humanity's undying yearning for a quest, for the rituals and rites of passage that mark transition. For Coggins, these journeys--to Norway, Scotland, Spain, Cuba, and Argentina, as well as road trips to Wyoming, Tennessee, and the Catskills--not only showcase his skill as an angler but also signal the end of his fly-fishing youth. But that doesn't mean that Coggins will sell all his rods and hang up his hat; rather, his relationship with his fly-fishing obsession will evolve--especially if he can catch an elusive salmon or a ferociously strong tarpon or the mercurial permit. The Believer is a humble, humorous call for the journey that is as enriching as the destination, where the search for greater self-awareness leads to patience, observation, and endurance. And, since this is fly-fishing, after all, there's always the possibility of abject failure and leaping, glorious reward. Wry, entertaining, thoughtful, and relatable, The Believer is \"a wonderful example of how well angling can weave us into the world\" (Gray's Sporting Journal) and will hook both anglers and non-anglers alike.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376906895583,"sku":"9781668004692","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/rzxAO7tT6b9781668004692.webp?v=1789228922"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/david-coggins.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}