Published Jun 30. 2004 - 19 years ago
Updated or edited Sep 13. 2015

Book review: Fishing Online: 1,000 Best Websites

Info
Author: 
Craig Buddo
Publisher: 
Stoeger Publishing
Publishing year: 
2004
ISBN: 
0-88317-251-8
Pages: 
416
Price: 
22.95
US$
Reviewed by: 

If you had asked me a while back, I'd have answered that a book on web sites is a stillborn idea. End of story. Print stuff on web sites is bound to be outdated before the ink is dry, and web site reviews belong on the web, where updating can be done quickly.

That was before I saw Craig Buddo's book "Fishing Online: 1,000 Best Websites". This book has actually convinced me that the idea might not be that bad anyway.

I have seen books on web sites before, and back in the infancy of the web books with lists of links were very common. That was before Yahoo!, Alta Vista and Google. None of them ever convinced me.

There are several reasons why this volume does a better job:

  • It has a very good selection of carefully chosen sites - viable and high quality web sites from all over the world
  • Craig Buddo's reviews are extremely thorough and well written
  • The book is on a subject that interests me - narrow and in-depth

    Particularly the two last points combined makes the 400+ pages book a worth-to-own for any angler. I know no online ressource with such insight, avid and merciless sorting and qualified opinions on such a large number of fishing sites. Collecting all this information must have been a huge task, and has produced a book that is more than worth its US$ 23.- price.

    The book is well organised, illustrated with many screen shots (not in color, but close through a two-tone print) and numerous different ways to enter, including geographical and lots of categories like media, tackle and equipment and many others. And the book contains a great index. You will also find a short intro for the non-technical on how to find your own way on the web, use search engines and other relevant subjects. The book is still a book, and lacks the dynamical cross-lining that can be created on the web, but in spite of this it comes very close to what a web site can do.

    The book of course covers a wide variation of sites, and not only on fly fishing. You will also find outdoors sites, sites on boats and engines and indexes of discussion groups and mailing lists.
    Several non-fishing sites are included, but of course all some, which are of interest to an angler.

    I have actually read a lot in this book. I have kept it on my bedside table, and browsed it many times. It it very well worth just reading in, but it certainly serves the reader best as a handbook, placed next to a computer, where you can easily surf to a site that catches your interest.

    And just as a last notice: yes, Buddo does mention GFF - and in very nice terms too - but his book would have scored and earned it's GFF rating of 5 - excellent - no matter what. But I sure would have wondered why we weren't in there...

    You can read Craig's own blog about the book here and buy the book from Stoeger's here (The web sites have been stale for a while). Amazon has the book.


  • Comments

    Martin Joergensen's picture

    jhonbris, Send th...

    jhonbris,

    Send the website? What web site?
    On your account? Which account?
    Without Facebook? Facebook... where?

    Sorry for being a little slow here, but what on earth do you mean?

    Martin

    pls send the website...

    pls send the website on my account without facebook etc

    .

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