Inventing Montana by Ted Leeson

[Skyhorse Publishing] Every summer for two decades, Ted Leeson and a maverick group of close companions have returned to an old ranch house on the benchland overlooking the Madison River. Trout and fly fishing may be at the heart of their ritual return, but their experience goes far beyond fishing. For these men, fishing is more than a hobby: it’s a way of life. Leeson brilliantly contemplates both the human and natural landscape: the fly-anglers’ passionate, ironic, and sometimes hilarious allegiance to what they do; the intriguing Madison Valley and its creatures and flowers; the trout town of Ennis; maps and their revelations; the “green-card” experience of living in a place you aren’t originally from; the nature of leisure. Full of wit, surprise, shrewd observation, and wisdom, this book tells a story about creating a place of temporary liberty, and inhabiting a world fashioned of your best imaginings, where you might, for a time, experience the potency of a place that has s