I wonderful book detailing some lesser known and extinct trout strains, as well as most of the "common" trout in North Amrica. Beautiful drawings of the various trout represented.

I first saw this book while on vacation in Montana. I thought the pictures were just beautiful. When I got back home I bought the book so that I could have many of the pictures framed for our trout themed bedroom at our lake cabin.

After reading the reviews on this one I was just giddy with anticipation when it arrived. Any book on fish or fishing is a good one, and this one promised to be very good.I don't read new books front to back - I browse at first, and flipped through "Trout", very impressed with the number of species and the marvellous illustrations. Then I went to Brook Trout - the fish of my youth, and still the one nearest and dearest my heart. Very good illustration and text.I then went to the front and started through, and as fate would have it the Arctic Char was first up. That's when I started to worry. You see, I live in the Canadian Arctic, and have seen lots of Arctic Char - literally tens of thousands. I've studied them, fished them, eaten them, read about them, and learned about them. I am no "expert", but I know a few things.Th fact of the matter is that from reading the text accompanying the illustration of the Arctic Charr, it is obvious that Prosek knows little of them. For example, he writes, "Eskimos cut a hole in a lake through ten feet of ice, fishing with a piece of seal meat on an ivory hook." Do tell. It gets better with, "In summer when the rivers run free, they catch them in nets made of Musk-ox or caribou sinew." Really. That stuff would have been half truths two centuries ago - today it is just plain wrong.Those lines are tourist fiction reminiscent of the hogwash written by the early arctic explorers who, after a trip up north, could return home and write any mix of truth and fiction they wanted - because nobody knew any better.That's my problem with the book. He knows little of Arctic Char, but proceeded anyway to write an inaccurate text - without the qualifier - "by the way I don't really know this, somebody told me and I didn't have time to check it out". Thinking what? Nobody would notice?It's the other species in the book that worry me now - the odd, rare, and primarily western ones I have not had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with. Is that stuff accurate?Still a great and very enjoyable book, and I recommend it to anyone who loves (okay, likes) trout. Enjoy the illustrations - just don't count on the information without checking it out.

We love it as a coffee table book to open up when guests are over or on our own time. Love the colors and size!

i previously left a review that stated one of the books came without a dustcover. It was pictured with one so I failed to see that the description said it didn't have one. My apologies for the oversight. It came packaged very tightly and protected well.