David Coggins

The 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.

Today's man may know how to dress with style, but does he know how to behave? Though the rules of civility have changed along with the world, Men and Manners: Essays, Advice and Considerations believes in manners. This book doesn't tell you which fork to use or how to write a thank you note. But it is going to remind you of basic, respectful rules you may have forgotten or have chosen to ignore. Comprised of short essays, shorter interviews, and lists of guidelines for men of all ages, this provides an honest, playful, and humorous look at the conflicted state of manners today. Interviews with fashionable men reveal their hard and fast rules, pet peeves and grievances, personal fiascos, and lingering doubts about etiquette. Subjects that may fluster today's man-such as tipping, toasting, texting, grooming, dating, dressing for air travel, office behavior, and home decor-are explored with the trademark combination of dry wit and self-deprecating attitude that has made David Coggins one of the most well-respected men's style writers today. With humorous illustrations and contributions from modern male style icons, Men and Manners makes the case for being the man who offers the best seat to his companion, who knows when to pick up the tab, and who remembers to do what's right even if it isn't always rewarded.