Book Review - Howell Raines

[CR]

The title of Howell Raines's new book, The One That Got Away, could refer to either the marlin he apparently lost on a fly fishing trip or it could refer to his job as top dog at the New York Times.

Anyone familiar with Raines knows he is a fly fishing nut and travels the world in pursuit of all kinds of fish on the fly. His earlier book, Fly Fishing Through The Midlife Crisis, was a good read and gave decent insight into Raines’s life journey and fishing philosophy.

This new book, however, seems more concerned with offering his side of the Jayson Blair scandal that resulted in both men being fired. As one who works in the media and has many friends at the NY Times, I find this part of the book quite fascinating. I do not know Mr. Raines, but his explanation and lack of taking responsibility is unsettling. Everyone I’ve spoken with at the paper paints a completely different portrait of this man, and it is not pretty.

I also find Raines’s commentary on the state of media in general to be extremely arrogant and liberal-biased. He must be joking when he boldly declares that the New York Times is the most unbiased media outlet in the country, and that the Fox News Channel “makes up news”.

The battle with the marlin that is interwoven throughout this book is purposely presented as epic. However, if it were so important to Raines, the fact that he expresses his disappointment at hooking it while trolling, instead of casting, makes the whole experience anticlimactic.

Overall, the tone of this book is depressing. There’s not much of interest here for fly fishermen, so unless you prefer to read the diatribes of a very arrogant and seemingly depressed individual, I would skip it.