On the Big Blackfoot

Readings, Interviews and Reflections

By: Norman Maclean

Narrated by: John Maclean, Norman Maclean

Norman Maclean spent his formative years fly fishing on the Big Blackfoot River, the place that inspired the book A River Runs Through It. This moving audio retrospective is a portrait of the river's influence on Maclean's life and on his understanding of the human experience and man's connectedness to nature. Recollections by his son, John, and archival readings by and interviews with Norman Maclean are interwoven into a tapestry of family life; son remembers father, father recalls brother. Set against the gurgling sounds of the Big Blackfoot River, their voices recount a bittersweet love across the generations. It is a story sure to leave the listener, like Maclean, "haunted by waters."Text of A River Runs Through It ©1976 by The University of Chicago Press. Archival recording published by arrangement with Jean Maclean Snyder and John N. Maclean. Narration ©1994 by John N. Maclean. Interviews with Norman Maclean ©1985 and 1992 by National Public Radio®. News reports by NPR's Alex Chadwich and Noah Adams were originally broadcast on National Public Radio's All Things Considered on November 9, 1985 and October 15, 1992 and are used with permission of National Public Radio. ©1995 High Bridge Company. ©2000 HighBridge Company.

Critic reviews

"Wise, witty and wonderful, Maclean spins his tales." (Publishers Weekly)

interesting addition

If you have read/watched/listened to "A River Runs Through It", then this is a great, must have addition. I think they should sell together as a set.

Norman

This is so enlightening especially hearing from Norman and John! It’s nice to have their voices memorialized! 👍🏽🙏

Great book for the lover of life

Takes to the river bank and into the mind of scholar, a lover of god and fish ! This captures the essence of life and fishing!

Pieces of Maclean

A good listen for Norman Maclean fans. Assorted pieces from interviews, etc. Short and sweet.

Wonderful

Norman McLean could write of rivers and fly fishing and life like no one else. A River Runs Through It is one of my favorite books, and this is a beautiful and touching sampling of some of it, interspersed with comments from his son John. Some people may be bothered by the "intermissions", but there are few sounds I love more than that of running water, and I felt it suited this work perfectly.