Home Waters: A Chronicle of Family and a River

by John N. Maclean

Overview

“Beautiful. ... A lyrical companion to his father’s classic, A River Runs through It, chronicling their family’s history and bond with Montana’s Blackfoot River.” —Washington Post

A "poetic" and "captivating" (Publishers Weekly) memoir about the power of place to shape generations, Home Waters is John N. Maclean's remarkable chronicle of his family's century-long love affair with Montana's majestic Blackfoot River, the setting for his father's classic novella, A River Runs through It. Maclean returns annually to the simple family cabin that his grandfather built by hand, still in search of the trout of a lifetime. When he hooks it at last, decades of longing promise to be fulfilled, inspiring John, reporter and author, to finally write the story he was born to tell. 

A book that will resonate with everyone who feels deeply rooted to a landscape, Home Waters is a portrait of a family who claimed a river, from one generation to the next, of how this family came of age in the 20th century and later as they scattered across the country, faced tragedy and success, yet were always drawn back to the waters that bound them together. Here are the true stories behind the beloved characters fictionalized in A River Runs through It, including the Reverend Maclean, the patriarch who introduced the family to fishing; Norman, who balanced a life divided between literature and the tug of the rugged West; and tragic yet luminous Paul (played by Brad Pitt in Robert Redford’s film adaptation), whose mysterious death has haunted the family and led John to investigate his uncle’s murder and reveal new details in these pages.

A universal story about nature, family, and the art of fly fishing, Maclean’s memoir beautifully captures the inextricable ways our personal histories are linked to the places we come from—our home waters. 

Featuring twelve wood engravings by Wesley W. Bates and a map of the Blackfoot River region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062944597
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	318,462
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

JOHN N. MACLEAN is an award-winning author and journalist. He spent thirty years at the Chicago Tribune, most of that time as a Washington correspondent. After leaving the Tribune, Maclean wrote five nonfiction books about wildland fire that are considered a staple of fire literature as well as training material for firefighters. Maclean is the son of Norman Maclean, author of A River Runs Through It. The younger Maclean, an avid fly fisherman, lives in Washington, DC, and at a family cabin in Montana.

Table of Contents

Prologue: On the Big Blackfoot 1

Chapter 1 Two Worlds, One Cabin 9

Chapter 2 Unseen Power 39

Chapter 3 When the Mountains Roared 69

Chapter 4 The River of the Road to the Buffalo 93

Chapter 5 "They were beautiful in life" 117

Chapter 6 "Paul! Paul!" 133

Chapter 7 A Feel for Greatness 159

Chapter 8 Fathers and Sons 183

Chapter 9 Touched by Fire 217

Epilogue: Home Waters 237

Notes and Acknowledgments 243

Index 251

Editorial Reviews

05/10/2021

Maclean (Fire on the Mountain) offers a lyrical love letter to Montana’s Blackfoot River, fishing, and his storied family in this captivating memoir. His father Norman Maclean’s 1976 novella, A River Runs Through It, brought the area worldwide attention and unpacked the murder of Norman’s brother, Paul. With this narrative as an inspiration, Maclean chronicles his relationship with the river, beginning with his ancestors’ move from Scotland to northwestern Montana, where the family built a cabin a century ago. Though Maclean’s job as a journalist forced him to leave Montana in the ’70s, he returned to Blackfoot often. Like his father, he “needed both worlds, a high-powered intellectual life and the life of the woods and rivers.” He shares family stories passed through the generations—such as one about losing a fish in the car of his father’s friend—as well as the “conflicting stories and wild rumors” around his enigmatic uncle Paul, who some believed was murdered because of gambling debts. Fans of his father’s novella will relish the details that served as its inspiration and are here rendered in Maclean’s sharp yet poetic prose as tribute to a “pantheon of notable family fishers.” This richly observed narrative is sure to reel readers in. Agent: Jennifer Lyons, Jennifer Lyons Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

A lyrical companion to his father’s classic, chronicling their family’s history and bond with Montana’s Blackfoot River. His storytelling—from the fishing with his dad to the life and death of his uncle Paul—is reliable, elegant and charming. … Spectacularly vivid and personal. … While Maclean’s journalistic prose is sharp and concise, it can also be beautiful.

Washington Post

"Graceful and compelling. ... Greatly expands what we might already know about Montana, fly fishing and the meaning of family. ... This is a great book."

Chicago Tribune

The mythology of fly-fishing in the West is richer because of this book.

Angler's Journal

"I can honestly say I loved Home Waters. Reading it felt like a visit with old friends—the characters from A River Runs through It—who you haven’t seen in a long while, during which you learned some things you’d never known before. John N. Maclean’s book does a wonderful job of illustrating the importance of family and place—something we can all relate to even if the particulars of our stories are very different."

Kirby Lambert

Maclean’s Hemingway-esque prose is as clear as a mountain stream, flowing with a poetic cadence and lyrically describing the many splendid natural treasures to be found under the Big Sky. A sure bet for readers who enjoy American and natural history and a must-read for fishing enthusiasts.

Booklist

"A must-read. ... Its narrative revolves around relationships rooted in Montana's favorite pastime, connecting with anyone who covets the meditative value of casting for trout on familiar rivers. ... Pick up a copy to read this summer and let your mind wander to the waters you call home."

Outside Bozeman

John Maclean's Home Waters is a wonderful reflection on how a sense of place and shared activity, especially sport, defines our lives, our families, and the meaning we find in them.

David Brooks

"Maclean reflects on fishing, family, and the timeless novella that made his father famous."

In this welcome companion to an American classic, John N. Maclean casts a story of place, family, and legacy: of highland streams and woodlands, and the gifts waiting in their depths; of a quiet father with much to share; and of the sometimes meandering, sometimes tumbling courses that carry us through life. A spare, patient, and compelling reminiscence that stays with you.

Earl Swift

"Finally, a brilliant, intimate, and reliable chronicle of the remarkable Maclean family and the origins of a great book, welded seamlessly to the memorable angling days and writing life of a central member. I loved Home Waters." 

Nick Lyons

★ 2021-02-18
A moving memoir of a family’s love affair with the Blackfoot River in Montana, made famous by A River Runs Through It, the novella written by Maclean’s father, Norman.

As the author of this book makes clear, the Blackfoot River holds a particularly special place in Maclean family history. In 1909, the Rev. John Norman Maclean, John’s grandfather, moved to Missoula to become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. A decade later, he got a permit to build “the family cabin, a simple log affair…at Seeley Lake, fifty-five road miles northeast of Missoula on the edge of what is now the million-plus acre Bob Marshall Wilderness.” The cabin has now been in the family’s hands for “five generations and counting.” Beginning with his earliest memories of fly-fishing with his father on the river, Maclean passionately explores the history of his family’s life in the region as they became well-respected members of the community and developed an abiding love for the land. The author also digs into deeper history, noting that for centuries, Native peoples “wore a trail along the river as they traveled through the Blackfoot Valley and across the Continental Divide, out and back to the buffalo hunting grounds in the Missouri River country to the east.” Maclean then follows the path of Meriwether Lewis, who, along with his men and a few Nez Perce guides, passed through the area after separating from William Clark. The view from Lewis and Clark Pass, writes the author, is one of the most breathtaking in Montana, a place where the landscape remains “much as it appeared centuries ago…a land with a long-term memory.” In addition to patient nature writing and an introspective approach to the literary inspiration he has received from the land, Maclean discusses the genesis of Norman’s famous book and mystery surrounding the death of one of the characters.

Lovers of literature and nature will be captivated by this heartfelt tribute to place and family.

Kirkus Reviews

A lyrical companion to his father’s classic, chronicling their family’s history and bond with Montana’s Blackfoot River. His storytelling—from the fishing with his dad to the life and death of his uncle Paul—is reliable, elegant and charming. … Spectacularly vivid and personal. … While Maclean’s journalistic prose is sharp and concise, it can also be beautiful.” — Washington Post

"The prose in Home Waters, which is often transporting, flows with a shadow-cast grace. ... The best word I can think of to describe Home Waters also happens to be the Maclean’s family word: beautiful." — Field & Stream

"A memoir about the Maclean family’s four-generation tie to Montana’s Blackfoot River that elaborates on the back story of Norman Maclean’s extraordinary 1976 novella A River Runs Through It." — Wall Street Journal

"Maclean’s father, Norman, wrote the classic novella A River Runs through It. This memoir is an ode to its inspirations." — New York Times Book Review, "New & Noteworthy"

"Graceful and compelling. ... Greatly expands what we might already know about Montana, fly fishing and the meaning of family. ... This is a great book." — Chicago Tribune

“A worthy non-fiction companion to his father’s classic, A River Runs Through It. … Reminded me of Herman Melville recounting whaling minutiae in Moby Dick. … Throughout Home Waters, Maclean shows that he’s a real writer. But he’s also a real reporter with a long career for the Chicago Tribune." — Chicago Sun-Times

“A wonderful book about fathers, sons, brothers, and family." — USA Today

“A moving memoir of a family’s love affair with the Blackfoot River in Montana. … Lovers of literature and nature will be captivated by this heartfelt tribute to place and family.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In this welcome companion to an American classic, John N. Maclean casts a story of place, family, and legacy: of highland streams and woodlands, and the gifts waiting in their depths; of a quiet father with much to share; and of the sometimes meandering, sometimes tumbling courses that carry us through life. A spare, patient, and compelling reminiscence that stays with you.” — Earl Swift, New York Times bestselling author of Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island

"Finally, a brilliant, intimate, and reliable chronicle of the remarkable Maclean family and the origins of a great book, welded seamlessly to the memorable angling days and writing life of a central member. I loved Home Waters."  — Nick Lyons, author of Spring Creek

"I can honestly say I loved Home Waters. Reading it felt like a visit with old friends—the characters from A River Runs through It—who you haven’t seen in a long while, during which you learned some things you’d never known before. John N. Maclean’s book does a wonderful job of illustrating the importance of family and place—something we can all relate to even if the particulars of our stories are very different." — Kirby Lambert, Montana Historical Society

“John Maclean's Home Waters is a wonderful reflection on how a sense of place and shared activity, especially sport, defines our lives, our families, and the meaning we find in them.” — David Brooks, executive director, Montana Trout Unlimited

“Maclean’s Hemingway-esque prose is as clear as a mountain stream, flowing with a poetic cadence and lyrically describing the many splendid natural treasures to be found under the Big Sky. A sure bet for readers who enjoy American and natural history and a must-read for fishing enthusiasts.” — Booklist

“Maclean offers a lyrical love letter to Montana’s Blackfoot River, fishing, and his storied family in this captivating memoir. … Fans of his father’s novella will relish the details that served as its inspiration and are here rendered in Maclean’s sharp yet poetic prose. … This richly observed narrative is sure to reel readers in.” — Publishers Weekly

“The mythology of fly-fishing in the West is richer because of this book.” — Angler's Journal

"A must-read. ... Its narrative revolves around relationships rooted in Montana's favorite pastime, connecting with anyone who covets the meditative value of casting for trout on familiar rivers. ... Pick up a copy to read this summer and let your mind wander to the waters you call home." — Outside Bozeman

“Even if you aren’t a fly-fishing aficionado and don’t know a wet fly from a dry one, you just might be hooked within the first few pages as Maclean reels you into this engaging book of family, place and history.” — Helena Independent Record

"John Maclean has filled in the holes of his father’s story with Home Waters. Where Norman used his book to make his peace with his past, John’s narrative shows how his dad, like a savvy trout that always avoids the hook, learned to distinguish truth from imitation and pass that wisdom on to the next generation. ... John didn’t fall far from the Maclean writing tree. Like his father, the longtime Chicago Tribune writer has an affinity for crafting his experiences in aesthetic tones." — Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

"In Home Waters, John Maclean brings readers back to his family’s love of Seeley Lake and a life spent out of doors, a life marked by both magic and tragedy, but always by fly fishing for trout. Good reading." — Petoskey News-Review

"A testament to the power of place and the love that binds us, throughout the generations. Home Waters is a keeper." — Flathead Living Magazine

From the Publisher

A wonderful book about fathers, sons, brothers, and family."

USA Today

A worthy non-fiction companion to his father’s classic, A River Runs Through It. … Reminded me of Herman Melville recounting whaling minutiae in Moby Dick. … Throughout Home Waters, Maclean shows that he’s a real writer. But he’s also a real reporter with a long career for the Chicago Tribune."

Chicago Sun-Times

A lyrical companion to his father’s classic, chronicling their family’s history and bond with Montana’s Blackfoot River. His storytelling—from the fishing with his dad to the life and death of his uncle Paul—is reliable, elegant and charming. … Spectacularly vivid and personal. … While Maclean’s journalistic prose is sharp and concise, it can also be beautiful.

Washington Post

"Graceful and compelling. ... Greatly expands what we might already know about Montana, fly fishing and the meaning of family. ... This is a great book."

Chicago Tribune

"A memoir about the Maclean family’s four-generation tie to Montana’s Blackfoot River that elaborates on the back story of Norman Maclean’s extraordinary 1976 novella A River Runs Through It."

Wall Street Journal

"The prose in Home Waters, which is often transporting, flows with a shadow-cast grace. ... The best word I can think of to describe Home Waters also happens to be the Maclean’s family word: beautiful."

Field & Stream

A worthy non-fiction companion to his father’s classic, A River Runs Through It. … Reminded me of Herman Melville recounting whaling minutiae in Moby Dick. … Throughout Home Waters, Maclean shows that he’s a real writer. But he’s also a real reporter with a long career for the Chicago Tribune."

Chicago Sun-Times

A wonderful book about fathers, sons, brothers, and family."

USA Today

"A memoir about the Maclean family’s four-generation tie to Montana’s Blackfoot River that elaborates on the back story of Norman Maclean’s extraordinary 1976 novella A River Runs Through It."

Wall Street Journal

Even if you aren’t a fly-fishing aficionado and don’t know a wet fly from a dry one, you just might be hooked within the first few pages as Maclean reels you into this engaging book of family, place and history.

Helena Independent Record

"John Maclean has filled in the holes of his father’s story with Home Waters. Where Norman used his book to make his peace with his past, John’s narrative shows how his dad, like a savvy trout that always avoids the hook, learned to distinguish truth from imitation and pass that wisdom on to the next generation. ... John didn’t fall far from the Maclean writing tree. Like his father, the longtime Chicago Tribune writer has an affinity for crafting his experiences in aesthetic tones."

Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

Maclean’s Hemingway-esque prose is as clear as a mountain stream, flowing with a poetic cadence and lyrically describing the many splendid natural treasures to be found under the Big Sky. A sure bet for readers who enjoy American and natural history and a must-read for fishing enthusiasts.

Booklist

"Local readers and those close to any of its characters of this book will find a commonality and shared sense of being present that is rarely put into such eloquent prose. It carries us in quiet serenity back to those places and experiences we treasure most."

Seeley Swan Pathfinder

Sometimes real-life stories, memoirs that explore classic earlier memoirs, are as fine as the original. In many ways, they are exceeded. This is the case. Great work, John Maclean. You started as a cub reporter but you became the kind of writer we all aspire to become. You did your dad proud.

Explore Big Sky

"Maclean is a master of description, painting for the reader a vivid sense of the landscape, but also of the way it affects the psyche. ... At once an homage to his family and forbears as well as a deep, spiritual investigation of his own life and career, John Maclean’s Home Waters is, like A River Runs Through It, a masterpiece in its genre."

Idaho Senior Independent