Book excerpt: This book grew out of Professor Von Brandt′s lifetime devotion to the study of fishing gears and catching methods from prehistoric times to the present. In it he shows how the main components of early methods – netting, lines, hooks, floats and sinkers – are still in common use even though their efficiency has been improved. His extensive travels have enabled him to include examples from many eras and many different parts of the world and his descriptions are enhanced by hundreds of illustrations. He describes gears in logical sequence from the most primitive gathering methods to the possible use of fully automated harvesting machines totally operated by computers. Also, he has developed a rational classification system for the multitude of fish devices and techniques. Although this has been done in a most scholarly way, the resultant text is alive with interesting anecdotes. This meticulously compiled edition will be invaluable to eveyone concerned with commercial fisheries as well as a delight to sport fishermen and all with an interest in fish or its capture.