Roderick Langmere Haig-Brown was one of Canada's most versatile men of letters. He wrote novels, prizewinning juvenile fiction, several works on British Columbia's history and geography, and a series of internationally acclaimed books on angling. Through all his work, however, there runs a unifying thread: the message that man must respect the natural world of which he is an integral part.

Haig-Brown was born in Lancing, Sussex, England. His parents were Lt. Col. Alan R. Haig-Brown and Violet Mary Haig-Brown (née Pope). As a boy, Haig-Brown was encouraged by his father to learn to hunt and fish. After his father's death in 1918, his sporting education was continued by his uncles and by the redoubtable H. M. Greenhill. Emulating his father, who had written on sporting topics, Haig-Brown published his first article in Fishing Gazette at age sixteen. In 1925 a youthful escapade led to his abrupt departure...