The best-known fishing manual ever written, Izaak Waltons Compleat Angler has appeared in hundreds of editions and appealed to generations of readers since its first publication in 1653. No less remarkable are Waltons LIVES of various eminent contemporaries, especially of Richard Hooker, John Donne, and George Herbert, essential studies that have earned Walton the reputation of being the originator of English biography. Waltons various works have generally been treated separately or in isolation from one another, but Paul Stanwoods critical commentary uniquely describes the interrelationship of all the works. This study also examines the life and thought of Walton in terms of the revolutionary times in which he lived. In an artless and graceful style that matches the eloquence of this subject, Stanwood provides students of all levels with a clear and concise introduction to this seminal figure of the English Renaissance.