I had a 1985 edition and would have given the book 4 stars if not for some of the items I mention in this review.
Overall it is a really good book. Great for novices. More and better diagrams demonstrating some of the casting techniques would be good. Color photos of the flys would have been good too.
This was a textbook in my fly fishing class, and for good reason- it has everything the beginner needs to know, plus some great tips and tricks. Orvis is one of The Names in fly fishing, I went to their big store in Vermont and it was awesome :) Get out there and catch some fishies!