Synopses & Reviews
Fishing is a hard and fiercely independent life, one of the world's last hunting occupations, and one of the most hazardous. Change has been a constant, with traditional fisheries modernized, stocks threatened by overfishing and pollution, and political pressures increasing, yet at heart fishing remains the same. There is still the hunt, the wait, the bitter disappointment of a busted trip, and the sleepless work fueled by elation when the nets come back full. Sons--and sometimes now, daughters--still follow fathers to sea. And the sea is still dangerous; among the shipmates we meet are some who have since been lost, and others who have barely survived.
Their Fathers' Work takes us out there, on a fascinating, compelling journey with an author who has been chronicling fishermen's lives for twenty-five years.
"McCloskey's honesty and willingness to follow his story doggedly to the ends of the earth make this a book for one's permanent collection."
--Washingtonian
"McCloskey's work is imbued with wild, natural moods, an evocative background against which his sources drift through fear, frustration and, in some cases, fortune."
--C.J. Chivers, Providence Journal
"McCloskey writes with first-hand knowledge and passion about the sea and the men and women who fish it, survive it, and sometimes drown in it. He describes these proud people with warmth and respect, honoring their work passed down from their fathers and their fathers' fathers."
--Audubon Naturalist News
"With all his experience across space and time, McCloskey occupies a unique position among observers of the world fishing industry. He's been there. He understands the good and the bad, the foolish and the wise. He has perspective."
--Alaska Fisherman's Journal
"There can't be another like William McCloskey in the worlds of fishing and writing. Imagine someone whose appetite for his subject is so strong that he spends half his lifetime hiring out as a working-stiff fisherman on commercial boats all over the world, then draws his conclusions in vivid, scalding, haunting terms. His realistic ideas might offend both knee-jerk conservationists and plundering meat-fishermen--the surest sign that he has done his job well. When you finish this book, you will feel like wiping the salt spray from your face. A superb piece of work by a master fisherman and writer, and the perfect companion piece to books like The Perfect Storm."
--Jack Olsen, author of The Climb Up to Hell, and Hastened to the Grave
"A splendid, subtle portrait of the fisherman's life."
--Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Cod fishermen on the Grand Banks. Village fishermen in Indonesia. Gill netters in Alaska. McCloskey has stood beside them all, working with them through pain, discomfort, and exhaustion. Weaving politics around sea stories, this book provides a wide-ranging yet personal tour of commercial fishing.
Synopsis
Fishing is a hard and fiercely independent life, one of the world's last hunting occupations, and one of the most hazardous. Change has been a constant, with traditional fisheries modernized, stocks threatened by overfishing and pollution, and political pressures increasing, yet at heart fishing remains the same. There is still the hunt, the wait, the bitter disappointment of a busted trip, and the sleepless work fueled by elation when the nets come back full. Sons--and sometimes now, daughters--still follow fathers to sea. And the sea is still dangerous; among the shipmates we meet are some who have since been lost, and others who have barely survived.
Their Fathers' Work takes us out there, on a fascinating, compelling journey with an author who has been chronicling fishermen's lives for twenty-five years.
"McCloskey's honesty and willingness to follow his story doggedly to the ends of the earth make this a book for one's permanent collection."
--Washingtonian
"McCloskey's work is imbued with wild, natural moods, an evocative background against which his sources drift through fear, frustration and, in some cases, fortune."
--C.J. Chivers, Providence Journal
"McCloskey writes with first-hand knowledge and passion about the sea and the men and women who fish it, survive it, and sometimes drown in it. He describes these proud people with warmth and respect, honoring their work passed down from their fathers and their fathers' fathers."
--Audubon Naturalist News
"With all his experience across space and time, McCloskey occupies a unique position among observers of the world fishing industry. He's been there. He understands the good and the bad, the foolish and the wise. He has perspective."
--Alaska Fisherman's Journal
"There can't be another like William McCloskey in the worlds of fishing and writing. Imagine someone whose appetite for his subject is so strong that he spends half his lifetime hiring out as a working-stiff fisherman on commercial boats all over the world, then draws his conclusions in vivid, scalding, haunting terms. His realistic ideas might offend both knee-jerk conservationists and plundering meat-fishermen--the surest sign that he has done his job well. When you finish this book, you will feel like wiping the salt spray from your face. A superb piece of work by a master fisherman and writer, and the perfect companion piece to books like The Perfect Storm."
--Jack Olsen, author of The Climb Up to Hell, and Hastened to the Grave
"A splendid, subtle portrait of the fisherman's life."
--Kirkus Reviews
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Asking for It--Bering Sea
2 It's a Livin'--Georges Bank
3 Rollers--Chignik, Alaska, 1986
4 Atavism--Chignik, Alaska, 1986
5 Encroachments
6 Knee-Deep in Crude and Bullshit--The "EXXON Valdez" Disaster
7 Turbot Warriors--The Grand Banks
8 Myre Remembered--Norwegians
9 Russians and Spaniards--Flemish Cap, 1996
10 Outporters
11 Plankton Soup--Chile
12 Siwashers--Chiloe Island, Chile
13 Barefoot on the Java Sea
14 Unseen Forces
15 The Unforgiving Bar--Greymouth, New Zealand
16 The Fish Habits of Japan
17 Fencing the Ocean Commons--The Winners and the Anxious Dispossessed
18 Mr. Bigfoot on the Raw-Bacon Circuit--Japan, 1980 and 1988
19 Harpooners--Ayukawa, Central Japan
20 Hanging Genki with the Squidders
21 Floating Cities--Bristol Bay, Alaska
22 Generations--Past Meets Present
23 Dividing and Protecting the Loot
24 No Promises
25 Changes--Count on Nothing
26 Catching Fish
Epilogue
(and more...)