Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
An epic journey to explore the relationship between man and nature in one of the last wild places in the US The Yukon is the third longest river in the United States. Every summer, millions of salmon migrate thousands of miles to their spawning ground, where they go to breed and then die. In the summer of 2016, Adam Weymouth travelled the length of the Yukon by canoe to learn the story of the salmon, their remarkable and even poetic journey, and the communities and people whose lives depend on them.
In KINGS OF THE YUKON, Weymouth writes not only about the salmon's natural history and their incredible ability to navigate thousands of miles across the ocean to the river of their birth, but Weymouth also examines the effects of this species' disappearance and what it means for cultures and lives along the Yukon-- all against the beautifully rendered backdrop of North America's greatest wilderness.
Synopsis
"Kings of the Yukon succeeds as an adventure tale, a natural history and a work of art." -- Wall Street Journal
One man's thrilling and transporting journey by canoe across Alaska in search of the king salmon
The Yukon river is 2,000 miles long, the longest stretch of free-flowing river in the United States. In this riveting examination of one of the last wild places on earth, Adam Weymouth canoes along the river's length, from Canada's Yukon Territory, through Alaska, to the Bering Sea. The result is a book that shows how even the most remote wilderness is affected by the same forces reshaping the rest of the planet.
Every summer, hundreds of thousands of king salmon migrate the distance of the Yukon to their spawning grounds, where they breed and die, in what is the longest salmon run in the world. For the communities that live along the river, salmon was once the lifeblood of the economy and local culture. But climate change and a globalized economy have fundamentally altered the balance between man and nature; the health and numbers of king salmon are in question, as is the fate of the communities that depend on them.
Traveling along the Yukon as the salmon migrate, a four-month journey through untrammeled landscape, Adam Weymouth traces the fundamental interconnectedness of people and fish through searing and unforgettable portraits of the individuals he encounters. He offers a powerful, nuanced glimpse into indigenous cultures, and into our ever-complicated relationship with the natural world. Weaving in the rich history of salmon across time as well as the science behind their mysterious life cycle, Kings of the Yukon is extraordinary adventure and nature writing at its most urgent and poetic.
Synopsis
A thrilling journey by canoe across Alaska, by critically acclaimed writer Adam Weymouth. The Yukon river is 2,000 miles long, the longest stretch of free-flowing river in the United States. In this riveting examination of one of the last wild places on earth, Adam Weymouth canoes along the river's length, from Canada's Yukon Territory, through Alaska, to the Bering Sea. The result is a book that shows how even the most remote wilderness is affected by the same forces reshaping the rest of the planet.
Every summer, hundreds of thousands of king salmon migrate the distance of the Yukon to their spawning grounds, where they breed and die, in what is the longest salmon run in the world. For the communities that live along the river, salmon was once the lifeblood of the economy and local culture. But climate change and a globalized economy have fundamentally altered the balance between man and nature; the health and numbers of king salmon are in question, as is the fate of the communities that depend on them.
Traveling along the Yukon as the salmon migrate, a four-month journey through untrammeled landscape, Adam Weymouth traces the fundamental interconnectedness of people and fish through searing and unforgettable portraits of the individuals he encounters. He offers a powerful, nuanced glimpse into indigenous cultures, and into our ever-complicated relationship with the natural world. Weaving in the rich history of salmon across time as well as the science behind their mysterious life cycle, Kings of the Yukon is extraordinary adventure and nature writing at its most urgent and poetic.
Kings of the Yukon succeeds as an adventure tale, a natural history and a work of art.-Wall Street Journal