The Lobster Coast

Author: Colin Woodard
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101078073
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Book Description
“A thorough and engaging history of Maine’s rocky coast and its tough-minded people.”—Boston Herald “[A] well-researched and well-written cultural and ecological history of stubborn perseverance.”—USA Today For more than four hundred years the people of coastal Maine have clung to their rocky, wind-swept lands, resisting outsiders’ attempts to control them while harvesting the astonishing bounty of the Gulf of Maine. Today’s independent, self-sufficient lobstermen belong to the communities imbued with a European sense of ties between land and people, but threatened by the forces of homogenization spreading up the eastern seaboard. In the tradition of William Warner’s Beautiful Swimmers, veteran journalist Colin Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) traces the history of the rugged fishing communities that dot the coast of Maine and the prized crustacean that has long provided their livelihood. Through forgotten wars and rebellions, and with a deep tradition of resistance to interference by people “from away,” Maine’s lobstermen have defended an earlier vision of America while defying the “tragedy of the commons”—the notion that people always overexploit their shared property. Instead, these icons of American individualism represent a rare example of true communal values and collaboration through grit, courage, and hard-won wisdom.

The Lobster Gangs of Maine

Author: James M. Acheson
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 0874514517
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Book Description
An anthropologist describes the working world of Maine lobstermen, focusing on the intricate personal network that sustains them.

The Mermaid and the Lobster Diver

Author: Laura Hobson Herlihy
Publisher: UNM Press
ISBN: 0826350941
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Book Description
Approximately 90 percent of Miskitu boys and men in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve along the north coast of Honduras have worked as deepwater divers in the lobster industry and their participation has left an indelible imprint on their society. While lobster diving is lucrative, it is also a life-threatening occupation and many divers have been injured or killed from decompression sickness—locally referred to as liwa mairin siknis (Mermaid sickness). According to Miskitu folklore, the Mermaid is the main water spirit, owner of all fresh and saltwater resources and capable of punishing male divers for extracting too many of her lobsters. Wary of the wrath of the supernatural liwa mairin, these men face another threat on shore: Miskitu women who use sexual magic—praidi saihka—as a tool to control men’s wages and ensure that they continue to provide them with money. Interspersed with short stories, songs, and incantations, The Mermaid and the Lobster Diver demonstrates the archetypes of femininity and masculinity within Miskitu society, highlighting the power associated with women’s sexuality—as manifested in both goddess and human form—and the vulnerable position of men.

The Secret Life of Lobsters

Author: Trevor Corson
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061873977
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
“Lobster is served three ways in this fascinating book: by fisherman, scientist and the crustaceans themselves. . . . Corson, who worked aboard commercial lobster boats for two years, weaves together these three worlds. The human worlds are surely interesting; but they can’t top the lobster life on the ocean floor.” — Washington Post In this intimate portrait of an island lobstering community and an eccentric band of renegade biologists, journalist Trevor Corson escorts the reader onto the slippery decks of fishing boats, through danger-filled scuba dives, and deep into the churning currents of the Gulf of Maine to learn about the secret undersea lives of lobsters. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

The Lobster Chronicles

Author: Linda Greenlaw
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 140139812X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Book Description
Declared a triumph by the New York Times Book Review, Linda Greenlaw's first book, The Hungry Ocean, appeared on nearly every major bestseller list in the country. Now, taking a break from the swordfishing career that earned her a major role in The Perfect Storm, Greenlaw returns to Isle au Haut, a tiny Maine island with a population of 70 year-round residents, 30 of whom are Greenlaw's relatives. With a Clancy-esque talent for fascinating technical detail and a Keillor-esque eye for the drama of small-town life, Greenlaw offers her take on everything from rediscovering home, love, and family to island characters and the best way to cook and serve a lobster. But Greenlaw also explores the islands darker side, including a tragic boating accident and a century-old conflict with a neighboring community. Throughout, Greenlaw maintains the straight-shooting, funny, and slightly scrappy style that has won her so many fans, and proves once again that fishermen are still the best storytellers around.

The Last Lobster

Author: Christopher White
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250080851
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
"For the past five years, the lobster population along the coast of Maine has boomed, resulting in a lobster harvest six times the size of the record catch from the 1980s ... [This book] follows three lobster captains ... as they haul and set thousands of traps. Unexpectedly, boom may turn to bust, as the captains must fight a warming ocean, volatile prices, and rough weather to keep their livelihood afloat. The three captains work longer hours, trying to make up in volume what they lack in price. As a result, there are 3 million lobster traps on the bottom of the Gulf of Maine, while Frank, Jason, and others call for a reduction of traps ... Maine lobstering towns are among the first American communities to confront global warming, and the survival of the Maine Coast depends upon their efforts. It may be an uphill battle to create a sustainable catch as high temperatures are already displacing lobsters northward toward Canadian waters--out of reach of American fishermen"--

The Life of a Maine Lobsterman

Author: Andrew Gove
Publisher: Penobscot Books
ISBN: 9780941238311
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description

American Character

Author: Colin Woodard
Publisher: Viking Adult
ISBN: 0525427899
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
The struggle between individualism and the good of the community as a whole has been the basis of every major disagreement in America's history, from the debates at the Constitutional Convention to the civil rights movement to the Tea Party. In American Character, Colin Woodard traces these two key strands in American politics through the four centuries of the nation's existence, from the first colonies through the Gilded Age and Great Depression to the present day, and how different regions of the country have successfully or disastrously accommodated them.

American Nations

Author: Colin Woodard
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143122029
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Book Description
• A New Republic Best Book of the Year • The Globalist Top Books of the Year • Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Non-fiction Particularly relevant in understanding who voted for who during presidential elections, this is an endlessly fascinating look at American regionalism and the eleven “nations” that continue to shape North America According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today, with results that can be seen in the composition of the U.S. Congress or on the county-by-county election maps of any hotly contested election in our history.

Lobster

Author: Elisabeth Townsend
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1861899955
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 146

Book Description
Other than that it tastes delicious with butter, what do you know about the knobbily-armoured, scarlet creature staring back at you from your fancy dinner plate? Food writer Elisabeth Townsend here charts the global rise of the lobster as delicacy. Part of the Edible Series, Lobster: A Global History explores the use and consumption of the lobster from poor man’s staple to cultural icon. From coastal fishing in the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution and modern times, Townsend describes the social history of the consumption of lobsters around the world. As well, the book includes beautiful images of rarely seen lobsters and both old and contemporary lobster recipes. Whether you want to liberate lobsters from their supermarket tanks or crack open their claws, this is an essential read, describing the human connection to the lobster from his ocean home to the dinner table.