This is the tale of our earth’s disappearing fisheries and a vanishing way of life that has defined coastal towns throughout history. The colorful, exuberant story of the fishing town of Gloucester is the lens through which Kurlansky looks at a global tale. Gloucester was established in 1623 as a cod-fishing station. Today, it struggles on, its future uncertain. The Last Fish Tale is a wake-up call to a tragedy in the making.
With the sprightly tone and buoyant pace of a PBS special, Grover Gardner describes the rise and decline of the New England fishing industry and its effect on the unique Massachusetts town of Gloucester. He ably replicates the voices of the immigrants who manned successive fleets and often perished in rough weather. As the town became connected to suburban Boston via Route 128, shoreline real estate values skyrocketed as fishing jobs disappeared with the cod and the haddock. The filming of THE PERFECT STORM helped, but only temporarily. The story includes comparisons with villages in Sicily and Cornwall as well as recipes for which listeners might need shorthand. What resident artists like Winslow Homer immortalized in paint, Gardener has delightfully portrayed in audio. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly (starred review)...
"[A] delightful, intimate history and contemporary portrait of the quintessential northeastern coastal fishing town... vividly depicts the contemporary tension between the traditional fishing trade and modern commerce."
About the Author
MARK KURLANSKY is a highly-acclaimed American journalist and writer of general interest nonfiction. He is especially known for titles on eclectic topics. His 1997 book Cod was an international bestseller and was translated into more than fifteen languages. His last book was The Big Oyster.
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