Out on the Deep Blue - by Leslie Leyland Fields (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Out on the Deep Blue is the first collection of dramatic, first-person accounts of commercial fishing written by the men and women who work in the nation's most dangerous occupation.

Nineteen diverse fisher-writers, from the famous to the unknown, take the reader swordfish harpooning on the Georges Banks, winter crabbing in the Bering Sea, sea-urchin diving off Maine, herring fishing in Alaska, shark-harpooning off Scotland and points between. Together, they plumb the extremes of living, working, and sometimes dying at sea, creating the most intensely personal portrait of fishing and fishermen to date.

The best writing on commercial fishing is gathered here, blending the voices of such well-known writers as Peter Mathiessen, Gavin Maxwell, Linda Greenlaw, Spike Walker, and John Cole, together with experienced and emerging writers, many of whom have spent much of their lives on the water. With its layers and rich textures, this collection will have strong, enduring appeal to loves of nonfiction.

Contributors:
Marie Beaver
John Cole
Michael Crowley
Wendy Erd
Leslie Leyland Fields
Robert Fritchey
Joel Gay
Linda Greenlaw
Seth Harkness
Nancy Lord
Peter Matthiessen
Gavin Maxwell
William McCloskey
Paul Molyneaux
Debra Nielsen
Toby Sullivan
Martha Sutro
Joe Upton
Spike Walker

Review Quotes

"Ocean fishing is inherently dangerous, as the oceans themselves are changeable and often threatening. Each account conveys this danger to the reader but at the same time expresses the writer's respect and love for the ocean. The collection is pulled together by Fields's insightful introduction." --Library Journal

"The writing here is always thoughtful, always attentive, and shorn of the trimmings." --Kirkus Reviews

"For readers interested in that topic, especially those who liked The Perfect Storm, it is sure to satisfy." --Booklist

About the Author

Since 1978, Leslie Leyland Fields has followed the schools of ready-to-spawn fish out to a remote island where she and her husband fish commercially for salmon. With five children, the island now has a population of seven.

Her essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Orion, The Christian Science Monitor, Experiencing Nature: A Creative Nonfiction Reader, The Best of Oregon Quarterly, and others. She is the winner of the Virginia Faulkner award for excellence in writing.