The Last Lobster

From the author of Skipjack & The Melting World comes a mystery: the curious boom in America’s beloved lobster industry and its probable crash Maine lobstermen have happened upon a bonanza along their rugged, picturesque coast. 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—an event unheard of in fisheries. In a detective story, scientists and fishermen explore various theories for the glut. Leading contenders are a sudden lack of predators and a recent wedge of warming waters, which may disrupt the reproductive cycle, a consequence of climate change. Christopher White's The Last Lobster follows three lobster captains—Frank, Jason, and Julie (one the few female skippers in Maine)—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. This may in boost prices. The 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 last lobster may be just ahead.

A frank and funny yet emotionally resonant tale set within a vivid work day world, from the author of Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself--named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Entertainment Weekly A Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Perched in the far corner of a run-down New England mall, the Red Lobster hasn't been making its numbers and headquarters has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift--just four days before Christmas and in the midst of a fierce blizzard--with a near-mutinous staff and the final onslaught of hungry retirees, lunatics, and holiday office parties. All the while, he's wondering how to handle the waitress he's still in love with, his pregnant girlfriend, and where to find the present that will make everything better. Stewart O'Nan has been called "the bard of the working class," and Last Night at the Lobster is a poignant yet redemptive look at what a man does when he discovers that his best might not be good enough.

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

“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.

More than five years in preparation, Lobster at Home will teach anyone, from the most inexperienced novice to the seasoned professional, to master the art of cooking lobster.

An arrow narrowly misses Salome but prods her into rescuing a girl from a Roman centurion and pulls her back into intrigue that she tried to leave behind. Once again, she wrestles with conflicting desires: obeying and honoring her family, sabotaging the Romans, and helping the Zealots and Parthians. She also continues to fight her feelings for old flame Nathaniel. Salome is reconnected with Nathaniel when she becomes a secret messenger for the Zealots. Nathaniel also continues to support the cause against the Romans, and as he and Salome cross paths in Nazareth, they rekindle a deep friendship while their marriages bring little comfort— and Salome still struggles with the pressure to be good in order to be loved. Now a mature woman and mother with a stronger sense of identity, Salome faces questions of faith and family she once tried to ignore. As she and Nathaniel navigate their own regrets and dreams, loyalties are tested and tensions mount in the community as new Messianic figures arise in revolt against the brutal Roman regime. A larger battle for freedom rages as Salome and Nathaniel become mentors and gain more profound perspectives of each other. The Good Wife is the second book in a trilogy that’s set in biblical times yet has universal and modern-day relevance. From shame, fear, and regret to love, integrity, and perseverance, Salome continues on a path where love is not necessarily tied to goodness.

Lobster has long been thought of as a staple of haute cuisine and a dish of indulgence, something that only a true expert in the kitchen can perfectly execute. From Matt Dean Pettit, chef and owner of Rock Lobster Food Co., comes a collection of more than 100 simple and delicious lobster recipes showing how fun, easy, and stress-free cooking with lobster can be. A lobster lover since he was a little boy, Matt Dean Pettit started Rock Lobster Food Co. after an eye-opening experience on the East Coast. He had eaten lobster everywhere he could find it, from fresh-off-the-dock to dive bars, and was left wondering why lobster could be so readily available (and so reasonably priced) at the source but reserved for high-end restaurants across the rest of the country. He pledged then and there to bring lobster to the masses. The Great Lobster Cookbook includes more than 100 of Matt’s best recipes—from the famous Rock Lobster Roll and the Classic Lobster Boil to Lobster Eggs Benny, Lobster Poutine, and even a mouthwatering recipe for Vanilla Bean Lobster Ice Cream. Star chefs, such as Mark McEwan and Roger Mooking, also share their favorite lobster dishes. With easy-to-follow recipes, notes on lobster anatomy, and basic cooking techniques, Matt demystifies the lobster, highlighting its versatility and taking readers on a cross-country journey into its world, from claw to tail. A new cookbook classic for every lobster lover, The Great Lobster Cookbook shows that lobster doesn’t need to be reserved for special occasions. Join the Crustacean Nation and get cracking.

Global warming usually seems to happen far away, but one catastrophic effect of climate change is underway right now in the Rocky Mountains. In The Melting World, Chris White travels to Montana to chronicle the work of Dan Fagre, a climate scientist and ecologist, whose work shows that alpine glaciers are vanishing rapidly close to home. For years, Fagre has monitored the ice sheets in Glacier National Park proving that they—and by extension all Rocky Mountain ice—will melt far faster than previously imagined. How long will the ice fields survive? What are the consequences on our environment? The Melting World chronicles the first extinction of a mountain ecosystem in what is expected to be a series of such global calamities as humanity faces the prospect of a world without alpine ice.