The Western Flyer

Steinbeck's Boat, the Sea of Cortez, and the Saga of Pacific Fisheries

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Nature, Fish & Ocean Life, Oceans & Seas, Fish
Cover of the book The Western Flyer by Kevin M. Bailey, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kevin M. Bailey ISBN: 9780226116938
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: March 20, 2015
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Kevin M. Bailey
ISBN: 9780226116938
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: March 20, 2015
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

In January 2010, the Gemini was moored in the Swinomish Slough on a Native American reservation near Anacortes, Washington. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the rusted and dilapidated boat was in fact the most famous fishing vessel ever to have sailed: the original Western Flyer, immortalized in John Steinbeck’s nonfiction classic The Log from the Sea of Cortez.

In this book, Kevin M. Bailey resurrects this forgotten witness to the changing tides of Pacific fisheries. He draws on the Steinbeck archives, interviews with family members of crew, and more than three decades of working in Pacific Northwest fisheries to trace the depletion of marine life through the voyages of a single ship. After Steinbeck and his friend Ed Ricketts—a pioneer in the study of the West Coast’s diverse sea life and the inspiration behind “Doc” in Cannery Row—chartered the boat for their now-famous 1940 expedition, the Western Flyer returned to its life as a sardine seiner in California. But when the sardine fishery in Monterey collapsed, the boat moved on: fishing for Pacific ocean perch off Washington, king crab in the Bering Sea off Alaska, and finally wild Pacific salmon—all industries that would also face collapse.

As the Western Flyer herself faces an uncertain future—a businessman has bought her, intending to bring the boat to Salinas, California, and turn it into a restaurant feature just blocks from Steinbeck’s grave—debates about the status of the California sardine, and of West Coast fisheries generally, have resurfaced. A compelling and timely tale of a boat and the people it carried, of fisheries exploited, and of fortunes won and lost, The Western Flyer is environmental history at its best: a journey through time and across the sea, charting the ebb and flow of the cobalt waters of the Pacific coast.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In January 2010, the Gemini was moored in the Swinomish Slough on a Native American reservation near Anacortes, Washington. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the rusted and dilapidated boat was in fact the most famous fishing vessel ever to have sailed: the original Western Flyer, immortalized in John Steinbeck’s nonfiction classic The Log from the Sea of Cortez.

In this book, Kevin M. Bailey resurrects this forgotten witness to the changing tides of Pacific fisheries. He draws on the Steinbeck archives, interviews with family members of crew, and more than three decades of working in Pacific Northwest fisheries to trace the depletion of marine life through the voyages of a single ship. After Steinbeck and his friend Ed Ricketts—a pioneer in the study of the West Coast’s diverse sea life and the inspiration behind “Doc” in Cannery Row—chartered the boat for their now-famous 1940 expedition, the Western Flyer returned to its life as a sardine seiner in California. But when the sardine fishery in Monterey collapsed, the boat moved on: fishing for Pacific ocean perch off Washington, king crab in the Bering Sea off Alaska, and finally wild Pacific salmon—all industries that would also face collapse.

As the Western Flyer herself faces an uncertain future—a businessman has bought her, intending to bring the boat to Salinas, California, and turn it into a restaurant feature just blocks from Steinbeck’s grave—debates about the status of the California sardine, and of West Coast fisheries generally, have resurfaced. A compelling and timely tale of a boat and the people it carried, of fisheries exploited, and of fortunes won and lost, The Western Flyer is environmental history at its best: a journey through time and across the sea, charting the ebb and flow of the cobalt waters of the Pacific coast.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book IN & OZ by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book A Question of Upbringing by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Distant Cycles by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Resonance by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Theodore Roosevelt in the Field by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book First Son by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Mahler by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Making Jet Engines in World War II by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Symbolic Power, Politics, and Intellectuals by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Essays in Ancient and Modern Historiography by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Where the North Sea Touches Alabama by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Machines of Youth by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Collective Memory and the Historical Past by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book A Social History of Truth by Kevin M. Bailey
Cover of the book Relentless Evolution by Kevin M. Bailey
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy