Great and unforgettable stories about the passion of fishing by some of the world's best writers.

Manatees are among nature's strangest-looking, gentlest animals. They're among America's most endangered mammals and were the basis for ancient tales of mermaids, legendary creatures that were half-fish and half-human.

For author M. Scotty Lamkin, a conventional lifestyle at a traditional job was a horribly mundane way to approach life. On January 16, 1979, he arrived in Alaska with fifty dollars in his pocket, two duffel bags, and a backpack. A long way from his Kentucky homeland, Lamkin journeyed to Alaska expecting adventure, and he was not disappointed. Chance Is the Providence of Adventurers narrates many of Lamkin's true-life escapades in Alaska's remote bush country.

In this half-travelogue, half-memoir, Lamkin tells the sometimes funny, sometimes deadly, stories of his experiences as a professional guide and adventurer-waking up a brown bear at close range, sinking a boat in frigid Alaska waters, crashing bush planes, throwing rocks at bears, and experiencing some of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth.

"Chance Is the Providence of Adventurers" offers a glimpse into the flavor of Alaskan life, provides a firsthand view of the wonders of untamed nature and wildlife, and demonstrates the results of taking a chance to change your life.

Pete the green sea turtle begins his morning floating in the endless, blue ocean. But this day in the warm, life-giving heat of the Florida sun will end in crippling tragedy. A passing boat strikes Pete, and his days of swimming free in the open ocean now appear to be over forever. How will Pete survive the life-threatening injuries he has sustained?

"A Home for Nickel" is the true story of a lovable green sea turtle's struggle for survival and the people who make it happen. After Pete is rescued from impending death, his story stretches across the continent from the Florida Keys to Hawaii, Canada, and Chicago, Illinois. Throughout Pete's journey, Jim Gamlin shares fascinating tidbits about turtles and the people who love them. This rich text is a moving tribute to those who care for nature, and how nature cares for them in return.

Join Pete as he begins his life buried under the sand, rushes to the ocean, and launches into his incredible journey. The chain of events that happen next are serendipitous and miraculous. Get ready to be inspired by this amazing shelled survivor.

Make identifying freshwater fish easy and enjoyable. This field guide by Dave Bosanko features detailed information about 87 types of Georgia fish, and the book's waterproof pages make it perfect for the dock or boat. Identify your catches with the intricately detailed fish illustrations, and verify them using the -Similar Species- comparison features. Then read fascinating facts on spawning behavior, feeding habits and more. Plus, match up your best catches against the state and North American records. With inside information for locating fishing hotspots, this book is essential for every tackle box, beach bag, RV and cabin.

On the Water is a gorgeously written collection of essays that all take place on or near the water and pay tribute to the flora and fauna associated with those ecosystems. There are essays about the finer points of tickling rainbow trout in the streams of Normandy, and of eagles and ospreys fishing for bass while barely breaking the surface of the water. There are stories of droughts and floods, of dogs and boats, of worms and rattlesnakes and even of catching and cooking soft-shell turtles that taste like osso-bucco. There is fishing and diving in the Bahamas, tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys, and fly fishing for sailfish in Central America. And there are larger-than-life personalities that are bigger than the fish tales they tell! On the Water is a finely honed and well crafted collection of tales for the true sportsman and makes for a perfect companion volume to la Valdene's celebrated collection of essays on hunting.

Fly fishing is complex and costly with too much cumbersome gear, right? Well, tenkara's different. Long overlooked in the West, tenkara is economical and simple, productive, and pleasurable This Eastern approach is today taking the fly-fishing world in North America and Europe by storm. Its tool kit is simple: a long, collapsible rod; a length of line tied to the end of the rod; and a fly. Without a reel, casting techniques become easy and intuitive. The gear is inexpensive and easily portable, perfect for hiking and camping. This pioneering book is an ideal guide to tenkara, covering the essentials of gear and rigging, the roots of tenkara, fishing dry flies as well as subsurface fishing and casting--as well as tenkara backpacking and tenkara for women. Tenkara has been the subject of features in Field & Stream, American Angler, and Fly, Rod & Reel magazines, and has been endorsed by the likes of Patagonia CEO and environmentalist Yvon Chouinard. Major retail outlets are now selling tenkara rods.

A tale of obsession and very big fish from Jeremy Wade, the presenter of ITV's RIVER MONSTERS. Over ten feet long, it weighs in at nearly a quarter of a ton. Covering its back are armoured plates made of bone. Five hundred stiletto-sharp teeth line its long crocodilian jaws. It's a prehistoric beast of staggering proportions; a fearsome creature from the time of the dinosaurs. But the Alligator Gar, an air-breathing survivor from the Cretaceous period is still with us today, patrolling inland rivers, hunting in murky waters shared by human communities. And for Jeremy Wade, described as the 'greatest angling explorer of his generation', the Gar and other outlandish freshwater predators have been an obsession for all his adult life. With names like Arapaima, Snakehead, Goonch, Goliath Tigerfish and Electric Eel, many of them have acquired an almost mythical status. In a quest that has taken him from the Amazon to the Congo, and from North America to the mountains of India, Wade has pursued the truth about these little known, often misunderstood animals. Along the way he's survived a plane crash, malaria and a fish-inflicted blow to the chest that, according to a later scan, caused permanent scarring to his heart. In RIVER MONSTERS, Wade delivers a sometimes jaw-dropping blend of adventure, natural history, legend and detective work. It reads like a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. But it's all true. These are fisherman's tales like you've never heard before. The stories of the ones that didn't get away ...

A breathtaking collection of photographs and expert commentary that shed light on the most mysterious creatures of the deep seaJellyfish come in a dazzling array of colors, shapes, and sizes, drifting through every ocean, from the surface to the deepest of the deep seas, and are even found in freshwater locations. These ancient creatures, also called sea jellies (they are not, technically, fish), are so otherworldly and luminous that it is no wonder they are often compared to mythical shapeshifters. Some are so delicate that they shatter with the smallest disturbance to the water, while the tenacity of others means they can withstand almost any temperature, any salinity, starvation, and even being dismembered. And some are truly biologically immortal. This visually breathtaking book showcases 100 species of jellyfish within its pages—from the ubiquitous Aurelia to the enigmatic Velella—along with astounding facts about these fascinating marine life-forms. Some are splendid, some strange, some poisonous, some deadly. Some carry surprising secrets and some are barely known, but every one of them is remarkable and has a tale to tell. An introduction by noted expert Lisa-ann Gershwin, with her commentary throughout, invites you into the wondrous world of jellyfish.

"The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee . . . is indispensable to anyone, anywhere, working on this group. Parmalee and Bogan have written a work that sets the standard for future regional guides."--G. Thomas Watters, Ohio Biological Survey
"The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee documents a tremendously diverse and unique mussel fauna that is rapidly being destroyed by modern development. Parmalee and Bogan set a new standard for state mussel surveys in their authoritative, thorough, and and highly readable account. The book will be of interest to biologists and conservationists worldwide and will appeal to anyone who cares about the preservation of natural resources in the southeastern United States."--Robert E. Warren, Illinois State Museum
With more than 150 species and subspecies recorded in the state, Tennessee has one of the most diverse freshwater mussel faunas in North America. Valuable as indicators of water quality, these mollusks have themselves become threatened as development encroaches on habitat--twenty-three are currently listed as endangered species and at least twelve have become extinct.
This is the first book for Tennessee to deal with this biologically and commercially significant group of mollusks. Its authors have been studying and writing about the mussels of Tennessee for more than twenty years and have undertaken a systematic organization of a large and complex body of information to bring order to a difficult field.
The book traces the long history of human exploitation of mussels, from aboriginal food gathering to the growth of the cultured pearl industry. It provides an interpretive context for its exhaustive species accounts with background material on biology, distribution, economic utilization, taxonomy, and conservation issues. The authors also review the life cycle of the mussel and describe its many remarkable traits, such as its shell formation and the strategies it employs during the larval stage in parasitizing fish.
The species accounts comprise 128 members of Family Unionidae--from pigtoes and pocketbooks to lilliputs and spikes--plus four additional species. The authors cover classification and synonymy, range and distribution, life history and ecology, and survival status. Particular attention is paid to shell description and structure to assist the reader in identification. Each species account includes a distribution map and color photos of two specimens.
The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee is a major reference that encompasses historical and modern mussel collections and draws on conservation studies that span two centuries. It will stand as an authoritative guide to understanding Tennessee mollusks and as a benchmark in the study of these species worldwide.
The Authors: Paul W. Parmalee is professor emeritus of zooarchaeology and director emeritus of the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Arthur E. Bogan is curator of aquatic invertebrates at the North
Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh.

The definitive field guide to all the sharks, rays and chimaeras of the European Atlantic and Mediterranean The waters of the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea are home to an amazing variety of sharks, rays and chimaeras. This comprehensive and easy-to-use field guide covers all 146 species found in the Mediterranean, the waters of the European Atlantic and Iceland, along all the Scandinavian coasts, in the Black Sea and as far south as the Canary Islands. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, habitat, biology and status. Every species account comes with a colour distribution map, a depth guide, at-a-glance icons and colour illustrations. This must-have field guide also features illustrated key guides that enable you to accurately identify down to species, comparison plates of similar species, illustrations of eggcases where known and plates of teeth. The first field guide to cover all 146 species Features hundreds of colour illustrations, photos, maps and diagrams Describes key features, habitat, biology and status Includes depth guides, at-a-glance icons, key guides and teeth plates

The quiet manatee has long been a flash point of frequent environmental debates. It is Florida's most famous endangered species, as well as its most controversial. Manatees appear on hundreds of license plates, attract hordes of tourists, and expose the uneasy relationships between science and the law and between freedom and responsibility like no other animal. As passions have flared and resentments have grown, the battle over manatee protection has evolved into a war, and no reporter has followed the story more closely than Craig Pittman, the first environmental writer to explore the complex history, culture, and science of the controversies and concerns surrounding this remarkable creature. With an abiding interest in the uncertain fate of this unique species, Manatee Insanity provides the first in-depth history of the attempts to provide legal protection for the manatee. Pittman follows Florida's gentle giants through time and space, detailing interactions with a variety of human actors, from Jacques-Yves Cousteau to Jeb Bush to Jimmy Buffett, from a popular children's book author to a federal lawman who dressed in a gorilla suit for the ultimate undercover assignment.

"Beautiful. ... A lyrical companion to his father's classic, A River Runs through It, chronicling their family's history and bond with Montana's Blackfoot River." -Washington Post A "poetic" and "captivating" (Publishers Weekly) memoir about the power of place to shape generations, Home Waters is John N. Maclean's remarkable chronicle of his family's century-long love affair with Montana's majestic Blackfoot River, the setting for his father's classic novella, A River Runs through It. Maclean returns annually to the simple family cabin that his grandfather built by hand, still in search of the trout of a lifetime. When he hooks it at last, decades of longing promise to be fulfilled, inspiring John, reporter and author, to finally write the story he was born to tell. A book that will resonate with everyone who feels deeply rooted to a landscape, Home Waters is a portrait of a family who claimed a river, from one generation to the next, of how this family came of age in the 20th century and later as they scattered across the country, faced tragedy and success, yet were always drawn back to the waters that bound them together. Here are the true stories behind the beloved characters fictionalized in A River Runs through It, including the Reverend Maclean, the patriarch who introduced the family to fishing; Norman, who balanced a life divided between literature and the tug of the rugged West; and tragic yet luminous Paul (played by Brad Pitt in Robert Redford's film adaptation), whose mysterious death has haunted the family and led John to investigate his uncle's murder and reveal new details in these pages. A universal story about nature, family, and the art of fly fishing, Maclean's memoir beautifully captures the inextricable ways our personal histories are linked to the places we come from-our home waters. Featuring twelve wood engravings by Wesley W. Bates and a map of the Blackfoot River region.

'An ode to the ocean, and the generations of women drawn to the waves or left waiting on the shore' Guardian In Salt On Your Tongue, Charlotte Runcie explores what the sea means to us, and particularly what it has meant to women through the ages. In mesmerising prose, she explores how the sea has inspired, fascinated and terrified us, and how she herself fell in love with the deep blue. This book is a walk on the beach with Turner, with Shakespeare, with the Romantic Poets and shanty-singers. It's an ode to our oceans - to the sailors who brave their treacherous waters, to the women who lost their loved ones to the waves, to the creatures that dwell in their depths, to beachcombers, swimmers, seabirds and mermaids. Navigating through ancient Greek myths, poetry, shipwrecks and Scottish folktales, Salt On Your Tongue is about how the wild untameable waves can help us understand what it means to be human.

Immerse yourself in this beautiful, absorbing guide to the marine world.

Earth owes its identity as the blue planet to the vast oceans of water that cover almost 70 per cent of its surface. Home to an abundance of marine life and vital in regulating Earth’s climate, the oceans are also the backdrop to daring exploits of seafaring and to colourful mythological tales. Combining arresting photography, rich illustrations, and engaging, expertly written text, The Ocean Book showcases the animals and plants, physical geography, and captivating human stories of the world’s oceans.

Whether you’re interested in blue whales, penguins, coral reefs, whirlpools, or the golden age of pirates, this is the perfect exploration of the ocean realm.

"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.