Reading: The Secret Life of Lobsters

Consider the humble lobster: an unsightly creature from the sea that tastes awfully good with melted butter. But it turns out that this aesthetically-challenged crustacean is so much more -- a charming lover, a belligerent fighter, and a snoopy socializer with a nose that lets it track prey and paramour alike with the skill of a bloodhound. And, perhaps most important, these astonishing animals are a sustainable resource that has provided a livelihood for generations of Maine fisherman. In his entertaining and edifying book, THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS, Trevor Corson takes us on a lively sea-sprayed voyage inside a world where fishermen and scientists have joined forces to uncover the mysteries -- and preserve the future -- of these clawed predators.

Corson, a journalist and former editor who lives in Boston, worked for two years as a sternman aboard a lobster boat out of Little Cranberry Island, Maine. From the slippery deck of the Double Trouble, he witnessed firsthand the lives and work of a crusty band of lifelong lobstermen and a new breed of ecologists whose unconventional methods include underwater vacuum cleaners, robots, lasers, scent electrodes — and superglue. Combing science, history, and folk wisdom, he explores the confounding reasons behind the fact that Maine's lobster catch has tripled over the past fifteen years despite the general decimation of New England waters by overfishing. Part popular science, part social history, THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS provides a glimpse into the quirkiness of scientific endeavors and fosters an awareness of how our oceans can be harvested sustainably despite questionable big-government solutions to environmental problems. It also offers an intimate portrait of an island lobstering community bound by tradition but confronting change.