Cannery Row: The History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean View Avenue- Photography from the Pat Hathaway Historical Photo Collection [Paperback]

Michael Kenneth Hemp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2003

The evolution of Monterey history from its Spanish colonial origins to its rise to become "Sardine Capital of the World"—and the stage upon which Pulitzer and Nobel winner, John Steinbeck, set "Cannery Row" and "Sweet Thursday"—is illustrated with 178 archival photographs from the Hathaway Collection.

This new Second Edition features state-of-the-art "stochastic" (random dot) imaging and printing technology to bring dramitic clarity and detail to its digitially restored photography. The photos in this book illustrate the evolution of Monterey history, the fishing and canning industries, the processes and working conditions in Monterey's world famous sardine trade. They also show in accurate detail the actual locations used by John Steinbeck in his Cannery Row fiction.

The book contains a detailed, indexed historical map to the Row's canneries and literary sites, a full text index, a research bibiolgraphy, recommended website resources, and a special family album of marine biologist, Edward F. Ricketts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is fabulous. Just a wonderful book."

--Mae Waldroup, Thunderbird Books, Carmel -- Carmel Pinecone, 02/07/02

Michael keeps history and lore alive through his photo-laden book, "Cannery Row: The History of Old Ocean View Avenue." -- Monterey County Herald (feature), Friday, April 18, 2003

The history of Cannery Row is too rich to enhance, but Michael Hemp has done the next best thing. -- Salinas Californian (feature), Saturday, February 8, 2003

About the Author

Born and raised in Berkeley, California, and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, the author has seen old Cannery Row through thousands of eyes over his twenty years of direct oral and archival historical research of the magical place Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author, John Steinbeck, made world famous.

This book represents a summary glimpse of a life work of extensive oral history interviews with cannery workers, skippers, fishermen, residents and working people on old Ocean View Avenue, who worked its fishing and canning industries and knew Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck. The photogrpahy in this book vividly illustrates the informaiton, understanding and appreciation of Cannery Row history, the basis of John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row," and Ed Ricketts' underlying conservation lesson for the new centruy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: The History Company; 2nd edition (January 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941425010
• ISBN-13: 978-0941425018
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MOST RECENTLY: A novel of historic fiction, "SUR, Legend of The Last Otter Hunter" premiered on Kindle as a 5-Star.

In 2011, two Michael Kenneth Hemp designed iTunes Travel Apps premiered as 5-Stars at the App Store: "CANNERY ROW" and "CARMEL and CARMEL VALLEY."

Michael Kenneth Hemp is Berkeley, California, born and raised; St. Mary's College High School Valedictorian, Berkeley; Sophomore Class President at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington; a Political Science graduate of the University of California at Berkeley; owner of a number of small businesses; a USAF Special Intelligence officer and combat veteran of Special Operations in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the Vietnams; founder and research historian of the Cannery Row Foundation, Monterey; Director of Marketing, Communications and Special Events of the Cannery Row Company, Monterey; Cannery Row history, John Steinbeck literature, and Ed Ricketts biographical authority; heritage marketing consultant, creative director, webmaster, and publisher; lecturer and heritage guide to Monterey's historic Cannery Row; WWII Big Band Jazz radio broadcaster on Carmel's KRML, made famous by Clint Eastwood in "Play Misty For Me."

He lives in rural Carmel Valley with his wife, Terri, and "his staff" of two standard poodles. His daughter and son are raising families in the next county.

Acclaimed since the late 1980s as "Mr. Cannery Row," his history is one of the most widely successful books published from the Monterey Peninsula, California. His recent novel, "The Nadjik Pheromone" -- introducing GC-MS breath analysis lie detection--was a 2009 Indie Book Awards finalist in fiction, a National Best Books Award 2009 Fiction finalist, and is an Amazon.com 5-star. The search for factual history fits comfortably with the scientific search for truth.

In 2010, under the design and production direction of Michael Hemp, The History Company produced "Cuba Rising, An American Insider's Perspective" by Jonathan Showe for Global Insights Press (2010). Custom book design is offered by The History Company.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A look back into the past, May 29, 2006

By 

L. Cameron (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cannery Row: The History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean View Avenue- Photography from the Pat Hathaway Historical Photo Collection (Paperback)

Page after page of black and white photographs vividly evoke the Cannery Row of days long gone, when the cannery whistles blew to call the workers down to the shoreline of Monterey Bay. You can almost smell the over-powering stink of fish oil and fish meal and fish guts, hear the clank of Southern Pacific freight trains lumbering over the points laden with cans of sardines and salmon for distant markets. Michael Hemp's lively commentary on the photographs adds background and history without overwhelming the casual reader with detail. The section on Ed Flanders Ricketts, the model Steinbeck used for Doc and many other characters in his fiction, is particularly interesting to those who know little about this revolutionary marine biologist. Good maps help visitors orient themselves to existing buildings like Kalisa's La Ida Cafe (still serving up hot coffee and bellydancers since 1958), the Wing Chong Market, and Ricketts' Lab.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Photos to aid a seaport modeler, November 21, 2010

By 

G. Hulin (Eugene, o) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CANNERY ROW, The History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean View Avenue (Paperback)

I have recently begun a yearlong project to model a seaport harbor in 1/4-inch scale. This photo history of Cannery Row is the best source of images that I have found to show detail of pilings and sway bracing that fill the space beneath piers and wharves. While my interest is in the structures built over the water and the boats that served the canning industry, this pictorial history also documents the cannery interiors and the streetfront sides of the industries. In fact, with maps and aerial photos, this publication presents a comprehensive history of the Monterey waterfront and the people who worked there during the 1928-1946 heyday of the sardine harvest.

I found what I was looking for in this volume, without really studying the history lessons presented, nor the correlations with John Steinbeck's novel. There is much more in this volume for the student of American literature, or the casual visitor to Monterey, California.

4.0 out of 5 stars Leaves You Wanting More, October 24, 2011

By 

A Reynolds "anet1954" - See all my reviews

This review is from: CANNERY ROW, The History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean View Avenue (Paperback)

Having grown up in Monterey, California and having known some of the "old" Cannery Row, I truly enjoyed pouring through this book. The writing is a bit stilted, and the editing is atrocious, but all-in-all it's a terrific record of the street now known as Cannery Row. I'd ask the author to do some serious line-editing in his next edition.