Customer Reviews

Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World's Most Mysterious Fish

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I personally found this to be an extremely fascinating read. The book of course is about eels; a fish that we really know very little about. But the book covers so much more that just this primary subject.

The author takes us from the United States, to New Zeeland and on to the orient and then the Polynesian Island. This work is not merely the study of a specific species of fish; it is also the study of a number of indigenous peoples around the world and their interaction with eels, both as a food source and that of a spiritual nature.

This work takes us unto the world of eels; eels as food, eels as religious symbols (for more than one culture) and eels as another indicator of the problems we are having in our environment.

The author has done what I would consider a good job on his research, but must admit that my endorsement in this area is rather shaky, as I knew absolutely nothing of eels before reading this work. My only encounter with one of their tribe is when I accidently caught on fishing near the coast in Virginia a number of years ago and spent ten minutes dancing around like my head was in fire trying to figure out how I was going to get the thing off the hook without injuring either the eel or myself. Anyway, I took the author's word as to the facts and figures he presented.

The book is well written and is an easy and enjoyable read. My only objection to the work, an this is purely personal, is that I would have like to have read a bit more about the actual eels and less about their impact on some of the cultures addressed in the book. Others may find this a good thing though.

As with most books of this nature lately, I finished it and found myself more than a bit depressed. It would seem that we humans are mucking up the world of eels and if things keep going in the current direction, we may soon only be able to read about yet another extinct animal.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

I think most people know that salmon are born in freshwater rivers and migrate to the oceans where they spend their lives before returning to the river of their birth to spawn. But who knew that freshwater eels do the exact opposite? They're born in the ocean and then find their way into freshwater rivers around the world. They'll spend their lives - perhaps as long as 50 to 100 years - in those freshwater rivers before migrating back to the place of their birth in the ocean to spawn and die. Interestingly, however, no one has seen them spawning and the locations aren't precisely known (American and European eels spawn somewhere in the Sargasso Sea, and scientists now think they've found the area where Japanese eels spawn). Nor is it known how they find their way there, or how they find their way into the many rivers where they spend their lives.

Having recently enjoyed Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg, this book caught my eye. Author James Prosek has travelled extensively studying eels and their place in various cultures - the Maori in New Zealand, the east coast of the US, Japan, and the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia (missing is Europe). However - and in contrast to Four Fish - he focuses mostly on the cultural (or perhaps it would be more correct to say "ethnological") aspects of the eel and the book frequently takes a mystical approach to the subject. The chapters on the Maori were especially long (and tedious) with a multitude of personal stories and their reverence for the eel. The Pohnpeians take that reverence even further and practically worship the eel, whereas most other cultures value it as a food item (the Pilgrims likely ate eel instead of turkey at the first Thanksgiving).

Prosek has illustrated the book with his own drawings, which are quite good, but often the actual photo (particularly those of people he met in his travels) would have been better. A good book if you're interested in culture, but disappointing if you're looking for biology and science.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. When I first picked it up, I was expecting a popular scientific treatise on the fish and the search for where they spawn. This makes up part of the book...but there is so much more. Prosek travels all over the world to exam cultural traditions surrounding the eel. We follow Prosek as he learn about the Maori's reverance for the eel and stories from the island of Pohnpei, where the eel is viewed as a god. Prosek goes to Japan, the nation that consumes the most eels per capita, and visits the biggest seafood market in the world. He also introduces us to a fisherman in the Catskills and goes along with him as he traps eel. While reading this book, I found myself constantly sharing new bits of information with family, friends, and colleagues. A book so fascinating that it compels me to share what I read is the type of non-fiction book I love to discover. This book is just such a book.

As soon as this book came in the mail my son asked to read it. I said I'd read it first and then he could read it. But now I'm telling him to wait.

James Prosek has a lyrical, mythical, spiritual sort of writing style. Who would think that a book about slimy water creatures could be so mesmerizing? I love that he doesn't just tell facts, he tells stories, and many of the stories are far from scientific. The author does bring in plenty of scientific facts about eels, but he makes them seem beyond science, supernatural. Some of these stories are animistic religions, and some are very sexual, which is why I don't want my 10-yr-old son to read "Eels." Prosek doesn't really approach the subject of conservation until the end of the book. Instead of writing a persuasive argument telling the readers to protect eels, Prosek once again tells a story, the story of an rough and unruly eel conservationist.

All in all, this book is very engaging and convinces readers that eels are worthy of our attention.

Why read a book about Eels? Well...it isn't just about eels.

Prosek has written an investigation into the limits of science and the fascinating use of mythology by peoples trying to explain our world. As the reader moves through this book we are taken along on a ride that transforms the author.

I did not expect the transformation early on in the narrative but by the time I got to Lorenso's story I was hooked. The intro into this story was all emotion, and the certainty of scientific reason was ready for a takedown. Prosek pulls it off with remarkable insight and storytelling ability.

There is a lot of information about the animal here, but my reading says more about the author. If you have ever questioned the absolute validity of scientific knowledge and wondered if maybe there was at least a little insight in mythology and mysticism, read this book. You won't be disappointed.

I had no idea what I was going to get into with this book. After all, a whole book on eels seemed like it would be boring, but I like esoteric books. Instead, I found a fascinating book that is part travelogue, part science, and part environmental plea. The book is beautifully written, and left me with a huge respect and interest in eels, as well as a feeling of intense sadness about the environmental destruction we are causing in the world.

The author crosses the world researching eels, or more, the people that are involved with fishing eels, researching eels, or cultures that have incorporated eels. You will meet and learn about many interesting people... and you will also learn all types of things about eels such as:

They are the only freshwater fish that migrates to and breeds in the ocean
Noone has ever seen them breed
When they migrate to the ocean they can cross vertical walls by working together as a team and forming a bridge

And many other facts.

If this sounds interesting to you, get the book. You'll learn a ton and have a much deeper appreciation for the mysteries and complexities of nature. If you are worried that the book seems esoteric or could be a dull science text.. think again, it is really quite interesting and fun to read.

James Prosek writes an entertaining, fact filled anthology of the Eel in world culture. For the uninitiated, this work is an excellent introduction to the Eel and its effect on the minds and mouths of people. James Prosek really does his homework for this book going from the Sargasso Sea and Danish Researchers funded by Carlsberg Brewing in Denmark, all the way to the South Pacific including an excellent very detailed description of The Eel and Maori culture. He touches base with the European Eel Fishery and the people involved in it. He spends a good deal of time with a Gentleman called Ray on the east branch of the Delaware River and the operation of an Eel weir including its makeup and maintenance. Ray goes so far as to describe his weir as a woman, with analagous anatomical parts. This is done in a very clean, matter of fact fashion.The Black and White Illustrations in the book are superb.
To many people, and I believe James Prosek himself, the Eel is a spiritual fish. Eels have inspired mankind the world over and provided the spark for a great deal of theology in world culture. This is not unique to particular groups such as the Maori, but can be found in groups the world over. The Uroboros is very likely originally an Eel because snakes normally coil and do not form single circles. I have seen Eels form a circle. I recall a time around 35 years ago when I caught a fairly large (36") Eel in the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. My first thought was it was just another Eel. I looked at it and it looked back at me almost like it had a personality. I told my Father I wanted to let it go. However he wanted me to give it away to an elderly Italian friend of his. We put it in the bag and away it went. Sweet white meat- it was delicious. I did not feel bad for the Eel, that ended up being its purpose in life. It is nice to know that others feel likewise. There is a time for "catch and release" and a time to eat. My father told me he saw Eels swim over land during rain and also through morning dew to migrate. I never believed it but now I do after reading this book.
Eels are being posed a challenge by a number of forces. Hydroelectric dams chop them up. Asian food demand increases for a limited Eel supply. Bait Shops in the Eastern United States sell the males as bait for Striped Bass. No one really knows why or how Eels spawn except that they live their adult lives in freshwater and go to the ocean to spawn in various spots throughout the globe. This would make artificial Eel reproduction very difficult. At one point there was a government bounty on New Zealand Eels because they ate the Trout (an artificially introduced species in New Zealand). Governments are having a hard time accepting the declines in Eel numbers. In fact they are in denial.
Hopefully the Eel will not go the way of the Newfoundland Codfish or the Atlantic Sturgeon fishery in the Eastern United States. With proper management we can enable this amazing fish to stage a comeback. We did it with the Striped Bass (Rock for you Rebels and Stripers for you Yankees out there). 25 years ago the rock was decimated but now with proper management their numbers are way up. We can do the same with the Eel. It will take longer because they live longer and move further, but nethertheless can be done. James Prosek makes a compelling argument to preserve this natural treasure. I encourage anyone with a special interest in fishing, wildlife conservation, Migratory fish, or the Collective Unconscious of mankind to read this book. I also encourage anyone who read the September 2010 edition of National Geographic and found the article on Eels especially interesting to buy this book. In addition I encourage the worldwide audience with any interest in eels to read this book. This includes anyone who collects Eel spears because there are several very important points of contact mentioned here. It also includes anyone who eats these fish.
All in all this is an excellent book. James Prosek is a Superb Author. The book has great illustrations of a legacy nature. I enjoyed it very much. Good reading all around.

Oh Goodness, I hate to give bad reviews. For me, three stars or less is a bad review. I don't mean to say that this product is bad. It might be five stars for you and I'll get to that in a bit. "It just doesn't work for me," I say as I draw air through my teeth and tilt my head slightly. My apologies to the author. He did a good job, but the adage about not being able to please everyone...

When reading non-fiction, especially about animals, I like photographs or at the very least good illustrations. This book is like a novel in that it has no photographs and the sparse drawings are artistic rather than illustrative.

The writing is good, but it is anecdotal as opposed to instructional or educational. The author is descriptive - often describing very well large writhing beasts as well as more coy types. He writes his tales (not tall ones) about eels in general and in different places and cultures.

Without a more, for lack of a better word, "clinical" treatment of this subject, I often am entertained but left wondering if some of the anecdotes were stretches of the imagination. Photos and illustrations would have gone a long way to dispel that feeling.

If you think you will enjoy non-fiction written in the style of fiction, you'll enjoy this book.

This book is not, as the cover says, 'Eels an exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso...' rather, it's a grand tour of the ethnography of the eel and the spititual role it plays in many cultures. Locations include New Zealand, Japan, Maine, the Catskills, Sweden, and more. If that's what you are looking for, then grab this book; it's a great read.

I was a bit disappointed at what was missing. The author speaks of an opportunity to get in the water and swim with the eels. He brings so much enthusiasm to the whole topic of eels that I expected this to be a truely amazing story to recount; but no, only 3 sentences in a short paragraph.

Personally I was hoping for more science because, as the author states many time, the eel is an exceptionally curious fish. It's not that all science has been stripped out; it appears in the many footnotes the author provides. It's as though he felt science was just way too scary for his readers. A dedicated science chapter would have been welcome... or perhaps an appendix.

In the achknowledgements, we discover that the original intent was to produce a cook book! Well, there sure a lot of cultures that eat eel, and the taste is well described and enticing. But be sure to check your local fish advisory; American Eeel is on the 'Do Not Eat' list in many states.

One expected this book to be another of those throw-away one subject books such as were faddishly written about food not too long ago Salt, Cod, etc., which is ironic because the author acknowledges that this was initially going to be a cookbook of sorts. This also goes a long way toward explaining how he set upon such an, at first glance, unappealing subject matter.
Anyway, the new fad seems to be the topical single-animal book so the author has done a good job of fitting his book in to that genre for this book is, indeed, about a single animal.
A great thing about this book is that it reads well, really well, and so is perfect for an airplane journey or vacation reading where one wants something that can be picked up and put down at will without ever feeling as though miss something in doing so. As it happens it is also the kind of thing that one can sit down and read in a couple of extended sessions. In other words it keeps one's interest well and yet is not so involved that one can't just put the thing down multiple times and be right back into the story as soon as he picks it up again.
The author does a fair job of describing the eel and its mysteries and an excellent job of introducing interesting characters from around the world to propel the story. In the course of which he does an effective job of turning the ordinarily somewhat repugnant eel (repugnant to most Westerners, anyway) into something approaching cuddly and lovable. He does this by introducing us to cultures where the eel is revered, honored, and even considered a relative. It is a bit of a stretch at times (drawing the analogy to ancient legend and Ms. August in his episode with the NZ eels is fine but actually the Pakeha in the same vignette more closely hews to the storyline, but that doesn't make such good fodder, for instance) but he does finally succeed in making the eel 'human,' which is a problem, frankly, for a number of reasons; among them the continual slaughter of them that he participates in along the way, and the fact that this is ultimately not an uplifting story but one that points out the plight of the eel which is rapidly disappearing from the face of the earth, often via the alimentary canals of the human, particularly oriental, race. Also, because he leans a bit heavily on the magical and superstitious aspects of the interaction between man and eel for my tastes, which brings me to a more personal note, I remember night fishing for eels back in Maine and catching some humongous specimens. I don't think I would have willingly done so if I'd known they were as old as 50 years of age and older. Indeed it makes one ill to read about the author participating in the capture and killing of similarly old animals merely for the sake of this thin, although recommended, story.