Working on the Edge: Surviving In the World's Most Dangerous Profession: King Crab Fishing on Alaska's HighSeas [Paperback]

Spike Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1993

No profession pits man against nature more brutally than king crab fishing in the frigid, unpredictable waters of the Bering Sea. The yearly death toll is staggering (forty-two men in 1988 alone); the conditions are beyond most imaginations (90-mph Arctic winds, 25-foot seas, and super-human stretches of on-deck labor); but the payback, if one survives can be tens of thousands of dollars for a month-long season.

In a breathtaking, action-packed account that combines his personal story with the stories of survivors of the industry's most harrowing disasters, Spike Walker re-creates the boom years of Alaskan crab fishing--a modern-day gold rush that drew hundreds of fortune-and adventure-hunters to Alaska's dangerous waters--and the crash that followed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The pay was fabulous--a deckhand could earn $100,000 in four months--but working conditions were nightmarish. Fishing for king crab in Alaskan waters is the most dangerous occupation on earth, stresses Walker, who crewed with the crab fleet during the boom years 1976-84 and here presents bone-chilling tales about men (one woman), ships and the sea. Deckhands frequently worked around the clock, pushing 750-pound crab pots over a pitching deck swept with icy, stinging salt spray, enduring gale-force winds and gigantic waves. Because of the lack of privacy and sleep, irregular meals, darkness and isolation from civilization, the offshore life affects sailors mentally as well as physically. Walker gives a gripping account of the 1981 fall season, with its lost ships and heroic rescues. He combines his personal experiences with sailors' stories for a vivid picture of an occupation that challenges nature. Super adventure. Photos.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Walker shares his experiences of crab fishing off the coast of Alaska in an interesting and informative anecdotal style. Readers will learn that the dangers that make crab fishing such a risky if highly profitable profession don't all come from the sea itself. Fear, depression, greed, and drugs have played a large role as well. "For too many caught up in the 'go to hell' lifestyle . . . there was cocaine--grams of it, ounces of it, pounds and kilos . . . ." And then the fishing industry collapsed due to a number of reasons: natural biological cycles, overfishing, large numbers of predators, disease, etc. Recommended for general collections.
- Mary J. Nickum, Fish & Wildlife Reference Svce., Bethesda, Md.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 279 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st pbk. ed edition (March 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312089244
• ISBN-13: 978-0312089245
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural Resources > Fisheries & Aquaculture

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Added a new dimension to my perception of the world, March 18, 2000

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Working on the Edge: Surviving In the World's Most Dangerous Profession: King Crab Fishing on Alaska's HighSeas (Paperback)

Walker brought me right into the skin of a youthful, 245-pound man with an oil rigger's and lumberjack's experience, who arrived in Kodiak in 1978 with $20 in his pocket, drawn by the lure of high adventure and easy money. When the crabs were running there was almost no sleep, backbreaking labor, and constant danger in sub-zero temperatures and storms at sea.

Rewards for the hearty were steep, however. Crewman had shares in the ship's profits and, if the crabs were running well, could pull in $40,000 or more in a single 29-day stint at sea. No wonder Alaska was attracting all these young men and a few courageous women.

There's hardships and joy, elation and despair, physical feats of survival and courage more exciting than any fiction. The detailed descriptions of the beauty of the land and the realities of nature pulled me right from my life in New York City and set me down next to Walker as he worked with fellow crewman pulling 2000 pound pots of crab from the sea. I felt the frigid wind, the tossing deck, the constant icy spray of seawater. I reeked with seasickness and fatigue and the camaraderie of the crewmen. I celebrated my new found riches in the one bar in town, and mourned the tragic deaths from the whims of nature.

This is also the story of the fishing industry itself. It's the story of greed. And massive investments in technology which plundered the seas of their resources. Its the story of boom and bust and human endurance. And it will forever add a new dimension to my perception of the world.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Working on the Edge, August 28, 2000

By 

Joey Bag O' Donuts "Joey B." (Des Moines, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working on the Edge: Surviving In the World's Most Dangerous Profession: King Crab Fishing on Alaska's HighSeas (Paperback)

Incredible! Having lived in Alaska for 3 years, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, I can attest to the authors gripping portrayal of working in this profession. Spike Walker delivers a gritty, real and inside look at king crab fishing in the Bering Sea. I have never read a book that was more in depth on the job as well as the off boat life of a fisherman. Having seen what he describes in the book first hand, with the tragedies and glories, this is one book you will not want to pass up. I would reccomend this to anyone who enjoys stories of the sea. I have owned this book for 2 years and still read it often. This is one novel that won't sit on your shelf for long. The Alaskan king crab fishing fleet is an example of brave men and women, at their finest, and sometimes their worst. Laden with success and sorrow, you will definately get a better understanding of America's most dangerous job, and develop a deep appreciation of what these men and women do every season to provide for the rest of us.

Don't hesitate any longer, get this book today.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Macho Man's Book, Yet I loved every page and I'm a woman!, November 7, 1999

By 

Anna J. Hills ([e-mail]) (Silverdale, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working on the Edge: Surviving In the World's Most Dangerous Profession: King Crab Fishing on Alaska's HighSeas (Paperback)

This is a very exciting book for either gender. I lived in Chiniak, on Kodiak Island and my dad was a commercial crab and salmon fisherman on a boat of much smaller scale than the ones referred to in the book. They were known as The Little Fishermen---daddy's boat was 34 feet. He told tales of 30 foot waves crashing across his bow just as Spike Walker tells so vividly in his book. He also told of the dangerous conditions that the fishermen faced in the treacherous Alaskan waters . He had a few tales to tell himself. He was a retired Naval Officer who always dreamed of going to Kodiak and having a fishing boat. He requested Kodiak as his last tour of duty before retiring from 23 years of Naval Service. He built a Log Cabin in Chiniak and bought a boat which he named after me---The Anna J. It is still in service, last I heard owned by Larry Anderson. This book meant a lot to me as some of the names of crewmen,skippers,ports of call and havens from perilous weather rekindled memories of stories told to me by my dad. Mr. Walker's book full of harrowing experiences of life and death paralleled the ones dad told me. My dad would have enjoyed this book so much, but since he is no longer with us I will say for the both of us ----A Great Book Mr. Walker! Sincerely, Anna J. Durham Hills