Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay (Paperback)

~ (Author), John Barth (Introduction) "It is so known through the length and breadth of its watershed..." (more)
Key Phrases: mano boats, shedding floats, crab scraper, Smith Island, Morris Goodwin, Captain Lester (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

William Warner exhibits his skill as a naturalist and as a writer in this Pulitzer Prize-winning study of the pugnacious Atlantic blue crab and of its Chesapeake Bay territory. Penguin Nature Library.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (March 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316923354
• ISBN-13: 978-0316923354
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book on an unlikely subject, October 20, 1999

By	Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As a kid in Marblehead, Mass. I liked to catch crabs off the rocks. When I grew up a bit, I learned to eat them too---a very succulent food that I still love. But, I must confess that I never thought of reading books about them until one day I ran across William Warner's BEAUTIFUL SWIMMERS in a college bookshop. This wonderful work contains all you ever wanted to know about the life cycle of one particular kind of crab that lives in Chesapeake Bay (the kind you probably smashed with mallets if you ever went to that area). Surprisingly, for most of its life, the Atlantic blue crab has nothing to do with beer. Taking it for a focus, Warner draws connections with the sea, the rivers, the crab-friendly environment that produced such a wealth of the creatures, and then the people who live from that wealth, the islanders who lived isolated for centuries, but are now firmly within the web of modern life. Warner tells of the marketing of crabs, the catching of other Chesapeake products like oysters, and even of festivals like a Miss Crustacean contest ! You can learn about esoterica like crab pots, the Waterman's Union, the religious heritage of crabbers, and lots more. My edition came with a number of excellent pencil drawings of crabs, crabbers, and maritime scenes from the area. I was disappointed by only one thing----reaching the end of this great book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lyrical work of art, October 8, 2003

By	"moonfishlane" (Cockeysville, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This book is a technical wonder of writing. The lyrical beauty of the prose gives it the flow and cadence of poetry but with the straightforward phrasing of journalism. It should be required reading for college literature majors everywhere. I was first exposed to Beautiful Swimmers when it showed up on my son's 9th grade English summer reading list. What a fortunate assignment for mom.

I am in awe of Mr. Warner's skill in crafting spare yet well-thought phrasing that carefully blends the unique local language with technical terminology. You read this book and forget that it is non-fiction, nature writing. It draws you in like a compelling fictional account. Therein lies the success of the book.

Beautiful Swimmers covers the crabbing industry and the impact of this lovely crustacean on the Bay and its economy - a worthy journalistic endeavor. But for me, the real beauty is in the joy of just reading this charming work.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enduring classic: man, commerce, sea, and crab intertwine, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

I left my last copy of this book on an airline, where I was re-reading it for probably the tenth time, and am once more at this site to purchase a bunch more copies, for myself and as gifts to friends. This is a magnificent naturalist book, for anyone who has ever eaten a blue crab, caught one (they are smart and dumb at the same time, getting immersed in their eating the bait that they don't see your net, but brilliant escape artists the moment they focus on their peril), spent time anywhere along the Chesapeake, wondered about the lives of fishermen, or the cycles of the sea.