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Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay Paperback – March 21, 1994
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The classic Pulitzer Prize-winning study of the Atlantic blue crab and the people of the Chesapeake Bay who have depended on it for generations.
For decades, William Warner's exploration of the Atlantic blue crab and the Chesapeake Bay has delighted thousands of readers and become a modern American classic. Nature enthusiasts and fans of fine literature alike will find Beautiful Swimmers a timeless and enchanting study in the tradition of Rachel Carson and Annie Dillard.
In these pages, we are immersed not only in the world of the Chesapeake's most intriguing crustaceans, but in the winds and tides of the Bay itself and the struggles of the watermen who make their living in pursuit of the succulent, pugnacious blue crab.
"This is a book of rare grace and meditation, one that ranges from adventure to zoology, with no small measure of mystery and history." --Miami Herald
"Beautiful Swimmers is wonderful to read and a distinguished addition to our literature." --Larry McMurtry
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBack Bay Books
- Publication dateMarch 21, 1994
- Dimensions5.45 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
- ISBN-100316923354
- ISBN-13978-0316923354
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"William W. Warner's book on blue crabs is called Beautiful Swimmers, and beautiful is the word for it. Other words for it are elegant, moving, informative, and provocative...His book, so meticulously researched and gracefully written, is a small work of art and a large joy for the reader."―Sports Illustrated
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- Publisher : Back Bay Books; Reprint edition (March 21, 1994)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0316923354
- ISBN-13 : 978-0316923354
- Item Weight : 10.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.45 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #40,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2 in Ecology of Lakes & Ponds (Books)
- #2 in Coastal Ecosystems
- #299 in U.S. State & Local History
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"Beautiful Swimmers" is William Warner's magnificent story of the blue crab, the women and men who go down to the sea in low-gunn'ld boats well before dawn to work their crab pots, the way of life of their communities and forebears, the great Chesapeake Bay itself, and the impacts of urbanization on this way of life. Warner spent several years and many many hours with the watermen learning about the crabs, then a significant part of the Bay's economy and its ecology. His research shows in each chapter, yet nothing is academic, "quaint," or preachy.
Warner's writing is is a joy to read, aloud if possible, or silently. It is crystalline, free of hyperbole or hysteria while presenting the impacts on the Bay of urbanization & our hunger for crabs, tenderly appreciative of the crab itself, and honoring as they should be honored, the communities and the people whose lives require complex skills, deep attention to wind and water, and enormous courage. For some years, I sailed now & again from a small island community (Cobb Island) on the Potomac, where people lived by crabbing in summer and oystering in winter. Warner has nailed it: this is what it feels like, this is what the crabs are like, and lordy, lordy, this is how they taste served hot at Captain John's.
Written in the 1970s, "Beautiful Swimmers" is, of course, a picture of that not-so-long ago time. One hopes Warner has contributed to preserving the waters, the eel-grasses, the communities, and the blue crabs themselves, beautiful & savory. Perhaps things have changed for the better.
A book to read, to enjoy, to learn from, to admire. I have no negatives or yes-buts, other than noting my appreciation of the reprints so "Beautiful Swimmers" remains available and mentioning readers may find enjoyment of the first/earlier editions' maps and splendid line drawings.
and drawings by Consuelo Hanks
I love this book! I ordered this second hand from Amazon, delivered free with Prime and it came lovingly wrapped and inside a zip lock bag, where it remains for safe keeping. A wonderful saga reported in this Pulitzer Prize winning book detailing the lives and exploits of the fishermen and crabbers of the Chesapeake Bay Area. The author writes wonderfully and with honest sympathy of the hard but worthwhile lives of the Bay Fishermen. If you would like a wonderfully written intreaging story of the watermen of the Chesapeake Bay this will be your fantastic escape into their lives and struggles to make a living from the Bay waters.








