The Secret Life of Lobsters (28 page)

T
REVOR
C
ORSON
worked aboard commercial lobster boats for two years and has written on subjects as diverse as organ transplants, Japanese Buddhism, and Chinese politics. His writing has appeared in
Atlantic Monthly,
the
New York Times,
the
Los Angeles Times,
and the
Boston Globe.
He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

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“Corson serves up a savory blend of history and science along with a satisfying course of lobster and human behavior.”

—
Boston Herald

“[T]his investigation into society, science, and sustainability leaves a complex, satisfying taste in your mouth.”

—
Time Out
(New York)

“Lobster is served three ways in this fascinating book: by fishermen, by scientists, and by the crustaceans themselves…. Corson…weaves together these three worlds. The human worlds are surely interesting, but they can't top the lobster life on the ocean floor.”

—
Washington Post

“Corson has fun with his material. The species has been well served by his efforts.”

—
New York Newsday

“What a great book! This is a charming, funny, warm, and informative look at Maine lobsters…. Treat yourself to this one—you won't be sorry.”

—
Kingston Observer

“Corson's readable portrait braids scientific history with a fisherman's view of a lobstering town, keeping one foot in the lab, one on the deck, and the other eight in the mysterious deep.”

—
Boston
magazine

“Corson's sense of humor and ability to breathe a human sensibility into his crustacean characters enliven even the most esoteric details of how lobsters hunt, hide, fight, and mate in their natural habitat.”

—
Atlantic Monthly

“Corson skillfully intersperses among the scientific discussion keen insights into the lives and livelihoods of the men and women who make a living along Maine's coast.”

—
The Ellsworth American

“The writing in
The Secret Life of Lobsters
is crisp, with the narrative flowing smoothly between episodes at sea and scenes aboard a flotilla of research ships or in labs ashore. The book never bogs down; the fascinating tidbits and observations just keep on coming.”

—
Mount Desert Islander

“Upbeat, witty, filled with dialogue, and written in the style of a detective novel…. It's a fun read and delivers painlessly and with good humor more information about lobsters than you thought existed.”

—
Down East

“A wonderfully addictive and page-turning book…. The little buggers are randy and Corson gets into it in hilarious yet fascinating detail.”

—
Ottawa Citizen

“Peppered with new and interesting facts, colorful descriptions of life on the cobbled bottom of the sea, exciting episodes in the day of a local fisherman or marine researcher, [and] intriguing political controversy…. Corson [is]an accessible, entertaining writer.”

—
Bar Harbor Times

“Charmingly written, full of fascinating detail…a delight.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“[An] intriguing and entertaining book…. Fascinating, especially when[Corson] juxtaposes human behavior and descriptions of the social life of lobsters.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Corson has skillfully interwoven the biological and personal aspects of these much loved, tasty creatures into an informative and fascinating book.”

—
Library Journal

“Like the first man who decided a lobster was edible, the reader of this book is in for a surprise: it's fantastic! Trevor Corson has done something wonderful with this book: he's revealed heretofore unsuspected depths of intrigue and mystery in the sex life of lobsters. It's hard to tell which is more remarkable, though, the secret life of the lobsters or the lives of the lobstermen. You'll never look at a lobster the same way again but be assured that these lobstermen are doing it right, and not endangering the species they catch. This is the way natural history is supposed to be written: engaging, fascinating, brilliant.”

—Richard Ellis, author of
The Empty Ocean
and
No Turning Back

“
The Secret Life of Lobsters
is so full of fun and fascination that you'll be almost embarrassed to think that, for all these years, all you ever knew about lobsters was how they taste. Lobsters do so many remarkable things that you just might conclude that the differences between people and lobsters are only skin deep. Prepare to awe your friends as you regale them with details from the depths—this book will make you seem like a genius at your next summer lawn party.”

—Carl Safina, author of
Song for the Blue Ocean
and
Eye of the Albatross

“I believe that cooking is not only a craft but also a sacred art. When we choose to kill and cook a lobster, it can be a way of paying homage to the animal's life. In
The Secret Life of Lobsters
, Trevor Corson teaches us that the lobster has its own mysterious habits, sensitivity, and sensibilities, and that it deserves our respect when we bring it to our table.”

—Eric Ripert, executive chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin, and author of
A Return to Cooking
and
Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity

THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS
. Copyright © 2004 by Trevor Corson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2007 ISBN: 9780061873973

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