Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay

There was a time when the Chesapeake Bay produced more fish, crabs, clams, oysters... well, more seafood than any other place on earth. Possibly more MEAT per acre than anywhere else on earth. The author does a wonderful, entertaining job of informing the reader of the history of this one bay - and how our use of it reflects the history of all fisheries world wide. Now, mind you, I'm going from memory. My copy of the book has been packed away during several moves. This book is more than just the history of seafood in the bay. It's a story of families, businesses, species and the growth of a young country. This is a must-read book if your family came from "The Eastern Shore" or if you want to learn more about the long term impact of uncontrolled harvest or pollution on fragile ecosystems. This is one of those books that I consider required reading for jr. or high school.