THE LAST FISH TALE The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America's Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town

With the sprightly tone and buoyant pace of a PBS special, Grover Gardner describes the rise and decline of the New England fishing industry and its effect on the unique Massachusetts town of Gloucester. He ably replicates the voices of the immigrants who manned successive fleets and often perished in rough weather. As the town became connected to suburban Boston via Route 128, shoreline real estate values skyrocketed as fishing jobs disappeared with the cod and the haddock. The filming of THE PERFECT STORM helped, but only temporarily. The story includes comparisons with villages in Sicily and Cornwall as well as recipes for which listeners might need shorthand. What resident artists like Winslow Homer immortalized in paint, Gardner has delightfully portrayed in audio. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]