The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten…

by Colin Woodard

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At turns intriguing and amusing; a thoroughly enjoyable read. I got to hear Colin Woodard speak at a local bookstore on an island in Maine (sadly, the store is now defunct). He gives a great talk, and you can tell just how thorough his research is because he simply doesn't have to refer to any notes, and his talk includes a number of anecdotes that don't make it into the central narrative of the book. His coverage of the history of Maine and its denizens travels with ease back and forth across centuries in a way that supports, rather than distracts from, his storytelling and description of the various personalities that made Maine the way it is.

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143035343 (

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Kinniska | Feb 1, 2010 |

I didn't love this book. It's a really interesting history of Maine and New England, from settlement all the way up to the 21st century, and there are fascinating historical, oceanographic, sociological, political, and ecological facts all throughout, as well as interviews and anecdotes. But the book rambles quite a bit, and is a little repetitive in places. Woodard hammers pretty hard on his perception that Maine life is being irreparably changed by pressures from outside the state, and that's undoubtedly true, though there may be less confrontational ways of saying it. Still, an interesting read, and worth the time it takes. (

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upstairsgirl | Oct 9, 2009 |

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Chebeague Island, Maine

Secession in the United States

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0143035347, Paperback)

This lively book reveals a little known culture that predates the Pilgrims and has remained true to the earliest version of the American Dream: an egalitarian, self-reliant republic. The self-sufficient lobstermen of the Maine coast are models of environmental prudence: at a time when the fishing industry is in crisis, they have conserved the bounty of their waters, even as the once-humble lobster has become a coveted delicacy. How denizens of the coast achieved this balance, even as they withstood assaults from everyone from French raiders to rapacious land speculators, makes for a “stellar informal history ... a primer for conservation and the effects of bad politics” (The Kingston Observer).

(retrieved from Amazon Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:32:42 -0400)

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"Veteran journalist Colin Woodard's portrait of the Maine coast and its forgotten history is a tale of intrigue, conflict, and stubborn perseverance. Born and raised in Maine, Woodard is able to reveal a people with an Old World sense of ties that exist between blood and soil: many of the tiny fishing and farming hamlets that dot the coast are still occupied by the families that settled them three or four centuries ago. These communities and their unique way of life are now threatened by the forces of suburbanization spreading north from the cities." "Sustaining these seaside and island villages is the humble lobster, which rose from a source of cheap bait to a worldwide delicacy, from servants' food to one of the essential underpinnings of the economy and culture of the North Atlantic Coast. Informed by their cultural values and hard-won historical experience, Maine's lobstermen have found a way to defy the "tragedy of the commons," the notion that people always overexploit their shared property. Recognizing ecological limits and balancing what is individually possible with what is communally desirable, these lobstermen have created a precious example of a truly sustainable fishery."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)