Matthiessen's account of commercial fishermen on eastern Long Island had an elegaic tone when I first read it shortly after it appeared almost 30 years ago. I spent summers in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s in and near the communities he focused on, in Springs, Amagansett, etc., and so many of the places and family names are familiar to me. I haven't been back there since about 1982 but rereading this book has aroused my curiosity so perhaps a short visit is in order to see the state of of the fishery there.

Apart from my personal connections, this book is startlingly relevant today, as various groups debate the state of marine wildlife and the wisest steps to take to conserve sea life. A very good read. ( )

Men's Lives is a eulogy for a few generations of fishermen and a fishing community on the South Fork of Long Island. From the late 19th century to the 1960s motorless dories were launched from the beach, setting nets that were hauled in by horse teams and then winches on cars. Motors were added to the dories, but by the 1980s striped bass conservation measures, poor fishing and employment opportunities in other industries were driving off the newest generation of would-be fishermen. ( )