The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson

In this intimate portrait of an island lobstering community and an eccentric band of renegade biologists, Trevor Corson escorts the reader onto the slippery decks of fishing boats, through danger-filled scuba dives, and deep into the churning currents of the Gulf of Maine, to learn about the secret undersea lives of lobsters. In revelations from the laboratory and the sea, the lobster proves itself to be not only a delicious meal and a sustainable resource, but also an amorous master of the boudoir, a lethal boxer, and a snoopy socializer. The Secret Life of Lobsters is a rollicking oceanic odyssey punctuated by salt spray, melted butter, and predators lurking in the murky depths.

“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. ... This book will make you seem a genius at your next summer lawn party.”

—Carl Safina,

Conservationist and author of

Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross

“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

“Trevor Corson opens a portal onto a fascinating underwater world. Fishermen, gourmets, and environmentalists alike take note—the lobster is proof positive that the ocean can be harvested responsibly. One source—comprehensive—Lobster 101!”

—Linda Greenlaw

Bestselling author of The Hungry Ocean and The Lobster Chronicles

How Fishermen and Scientists
Are Unraveling the Mysteries of
Our Favorite Crustacean

by Trevor Corson

The Secret Life
of Lobsters

“A fascinating story,

blending science, politics and history . . .

the writing is vivid.”

—USA Today

A Best Nature Book

of the Year

—USA Today & Discover

Worldwide Pop-Science

Bestseller

—Amazon

BUY the book

A Best Book

of the Year

—Time Out New York

More about the book:

Consider the humble lobster: an unsightly creature from the sea that tastes awfully good with melted butter. But it turns out that this aesthetically-challenged crustacean is so much more—a charming lover, a belligerent fighter, and a snoopy socializer with a nose that lets it track prey and paramour alike with the skill of a bloodhound. And, perhaps most important, these astonishing animals are a sustainable resource that has provided a livelihood for generations of Maine fisherman.

In his entertaining and edifying book, The Secret Life of Lobsters, Trevor Corson takes us on a lively sea-sprayed voyage inside a world where fishermen and scientists have joined forces to uncover the mysteries—and preserve the future—of these clawed predators.

Corson worked for two years as a sternman aboard a lobster boat out of Little Cranberry Island, Maine. From the slippery deck of the Double Trouble, he witnessed firsthand the lives and work of a crusty band of lifelong lobstermen and a new breed of ecologists whose unconventional methods include underwater vacuum cleaners, robots, lasers, scent electrodes—and superglue. Combing science, history, and folk wisdom, he explores the confounding reasons behind the fact that Maine’s lobster catch has tripled over the past fifteen years despite the general decimation of New England waters by overfishing. Part popular science, part social history,

The Secret Life of Lobsters provides a glimpse into the quirkiness of scientific endeavors and fosters an awareness of how our oceans can be harvested sustainably despite questionable big-government solutions to environmental problems. It also offers an intimate portrait of an island lobstering community bound by tradition but confronting change.

Photo: Author Trevor Corson weighing up the day’s catch aboard the Double Trouble with captain Bruce Fernald, one of the real-life lobstermen depicted in The Secret Life of Lobsters.

The Secret Life of Lobsters is published by HarperCollins Publishers.