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The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier
“A thorough and engaging history of Maine’s rocky coast and its tough-minded people.”—Boston Herald“[A] well-researched and well-written cultural and ecological history of stubborn perseverance.”—USA TodayFor more than four hundred years the people of coastal Maine have clung to their rocky, wind-swept lands, resisting outsiders’ attempts to control them while harvesting the astonishing bounty of the Gulf of Maine. Today’s independent, self-sufficient lobstermen belong to the communities imbued with a European sense of ties between land and people, but threatened by the forces of homogenization spreading up the eastern seaboard.In the tradition of William Warner’s Beautiful Swimmers, veteran journalist Colin Woodard (author of American A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) traces the history of the rugged fishing communities that dot the coast of Maine and the prized crustacean that has long provided their livelihood. Through forgotten wars and rebellions, and with a deep tradition of resistance to interference by people “from away,” Maine’s lobstermen have defended an earlier vision of America while defying the “tragedy of the commons”—the notion that people always overexploit their shared property. Instead, these icons of American individualism represent a rare example of true communal values and collaboration through grit, courage, and hard-won wisdom.
398 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 24, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
January 29, 2018
I pretty much inhaled this book. Got it Friday, finished Sunday night.
I lived in Maine from 1987-1992. To me, having lived my entire life in the city, Maine was like an exotic alien planet. Everyone--I mean everyone--was white. They came from little towns I had never heard of, cared deeply about high school basketball, and took shit from exactly no one. There was zero political correctness in Maine back in those days. Big, tough people who drank whiskey, had guns in their cars, and lifted weights just so they could punch harder when the inevitable Friday night fights broke out.
The men were even worse.
My girlfriend back in those days was from coastal Maine, which remains the most beautiful place I have ever seen (maybe it is a tie with the Isle of Skye in Scotland, which looks pretty much the same). Her friends, and her family, were fishermen. Hard men leading hard lives in a hard environment. Drinking, drugging, fighting, screwing...to me, these guys were like pirates, and they looked at me like I was some kind of foreign bug that had been introduced into their ecosystem. The poverty I saw in Maine has stayed with me for 30 years, and this is from a guy who spent a good part of his childhood in an urban housing project. Maine is a hard place. Beautiful, full of good Yankee folk, but hard.
I've always said that Vermont is just like Maine, except there are no lobsters and the people are nicer.
So this book, a history of coastal Maine, went a long way toward explaining to me what I saw while I lived there so long ago. The coast of Maine--perched on the edge of one of the most productive fisheries on the planet--has been a region in conflict for 400 years. First the settlers against the Native Americans. Then the settlers against the British. Then the settlers against Massachusetts. And now, ten generations after it all started, it's the Scotch-Irish Mainers (the same people who fought my own ancestors back in Ireland, and who populated Appalachia) against the wealthy.
I am an environmentalist, and I can rouse myself to indignation over the crashing fish populations off of George's Banks, but I completely understand that for people who make their living on the sea, those fish are the difference between getting by and poverty. No one likes a picturesque Maine sunrise than I do, but if the scene is spoiled by a cannery, or fishing boats pulling out at 4:30AM, that's just how it is. Traffic sucks on Route One, but if the people who live there for the nine months a year when it is cold, empty, and hard, say that they don't want to widen the road, so be it.
The tension nowadays, in other words, is between those who have the money to summer in Maine, and who would like it to see remain looking like a postcard--which is the reason they come there--vs. the people who live there year round and don't want to be poor. The irony,of course, is that if coastal Maine develops too much, the affluent people who want it to remain untouched will blame the locals, but it's the demands of the summer people for fresh Maine Lobstah, and the endless, soul-crushing traffic caused by tourists, that's making things change.
Maine, in my experience (and I've not written about what it's like inland, but the phrase 'howling wilderness,' a term coined by one Benedict Arnold, is entirely accurate, ) is the last frontier in this country. You are truly on the edge of the Big Empty when you're standing in Baxter State Park and looking at Mt. Katahdin. When you are standing on the coast of Rockland, or looking out from the shore of Swan's Island, you are looking out at the wilds of the North Atlantic. Maine is no joke. It's people are tough, taciturn, and tenacious, for a reason: they have to survive there. It's not easy.
Anyhow, great book. I learned a lot about history, and about how lobsters work. I will read more of this man's writing.
About fifteen years ago, I had the opportunity to move to Maine. My wife and I were both teachers then, and looking for an affordable place to buy a home. We spent some time in South Berwick, right the NH border. I found it charming, but in not one but two separate restaurants in town, someone let out a huge belch and the entire place--including me--burst out laughing. The Mrs., though? Not so much.
That's Maine.
I lived in Maine from 1987-1992. To me, having lived my entire life in the city, Maine was like an exotic alien planet. Everyone--I mean everyone--was white. They came from little towns I had never heard of, cared deeply about high school basketball, and took shit from exactly no one. There was zero political correctness in Maine back in those days. Big, tough people who drank whiskey, had guns in their cars, and lifted weights just so they could punch harder when the inevitable Friday night fights broke out.
The men were even worse.
My girlfriend back in those days was from coastal Maine, which remains the most beautiful place I have ever seen (maybe it is a tie with the Isle of Skye in Scotland, which looks pretty much the same). Her friends, and her family, were fishermen. Hard men leading hard lives in a hard environment. Drinking, drugging, fighting, screwing...to me, these guys were like pirates, and they looked at me like I was some kind of foreign bug that had been introduced into their ecosystem. The poverty I saw in Maine has stayed with me for 30 years, and this is from a guy who spent a good part of his childhood in an urban housing project. Maine is a hard place. Beautiful, full of good Yankee folk, but hard.
I've always said that Vermont is just like Maine, except there are no lobsters and the people are nicer.
So this book, a history of coastal Maine, went a long way toward explaining to me what I saw while I lived there so long ago. The coast of Maine--perched on the edge of one of the most productive fisheries on the planet--has been a region in conflict for 400 years. First the settlers against the Native Americans. Then the settlers against the British. Then the settlers against Massachusetts. And now, ten generations after it all started, it's the Scotch-Irish Mainers (the same people who fought my own ancestors back in Ireland, and who populated Appalachia) against the wealthy.
I am an environmentalist, and I can rouse myself to indignation over the crashing fish populations off of George's Banks, but I completely understand that for people who make their living on the sea, those fish are the difference between getting by and poverty. No one likes a picturesque Maine sunrise than I do, but if the scene is spoiled by a cannery, or fishing boats pulling out at 4:30AM, that's just how it is. Traffic sucks on Route One, but if the people who live there for the nine months a year when it is cold, empty, and hard, say that they don't want to widen the road, so be it.
The tension nowadays, in other words, is between those who have the money to summer in Maine, and who would like it to see remain looking like a postcard--which is the reason they come there--vs. the people who live there year round and don't want to be poor. The irony,of course, is that if coastal Maine develops too much, the affluent people who want it to remain untouched will blame the locals, but it's the demands of the summer people for fresh Maine Lobstah, and the endless, soul-crushing traffic caused by tourists, that's making things change.
Maine, in my experience (and I've not written about what it's like inland, but the phrase 'howling wilderness,' a term coined by one Benedict Arnold, is entirely accurate, ) is the last frontier in this country. You are truly on the edge of the Big Empty when you're standing in Baxter State Park and looking at Mt. Katahdin. When you are standing on the coast of Rockland, or looking out from the shore of Swan's Island, you are looking out at the wilds of the North Atlantic. Maine is no joke. It's people are tough, taciturn, and tenacious, for a reason: they have to survive there. It's not easy.
Anyhow, great book. I learned a lot about history, and about how lobsters work. I will read more of this man's writing.
About fifteen years ago, I had the opportunity to move to Maine. My wife and I were both teachers then, and looking for an affordable place to buy a home. We spent some time in South Berwick, right the NH border. I found it charming, but in not one but two separate restaurants in town, someone let out a huge belch and the entire place--including me--burst out laughing. The Mrs., though? Not so much.
That's Maine.
November 12, 2021
At its publication, and now as a time capsule, this book is a historical information dump. Detailed like a textbook, it's laced at times with easy going travel and lifestyle writing. He's no McPhee but it's a welcome change from the dry recitation of facts.
And while the facts are heavy, they are welcome. Woodard (whom I am 95% sure was born in Maine but can't be exact, I read this book over a long stretch) does an excellent job documenting the arrival of foreign visitors who promptly learn from, abuse, destroy and then kill the local natives and their already complicated land (which they definitely had figured out), erasing a people and thus leaving a massive amount of land barren for many decades making it forever unusable, therefore creating the path of Maine's geological, political, social, and, especially, economic landscape...forever. Seemingly a niche history of what would morph into early America, it reads as THE history of white Europeans and folks from the UK "discovering" the continent ...because where else would they land except the first coast, right across the way?
During February of 2021 my husband and I spent a month living in South Portland, ME as a test to see if we would want to live there. Our poster board-sized "PRO/CON" list is a helpful reminder. While there is no industry (aside from the lobster industry; the lobster history and discussion of the animal, its biology, and way of life is fantastic!!) or economy, there is land, space, and a smaller way of life; which has, also, as mentioned, historically uprooted communities making them unable to live on their own land that's legally on the books under their family name. At the beginning of the book I thought, no I should never consider moving here, it does not add up or help the state of Maine. But by the end I was wondering what it would be like to start over and adapt myself to something completely new and different, a true life challenge--become a part of something bigger than yourself.
So much has changed in gentrification since the publication of this book in 2004, and that's not even including the displacement and movement of people due to the global pandemic. Woodard knowingly researched and wrote the definitive book on the state of Maine, how it got there, and where it's going. If Maine is indeed forever stuck in time, this book will forever suit anyone looking to learn about Maine because the story is still the same to tell (and might be?? forever?). A slog at times but extremely rewarding as a history lover and fan of Maine for all its fascinations.
And while the facts are heavy, they are welcome. Woodard (whom I am 95% sure was born in Maine but can't be exact, I read this book over a long stretch) does an excellent job documenting the arrival of foreign visitors who promptly learn from, abuse, destroy and then kill the local natives and their already complicated land (which they definitely had figured out), erasing a people and thus leaving a massive amount of land barren for many decades making it forever unusable, therefore creating the path of Maine's geological, political, social, and, especially, economic landscape...forever. Seemingly a niche history of what would morph into early America, it reads as THE history of white Europeans and folks from the UK "discovering" the continent ...because where else would they land except the first coast, right across the way?
During February of 2021 my husband and I spent a month living in South Portland, ME as a test to see if we would want to live there. Our poster board-sized "PRO/CON" list is a helpful reminder. While there is no industry (aside from the lobster industry; the lobster history and discussion of the animal, its biology, and way of life is fantastic!!) or economy, there is land, space, and a smaller way of life; which has, also, as mentioned, historically uprooted communities making them unable to live on their own land that's legally on the books under their family name. At the beginning of the book I thought, no I should never consider moving here, it does not add up or help the state of Maine. But by the end I was wondering what it would be like to start over and adapt myself to something completely new and different, a true life challenge--become a part of something bigger than yourself.
So much has changed in gentrification since the publication of this book in 2004, and that's not even including the displacement and movement of people due to the global pandemic. Woodard knowingly researched and wrote the definitive book on the state of Maine, how it got there, and where it's going. If Maine is indeed forever stuck in time, this book will forever suit anyone looking to learn about Maine because the story is still the same to tell (and might be?? forever?). A slog at times but extremely rewarding as a history lover and fan of Maine for all its fascinations.
May 13, 2013
If you have ever hankered to learn more about Maine's history, fishing economy, and cultural characteristics, THE LOBSTER COAST by Colin Woodard may just be your ticket.
I was a bit lukewarm reading about Matinicus Island in the slow-starting, anecdote heavy journalistic style of Part One, but once I hit Part Two, the author had grabbed my attention with his vivid 1600s history involving contact between American Indians and the Europeans.
How had I learned so little history about a place I was born and raised and where my family roots run so deep?
And then Woodard kept going, with special illumination on the roots of the very early tensions between Maine and Massachusetts that have never completely disappeared.
The middle settlement history section of the book could almost be read separately.
The latter part of the book has more fishing industry, lobster science, ocean issues, and current development issues.
This book is a little of this and a little of that -- but all about Maine and related topics. That is both its potential appeal and potential lack of appeal ... its strength and its weakness.
My interest in the content was high, so my star rating reflects that; however, a reader less tied to Maine might have less luck staying with a book with sections that seemed rather loosely connected.
The book has a number of helpful maps, an index, bibliographic notes, and a page suggesting related book titles for readers who seek additional depth.
I have previously read Colin Woodards newer, slightly better (and in my opinion better-organized/better written) book AMERICAN NATIONS: A HISTORY OF THE ELEVEN RIVAL REGIONAL CULTURES,
but for sheer quantity of fascinating depth and background about Maine, I celebrate THE LOBSTER COAST and hope many others read will, too.
July 31, 2011
An enjoyable, engaging read. A select history of Maine over the past 400 years of so written by a journalist. One of my favorite sentences, a description of a lobster: "In basic design, Homarus Americanus resembles a self-propelled Swiss army knife, with deployable appendages for every occassion."
September 9, 2025
This is a wonderful combination of history, ecology, and regional planning. A must read if you think the new should harmonize with the past rather than destroy it.
May 2, 2016
The Lobster Coast is a dense but fascinating study of coastal Maine and its history--cultural, economic, political, and environmental. It took a long time to read it, but it kept me interested, horrified, and attentive to the last page. Its clear eyed view of Maine and its realities present a welcome counterpoint to Maine Magazine and its expensively styled view of "the real Maine" composed of the wealthy self-employed. Every Maine citizen should read it, as should anyone considering moving here. I'd love to read an update, as it was published in 2003.
**Better yet, my father's work as an expert in colonial Maine history is heavily cited in the chapters on Maine and the Revolution. Go, Dad!**
**Better yet, my father's work as an expert in colonial Maine history is heavily cited in the chapters on Maine and the Revolution. Go, Dad!**
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June 23, 2022Purchased at Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in the late summer of 2021
Very detailed history of Maine, would highly recommend for anyone interested in the state. The information on lobsters was particularly interesting. There was a lot of discussion on the relationship between natives and summer people, and the cultural and economic impact of the latter. The book was published in 2004 so I’m eager for a more recent update on the status of urbanization and sprawl, and how’s its impacted Maine’s coastal communities
Very detailed history of Maine, would highly recommend for anyone interested in the state. The information on lobsters was particularly interesting. There was a lot of discussion on the relationship between natives and summer people, and the cultural and economic impact of the latter. The book was published in 2004 so I’m eager for a more recent update on the status of urbanization and sprawl, and how’s its impacted Maine’s coastal communities
September 29, 2009
Probably my favorite Maine history book. Covers the history of the Maine coast from pre-English settlement to today.
July 13, 2020
Reading this book while sitting on the coast of northern Massachusetts, just 20 miles from Maine might have made the reading more relevant and fun than it might be for a more foreign reader. I have spent many weeks in Maine, where my boys went to summer camp in Wiscasset and where we spent vacation weeks in Blue Hill, Deer Isle, Stonington and Isle Au Hauit. We have kayaked across the shipping lanes to coastal islands and taken many a ferry to islands like Monhegan where this book begins.
That said, Colin Woodard takes what could have been a very dry subject and makes it readable and engaging. Staring on present day Monhegan Island, the author takes us back to the beginning - to the ice age, as the first native settlers move in after the retreating ice.
The colonial history of Maine is not pretty. In fact, it is sad and filled with poor and abused people, colonists and settlers and natives alike, who have a dream but meet with a very different reality.
Even up to the 19th century, there were significant battles over ownership of land and territory. As England’s rule went from monarchy to republic and back, as individuals and then corporations were given competing “ownership” of huge tracts of land, settlers were often caught in the middle and suffered hardship not just because the land was poor and they were mainly farmers. If they didn’t suffer enough from struggling to farm the poor land, they were evicted at will by competing ownership claims from English royalty and scoundrels alike.
Ah, but the fishing! The descriptions of early fishing experiences with huge catches of equally huge fish just drives home what we have lost. Our voracious appetite for fish has driven individual fishermen and corporate entities alike to constantly and relentlessly overfish an incredibly vast and productive fishery with increasingly “modern” techniques. The advent of huge Russian factory fishing trawlers scraping the sea bottom for everything that lives seemed to be the last straw. Starting with little Iceland literally fighting the British navy, countries extended their national sovereignty over fishing rights as far a 200 miles off shore.
And, finally, there are the lobsters, the very unsexy symbol of Maine. Lobster fisheries remain healthy to this day, though the lobsters are nothing like the ones found by the first settlers. Most engaging were the results of a scientific study of lobster traps. Just how do they work. Lobsters are supposed to only be able to get into the trap, while a “one way” entrance keeps them in. The hysterical results of a live camera study of lobster traps showed lobsters swarming all over the trap, getting in and out at will. The ones that get caught are the ones that just happen to be in the trap when it gets pulled up!
This is a surprisingly easy read, full of interesting history and local color from an author who grew up in Maine and who writes with confidence and authority. I heartily recommend it, even if you aren’t sitting on a beach in New England!
That said, Colin Woodard takes what could have been a very dry subject and makes it readable and engaging. Staring on present day Monhegan Island, the author takes us back to the beginning - to the ice age, as the first native settlers move in after the retreating ice.
The colonial history of Maine is not pretty. In fact, it is sad and filled with poor and abused people, colonists and settlers and natives alike, who have a dream but meet with a very different reality.
Even up to the 19th century, there were significant battles over ownership of land and territory. As England’s rule went from monarchy to republic and back, as individuals and then corporations were given competing “ownership” of huge tracts of land, settlers were often caught in the middle and suffered hardship not just because the land was poor and they were mainly farmers. If they didn’t suffer enough from struggling to farm the poor land, they were evicted at will by competing ownership claims from English royalty and scoundrels alike.
Ah, but the fishing! The descriptions of early fishing experiences with huge catches of equally huge fish just drives home what we have lost. Our voracious appetite for fish has driven individual fishermen and corporate entities alike to constantly and relentlessly overfish an incredibly vast and productive fishery with increasingly “modern” techniques. The advent of huge Russian factory fishing trawlers scraping the sea bottom for everything that lives seemed to be the last straw. Starting with little Iceland literally fighting the British navy, countries extended their national sovereignty over fishing rights as far a 200 miles off shore.
And, finally, there are the lobsters, the very unsexy symbol of Maine. Lobster fisheries remain healthy to this day, though the lobsters are nothing like the ones found by the first settlers. Most engaging were the results of a scientific study of lobster traps. Just how do they work. Lobsters are supposed to only be able to get into the trap, while a “one way” entrance keeps them in. The hysterical results of a live camera study of lobster traps showed lobsters swarming all over the trap, getting in and out at will. The ones that get caught are the ones that just happen to be in the trap when it gets pulled up!
This is a surprisingly easy read, full of interesting history and local color from an author who grew up in Maine and who writes with confidence and authority. I heartily recommend it, even if you aren’t sitting on a beach in New England!
August 28, 2017
Woodward's meticulous research and strong storytelling result in an excellent history of Maine.
Tensions between the indigenous Wabanaki and the settler population result in six Indian wars taking place between 1675 & 1763. Woodward informs the reader that "a larger proportion of America's population died in King Philip's War than in any other war in our nation's history. In less than two years, the Indians killed 3,500 colonists, destroyed fifty of New England's ninety towns, and set the region's prosperity back one hundred years" (107). With the Peace of Casco signed (April 1678), Wabanaki land rights were acknowledged and ME families were required to pay an annual tribute (in corn) (112).
With the resumption of war in 1689, all of Maine's settlers north of Wells (~4000 people) fled. From 1689 to 1713, not a single English home stood in all of ME north of Wells (113). Only three Maine towns remained inhabited throughout this period: Wells, York, and Kittery. Peace came in 1713. Lasted seven years before region erupted into a bloody, six-year reprise (114). Atrocities on all sides are rampant. By 1720s, starvation had forced most Maine Wabanaki to flee all the way to the shores of the St. Lawerence in Quebec. At war's end in 1726, many lived in permanent refugee camps clustered around the Jesuit missions of St. Francis and Becanour (115).
I did not know that during War of 1812, Massachusetts aligned themselves with the British. Federalist bankers refused to loan money to the federal government but "advanced enormous sums to British authorities in Nova Scotia. New England merchants maintained a brisk trade with the enemy, while New England governors resisted Madison's request for troops" (151). Neither was I aware that Massachusetts was unwilling to defend Maine from the British (152).
I had also been unaware that "73,000 Mainers fought in the Civil War, a higher proportion than that of any other Northern state [and that m]ore than 18,000 were killed or wounded" (167).
I enjoyed how Woodward demonstrates the colonial relationship between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the 23rd State: beginning from the early days of European settlement, to the founding of the republic, to battles between MA capital and ME fishers, to tensions between cottagers and state residents. The book is likely due for a new chapter, but I found it a highly enjoyable & informative read.
Tensions between the indigenous Wabanaki and the settler population result in six Indian wars taking place between 1675 & 1763. Woodward informs the reader that "a larger proportion of America's population died in King Philip's War than in any other war in our nation's history. In less than two years, the Indians killed 3,500 colonists, destroyed fifty of New England's ninety towns, and set the region's prosperity back one hundred years" (107). With the Peace of Casco signed (April 1678), Wabanaki land rights were acknowledged and ME families were required to pay an annual tribute (in corn) (112).
With the resumption of war in 1689, all of Maine's settlers north of Wells (~4000 people) fled. From 1689 to 1713, not a single English home stood in all of ME north of Wells (113). Only three Maine towns remained inhabited throughout this period: Wells, York, and Kittery. Peace came in 1713. Lasted seven years before region erupted into a bloody, six-year reprise (114). Atrocities on all sides are rampant. By 1720s, starvation had forced most Maine Wabanaki to flee all the way to the shores of the St. Lawerence in Quebec. At war's end in 1726, many lived in permanent refugee camps clustered around the Jesuit missions of St. Francis and Becanour (115).
I did not know that during War of 1812, Massachusetts aligned themselves with the British. Federalist bankers refused to loan money to the federal government but "advanced enormous sums to British authorities in Nova Scotia. New England merchants maintained a brisk trade with the enemy, while New England governors resisted Madison's request for troops" (151). Neither was I aware that Massachusetts was unwilling to defend Maine from the British (152).
I had also been unaware that "73,000 Mainers fought in the Civil War, a higher proportion than that of any other Northern state [and that m]ore than 18,000 were killed or wounded" (167).
I enjoyed how Woodward demonstrates the colonial relationship between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the 23rd State: beginning from the early days of European settlement, to the founding of the republic, to battles between MA capital and ME fishers, to tensions between cottagers and state residents. The book is likely due for a new chapter, but I found it a highly enjoyable & informative read.
November 8, 2025
For being well researched and well written. I’d give it a higher rating. For my enjoyability, I’d give it a 3. Sometimes I found it really interesting - any parts about the fishing and lobstering - and other times I found it hard to wanna keep reading - any parts about housing and who owned what land. I really really enjoyed the parts where Woodard was on the boats with fisherman or lobsterman and telling their stories. In fact, I think this is the part where the book excels. That first chapter was incredibly engaging talking about the Monhegan community. He writes it in first person and uses several interviews he conducted to tell a personal story. Then the middle of the book is very history focused (which is fine) and is less personal.
The housing/land ownership parts for me personally were not as interesting. Once lobster became the focus again, I was locked back in.
Woodard did do a fantastic job telling the history of Maine, its culture, and telling the story of the evolution of the fishing industry.
The housing/land ownership parts for me personally were not as interesting. Once lobster became the focus again, I was locked back in.
Woodard did do a fantastic job telling the history of Maine, its culture, and telling the story of the evolution of the fishing industry.
December 30, 2025
Having grown up adjacent to Maine in New Hampshire, I knew far too little about The Vacation State before reading this book. I enjoyed learning about the resilient nature of Maine’s European settlers and the calamitous demise of the Native Americans and their thriving societies in Maine. This book explains the struggle of Mainers against the “away” people and the reasons for the cultural divides that exist today through a variety of anecdotes with Mainers.
My favorite part of this book is the history of Maine’s fishing resources. The Gulf of Maine has a rich history of abundance, exploration, collapse, and resiliency.
My favorite part of this book is the history of Maine’s fishing resources. The Gulf of Maine has a rich history of abundance, exploration, collapse, and resiliency.
July 19, 2022
If You love Maine like I do, You will really enjoy this very readable and varied history of the state. It starts in the early 17th century, and continues up to 2006. The book covers a lot of history that is of general interest even if one is not particularly interested in Maine. It also has fascinating treatments of the ups and downs of the fishing industry Over the centuries. It also discusses the ever-changing and growing migration of people “from away” to Maine, and its effects on the traditional culture.
August 11, 2024
Such a great read. History book that doesn’t read like a text book. Learned so much of the history behind some of my favorite historical fiction books as well as the area I live. Recommend pairing with Barkskins and Stern Men for relatable historical fiction about the settling of Maine and Lobster Wars, respectively
January 8, 2021
Interesting and compelling historical narrative about the history of Maine and how it came to be a fishing, lobstering and vacation destination. Being now one of those "from away" homeowners in Maine, it helps me to understand and appreciate the unique character and background of my new neighbors and I appreciate the native Mainer author's explanations of how these independent-minded people came to be as they are. Excellent background of beautiful Maine!
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October 27, 2025This book was a gift from a friend of mine. The rugged history of New England is a complex one. Native populations suffered through illness brought by Europeans, while they tear and exploit sea and it's resources. The fishing industry has become more privatize which caused a decline in family business. As I read this book, I annotated and researched on historical documents. The was a wonderful book like read as a novel. A great history to explore.
January 25, 2020
Informative, well written, honest, eye-opening.
July 28, 2023
The evolution of fisherman’s bounties in Maine constitute one part of The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier. The book also deals with the state’s changing social fabric, both in the context of European explorers and more modern rusticating arrivals.
The coast and its catch has long been a critical part of Maine. As author Colin Woodard explains, the type of marine life caught in the region has changed over the years, with New England’s haul of haddock declining by seventy percent in the last decades of the twentieth century. Halibut was down 86%, cod by three-quarters. Even the “trash fish” like silver hake and dogfish had declined at the time of the book’s publishing. The only catch to break from the trend, and in a huge way, has been lobster.
The book starts out with the Maine native Woodard attending Trap Day, the first day of December and the day when the lobstermen of the island of Monhegan set off to catch massive amounts of the bottom-dwelling crustacean. This scene is used to demonstrate the importance of the lobster-catching tradition to the residents and to show how seriously they take the practice.
From here, readers will learn about the arrival of English explorer George Weymouth on the Maine coast in the early 1600s. The discovery of bountiful amounts of fish (of one of the world’s most active fisheries in fact) was revealed by waters teeming with cod, haddock, and skates. The confederation of the Wabanaki Indians and the presence of Pemaquid and Sheepscot natives meant that Weymouth and subsequently arriving Europeans were going to have to finesse their habitation of what would become the state of Maine.
The Great Dying, brought on by a plague the Indians fell prey to from 1616-1619, killed off a lot of the natives standing in the way of the new arrivals’ plans. As the region became more populated by white settlers, conflict ensued; King Philip’s War would result in the death of one in ten Maine residents.
The book describes a scene in 1676 where a fisherman on Damariscove witnessed massive smoke plumes from Maine’s islands and peninsulas on fire in the distance. For decades and decades fighting would drag on between settlers and natives, with Wabanaki and Mainers engaged in seemingly endless hostilities. Things would not really settle down until after 1763 and the conclusion of the French and Indian War.
The arrival of the Great Proprietors from England in the mid-eighteenth century featured Maine squatters being evicted from what they had to come to view as their homes. The conflicts between these men seeking to maximize rents on the land for the Crown and the Scotch-Irish who had come to inhabit Maine were a microcosm of the broader tension between colonists and the British in the leadup to the Revolutionary War.
The Brunswick militia leader was a tavern keeper by the name of Samuel Thompson, and he would force a British sympathizer to dig his own grave before finally letting him go. These sorts of acts would happen with frequency as the Great Proprietors sought to assert overseas control of Maine.
An ecological history is given as well, with the role icebergs and subsequent debris and ice melt played in formulating the area’s distinct geology. Woodard notes that “Coastal Maine’s unusual geography contributed to its rise to economic prominence and its collapse into backwater. The coast is only 293 miles long from Kittery, in the far south, to Eastport, the easternmost town in the United States. But the shoreline is so jagged and convoluted that, stretched out, it would span 4,568 miles, more than that of the rest of the east Coast combined. When the shorelines of the coast’s 4,617 islands are included, the figure jumps to more than 7,000 miles, a distance greater than that between Boston and Tokyo.”
The state’s division into Southern Maine, Midcoast, and Eastcoast allowed the author to analyze the varying histories and trajectories of all three.
Interestingly, the book points out that from around “1650 to the early nineteenth century, fishing played an extremely modest role in the cultural and economic life of coastal Maine.” Most of those who settled Maine “were farmers in search of land to clear and cultivate. Only when the thin, rocky soil failed to provide did they reluctantly turn to the sea.” But by 1860 fishing was ascendant; it outranked every state in full-time fisherman and constituted one-fifth of the nation’s total. Even lumber was contributing in that era, with nearly a billion board feet of lumber leaving its ports annually.
But then the state would enter into an economic decline in the post-Civil War Years. While summer visitors would begin arriving in bigger and bigger numbers in the 1880s and 1890s, local industries were damaged thanks to the introduction of railroads and overfishing. The arrival of “rusticators”, largely wealthy individuals from urban areas like Boston and New York City moving to Maine in order to get back to a pre-hassle form of living, both helped local economies while running up property values and showing little respect for locals.
Dissatisfaction with the arrival of newcomers was a big theme in the book. One Maine native notes, “There’s been more change in this region since 1945 than there was from the American Revolution to the start of World War Two.” Many of these wealthy new arrivals were compared to the Great Proprietors of centuries back (and not necessarily in a good way). The homesteading movement would be a continuation of the back-to-the-land fad which transformed areas of Maine into homogenous rich enclaves unrecognizable to families who had been there for generations.
Ironically, things were at such a low point by the Great Depression’s onset that the state had little further to fall.
The lobster industry would rebound thanks to increased technology and a remarkable resilience shown by the crustacean; their numbers would actually grow in the waters around Maine in the face of declining numbers for nearly all other catches. Much of the book’s final portion looks at this phenomenon, with conservation efforts and defied expectations focused on extensively.
From 21.7 million pounds worth of lobster landings in 1988 to 30.8 million in 1991 to a doubling of 62 million in 2002, the numbers would routinely defy the gloomy predictions made by Maine’s fishing research director Vaughn Anthony in 1978 and those made by Department of Marine Resources biologist James Thomas a year later.
Woodard details some of the ways marine scientists got to the bottom of why this was the case. Trackers were added to lobsters and their habitats were studied to figure out what it was that determined growth or declines in their relative populations. This is a section which will be appreciated by readers as they discover more about what seems a rather esoteric but nevertheless interesting concept.
By working together with lobstermen with decades of individuals and over a centuries’ worth of family experience in some cases, scientists like University of Maine’s Marine Center’s Bob Steneck made great strides in providing better answers to why lobsters still were flourishing. The effort of oceanographers combined with the know-how of blue collar lobstermen to assist in this.
The Lobster Coast is a strong nonfiction work consisting of one part investigative journalism, one part environmental history, and another a social history of Maine. Even the portion on how it broke away from Massachusetts and achieved statehood in 1820 was full of informative details.
There are some sections which are bit slow to read, but on the whole it completes its task of providing a well-rounded study of Maine. The book is twenty years old now, but much of what it delves into is still vital today to the economy and people of the state of Maine.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
The coast and its catch has long been a critical part of Maine. As author Colin Woodard explains, the type of marine life caught in the region has changed over the years, with New England’s haul of haddock declining by seventy percent in the last decades of the twentieth century. Halibut was down 86%, cod by three-quarters. Even the “trash fish” like silver hake and dogfish had declined at the time of the book’s publishing. The only catch to break from the trend, and in a huge way, has been lobster.
The book starts out with the Maine native Woodard attending Trap Day, the first day of December and the day when the lobstermen of the island of Monhegan set off to catch massive amounts of the bottom-dwelling crustacean. This scene is used to demonstrate the importance of the lobster-catching tradition to the residents and to show how seriously they take the practice.
From here, readers will learn about the arrival of English explorer George Weymouth on the Maine coast in the early 1600s. The discovery of bountiful amounts of fish (of one of the world’s most active fisheries in fact) was revealed by waters teeming with cod, haddock, and skates. The confederation of the Wabanaki Indians and the presence of Pemaquid and Sheepscot natives meant that Weymouth and subsequently arriving Europeans were going to have to finesse their habitation of what would become the state of Maine.
The Great Dying, brought on by a plague the Indians fell prey to from 1616-1619, killed off a lot of the natives standing in the way of the new arrivals’ plans. As the region became more populated by white settlers, conflict ensued; King Philip’s War would result in the death of one in ten Maine residents.
The book describes a scene in 1676 where a fisherman on Damariscove witnessed massive smoke plumes from Maine’s islands and peninsulas on fire in the distance. For decades and decades fighting would drag on between settlers and natives, with Wabanaki and Mainers engaged in seemingly endless hostilities. Things would not really settle down until after 1763 and the conclusion of the French and Indian War.
The arrival of the Great Proprietors from England in the mid-eighteenth century featured Maine squatters being evicted from what they had to come to view as their homes. The conflicts between these men seeking to maximize rents on the land for the Crown and the Scotch-Irish who had come to inhabit Maine were a microcosm of the broader tension between colonists and the British in the leadup to the Revolutionary War.
The Brunswick militia leader was a tavern keeper by the name of Samuel Thompson, and he would force a British sympathizer to dig his own grave before finally letting him go. These sorts of acts would happen with frequency as the Great Proprietors sought to assert overseas control of Maine.
An ecological history is given as well, with the role icebergs and subsequent debris and ice melt played in formulating the area’s distinct geology. Woodard notes that “Coastal Maine’s unusual geography contributed to its rise to economic prominence and its collapse into backwater. The coast is only 293 miles long from Kittery, in the far south, to Eastport, the easternmost town in the United States. But the shoreline is so jagged and convoluted that, stretched out, it would span 4,568 miles, more than that of the rest of the east Coast combined. When the shorelines of the coast’s 4,617 islands are included, the figure jumps to more than 7,000 miles, a distance greater than that between Boston and Tokyo.”
The state’s division into Southern Maine, Midcoast, and Eastcoast allowed the author to analyze the varying histories and trajectories of all three.
Interestingly, the book points out that from around “1650 to the early nineteenth century, fishing played an extremely modest role in the cultural and economic life of coastal Maine.” Most of those who settled Maine “were farmers in search of land to clear and cultivate. Only when the thin, rocky soil failed to provide did they reluctantly turn to the sea.” But by 1860 fishing was ascendant; it outranked every state in full-time fisherman and constituted one-fifth of the nation’s total. Even lumber was contributing in that era, with nearly a billion board feet of lumber leaving its ports annually.
But then the state would enter into an economic decline in the post-Civil War Years. While summer visitors would begin arriving in bigger and bigger numbers in the 1880s and 1890s, local industries were damaged thanks to the introduction of railroads and overfishing. The arrival of “rusticators”, largely wealthy individuals from urban areas like Boston and New York City moving to Maine in order to get back to a pre-hassle form of living, both helped local economies while running up property values and showing little respect for locals.
Dissatisfaction with the arrival of newcomers was a big theme in the book. One Maine native notes, “There’s been more change in this region since 1945 than there was from the American Revolution to the start of World War Two.” Many of these wealthy new arrivals were compared to the Great Proprietors of centuries back (and not necessarily in a good way). The homesteading movement would be a continuation of the back-to-the-land fad which transformed areas of Maine into homogenous rich enclaves unrecognizable to families who had been there for generations.
Ironically, things were at such a low point by the Great Depression’s onset that the state had little further to fall.
The lobster industry would rebound thanks to increased technology and a remarkable resilience shown by the crustacean; their numbers would actually grow in the waters around Maine in the face of declining numbers for nearly all other catches. Much of the book’s final portion looks at this phenomenon, with conservation efforts and defied expectations focused on extensively.
From 21.7 million pounds worth of lobster landings in 1988 to 30.8 million in 1991 to a doubling of 62 million in 2002, the numbers would routinely defy the gloomy predictions made by Maine’s fishing research director Vaughn Anthony in 1978 and those made by Department of Marine Resources biologist James Thomas a year later.
Woodard details some of the ways marine scientists got to the bottom of why this was the case. Trackers were added to lobsters and their habitats were studied to figure out what it was that determined growth or declines in their relative populations. This is a section which will be appreciated by readers as they discover more about what seems a rather esoteric but nevertheless interesting concept.
By working together with lobstermen with decades of individuals and over a centuries’ worth of family experience in some cases, scientists like University of Maine’s Marine Center’s Bob Steneck made great strides in providing better answers to why lobsters still were flourishing. The effort of oceanographers combined with the know-how of blue collar lobstermen to assist in this.
The Lobster Coast is a strong nonfiction work consisting of one part investigative journalism, one part environmental history, and another a social history of Maine. Even the portion on how it broke away from Massachusetts and achieved statehood in 1820 was full of informative details.
There are some sections which are bit slow to read, but on the whole it completes its task of providing a well-rounded study of Maine. The book is twenty years old now, but much of what it delves into is still vital today to the economy and people of the state of Maine.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
February 8, 2009
Picked this book up from the library the other day. I just finished the first part and it is fantastic. It talks a lot about Maine and how its past shaped it present. Unlike history stories this is told through personal stories, visitations to towns, and observations. I love the "idea" of Maine and this book gives important background to it.
I struggles through the middle section which is a settlement history of the region. Not the most exciting part...actually quite boring. But the end talks about the collapse of the fishing industry in the last 1800. It is amazing how much of the fishing was lost early. Now we are up to modern times from the 1950s. Maine is changing and some would say for the better other will say for the worse. Interestingly the idea of Maine as a slower pace, back to the land was not necessarily a choice but a by-product of the collapse of several major industries (forestry, mining, fishing) very early on in Maine's history. That only leaves one major industry..tourists.
I struggles through the middle section which is a settlement history of the region. Not the most exciting part...actually quite boring. But the end talks about the collapse of the fishing industry in the last 1800. It is amazing how much of the fishing was lost early. Now we are up to modern times from the 1950s. Maine is changing and some would say for the better other will say for the worse. Interestingly the idea of Maine as a slower pace, back to the land was not necessarily a choice but a by-product of the collapse of several major industries (forestry, mining, fishing) very early on in Maine's history. That only leaves one major industry..tourists.
January 12, 2022
This is a book about the Maine Coast and the people working in the fishing industry and scientists studying the Gulf of Maine and how they are working together to ensure that fish and shellfish populations along the coast are maintained. I have a close tie to one of the people written about in the book, Jennifer Elderkin, whose older sister, Laurel, was one of my dearest friends for fifty years. So, reading this book was really special for me. When I was nearing the end, I purposely slowed down my reading to only a few pages a day because I just didn’t want the book to end. I was enjoying it that much. I learned lots of Maine history and about the fishing industry here that I never knew before. I’m biased because I’ve lived on the Coast of Maine for the last 55 years. I've seen the changes that have come about, not all of which are good. This is very well-written and researched. I loved it.
abandoned
March 11, 2009When I selected this book, I was hoping for a historical account of the development of the Maine coast: the story of how pioneers tore the land from Natives, then from England, then from Massachusetts, and staked themselves to this jagged coast to eke out a living. I wanted to read about fishing, smuggling, shipbuilding, lobster wars, and legacies. Unfortunately, I started in on some 100 pages of All Things Monhegan. It's written so anecdotally and chummy, and is exactly the sort of thing I hate right now. Maybe this book comes around and gets more historical, but I couldn't bear the pride in his voice when he talks about drinking coffee with "the locals" at Carina, or stacking a few traps. The man is not without merit and I might try some of his other books, but this feels a bit too familiar for my standoffish, stoic, Yankee self.
April 15, 2014
Who doesn't love Maine history? Colin Woodard is a fun, accessible historian. The author has roots in this part of the country, and you can tell he is very passionate about his subject. I kind of want to move to Maine now, but according to the author, they don't take too kindly to outsiders.
As with AMERICAN NATIONS, my favorite portions of this book are the historical chapters which have been meticulously researched. Fun fact, in early America, lobster was once considered undesirable and was fed to prisoners. From the book, "And in some parts of New England, serving lobster to prison inmates more than once a week was forbidden by law, as doing so was considered cruel and unusual punishment.
As with AMERICAN NATIONS, my favorite portions of this book are the historical chapters which have been meticulously researched. Fun fact, in early America, lobster was once considered undesirable and was fed to prisoners. From the book, "And in some parts of New England, serving lobster to prison inmates more than once a week was forbidden by law, as doing so was considered cruel and unusual punishment.
August 3, 2007
Read this while on vacation in Maine (appropriately). Gave me a real appreciation for the state and its history. Very well done social, political, and environmental history. Who'd ever have thought Maine could be so fascinating?
This book started me on a binge of reading about lobster fishing, of all things.
This book started me on a binge of reading about lobster fishing, of all things.
December 10, 2007
A fascinating look into the history of Maine, starting and ending with lobsters, but including the "people of the dawn" (the Abenaki) and their encounters with at least two distinct breeds of Englishmen, the rise of tourism in Maine, and the economic patterns that make it a frustrating place to live for many. An often tragic story that still holds out hope for the future.
Read
January 26, 2012I grew up in a coastal Maine town, but its been a very long time since there was much activity on the waterfront there. This book explained a lot of cultural traits that I've taken for granted over the years. It also underscored the importance of knowing where we want to be going.
August 13, 2014
Read this book before I went to Maine on vacation. It gave me a really strong understanding of the background of the state and the influences that shaped it into today's Vacationland.
July 30, 2022
A lot of history presented in an easy to read style. Learned much about my new home area. Yes I am “from away”.
September 6, 2017
Mr. Woodard's book is an excellent overview of Maine's history along the coast. The author explains the numerous attempts of Europeans trying to make a go of it on its rocky shores and harsh winters during the 1600s (It wasn't like a visit to Disney World's Epcot, that's for sure.) and the evolution of the state up to current day issues. The book, however, stays true to its title and focuses on the Maine coast. It does make a few passing references to inland Maine but, I guess, that is a book for someone else to write. I was born and raised along the Maine/Canadian border which is heavily composed of citizens with French ancestry. There are many qualities we share with Mainers who live on the coast but there are also differences. Mainers have a well-deserved reputation of being thrifty, realists, infused with a strong work ethic, and suspicious of "outsiders". Mr. Woodard does a very good job explaining how we developed into such people.
'The Lobster Coast' was an absorbing work right from the first page. It begins with the author visiting Monhegan Island for a few days and getting a taste of the island's unique fishing culture. It becomes the springboard for addressing how the current Maine coast all came to be. It involves Mr. Woodard addressing such topics as the early settler attempts; the geological formation of its coast and the Gulf of Maine; the myths surrounding Plymouth Rock pilgrims being the first settlers; the Native American cultures and how they were eventually driven off their land; how Massachusetts land barons continually tried to exploit the immigrants to Maine for their own gain; the development of the fishing trade and other industries such as granite, lumber, canneries, and selling ice; the effects of suburban sprawl; the decimation of the fishing stocks; the creation of Acadia National Park and how Maine became a popular tourist destination. Of course, the primary focus is on the lobster industry. Mr. Woodard writes about the biological characteristics of the lobster, how the industry is managed, and what is being done to maintain it as a vital Maine business. The book includes a handful of small black-and-white maps for clarification.
Growing up in a very rural Aroostook County paper mill town, then moving and living for the last 40 years in southern Maine near the coast has given me a better understanding that there is no one TRUE kind of Mainer. The best that can be said is there is a large overriding mindset but Maine is made up of various unique cultures which frequently clash with one another. Many rural citizens with a long history of living in the state disparage the Portland area including everyone on down to the New Hampshire coast as not "true" Mainers. This is pure BS. It's simply people who cherish their local areas culture and are having difficulty in the rapid changes occurring around them. I can empathize with their anxiety but, as Mr. Woodard states change is unavoidable and the best we can do is try to manage the directions it will go. The author has written a topnotch entertaining history of Maine's fabulous coast.
'The Lobster Coast' was an absorbing work right from the first page. It begins with the author visiting Monhegan Island for a few days and getting a taste of the island's unique fishing culture. It becomes the springboard for addressing how the current Maine coast all came to be. It involves Mr. Woodard addressing such topics as the early settler attempts; the geological formation of its coast and the Gulf of Maine; the myths surrounding Plymouth Rock pilgrims being the first settlers; the Native American cultures and how they were eventually driven off their land; how Massachusetts land barons continually tried to exploit the immigrants to Maine for their own gain; the development of the fishing trade and other industries such as granite, lumber, canneries, and selling ice; the effects of suburban sprawl; the decimation of the fishing stocks; the creation of Acadia National Park and how Maine became a popular tourist destination. Of course, the primary focus is on the lobster industry. Mr. Woodard writes about the biological characteristics of the lobster, how the industry is managed, and what is being done to maintain it as a vital Maine business. The book includes a handful of small black-and-white maps for clarification.
Growing up in a very rural Aroostook County paper mill town, then moving and living for the last 40 years in southern Maine near the coast has given me a better understanding that there is no one TRUE kind of Mainer. The best that can be said is there is a large overriding mindset but Maine is made up of various unique cultures which frequently clash with one another. Many rural citizens with a long history of living in the state disparage the Portland area including everyone on down to the New Hampshire coast as not "true" Mainers. This is pure BS. It's simply people who cherish their local areas culture and are having difficulty in the rapid changes occurring around them. I can empathize with their anxiety but, as Mr. Woodard states change is unavoidable and the best we can do is try to manage the directions it will go. The author has written a topnotch entertaining history of Maine's fabulous coast.
June 24, 2017
The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier is a very well written synthesis of coastal Maine's cultural and political history, land and sea ecology and ultimately of the choices this coastal area is facing going forward.
Colin Woodard, a Maine native, with a deep appreciation for this region on the fringe of the northeast center's of population, writes with engaging detail of the challenges of living on Maine's coast, while showing how the long term residents have a deep since of rootedness of place. A good half of this 300 page work is an overview of Maine's history from the beginning of European colonization to the present day. While relatively short, this overview, with vivid told details, shows how the residents of these shores, from natives, to colonizers to those facing the brunt of closing paper mills and fish processing plants, have faced being overrun by outside influencers. Reading this, you can certainly understand why Maine is so much different and out of the orbit of the rest of the northeast, and see why a spirit of self determination has become part of the character of those who live in this rich, but hard land.
Woodard writes with great detail to show the importance of ecology and the interconnectedness of how people relate to resources and each other. For instance, his accounts of how modern, suburban housing subdivisions and retail centers work counter to productive uses of labor and the traditional ways of life is important. Also, his work shows how scientists who study the ecology of lobsters, the collapse of the cod and haddock fish stocks and how understanding the role of harvesting and nurturing sea life is more than a function of data, but is in every way of ecology and understanding how multiple systems depend on each other.
Repeatedly, the Lobster Coast shows a tension of living. This tension is best described as one that works on how individuals work together, but struggle against hard circumstances, while often working against outside influences that simply want to extract resources in ways that ultimately harm the land and people more than it can replenish.
While a social and cultural history of the edge of the northeastern USA, this work also can show how many regions struggle to make a living in the midst of post industrial, global capitalism. The Lobster Coast was written in the years before the 2008 Financial Crisis, so the elements that stretched so many have only accelerated in Maine since then, and the suburbinazation of the Maine coast has continued in fits and starts, and more mills have shut for good.
As history that connects how many different elements create a culture that still works to maintain an identity, this is a very engaging read and well worth the time to think through.
Colin Woodard, a Maine native, with a deep appreciation for this region on the fringe of the northeast center's of population, writes with engaging detail of the challenges of living on Maine's coast, while showing how the long term residents have a deep since of rootedness of place. A good half of this 300 page work is an overview of Maine's history from the beginning of European colonization to the present day. While relatively short, this overview, with vivid told details, shows how the residents of these shores, from natives, to colonizers to those facing the brunt of closing paper mills and fish processing plants, have faced being overrun by outside influencers. Reading this, you can certainly understand why Maine is so much different and out of the orbit of the rest of the northeast, and see why a spirit of self determination has become part of the character of those who live in this rich, but hard land.
Woodard writes with great detail to show the importance of ecology and the interconnectedness of how people relate to resources and each other. For instance, his accounts of how modern, suburban housing subdivisions and retail centers work counter to productive uses of labor and the traditional ways of life is important. Also, his work shows how scientists who study the ecology of lobsters, the collapse of the cod and haddock fish stocks and how understanding the role of harvesting and nurturing sea life is more than a function of data, but is in every way of ecology and understanding how multiple systems depend on each other.
Repeatedly, the Lobster Coast shows a tension of living. This tension is best described as one that works on how individuals work together, but struggle against hard circumstances, while often working against outside influences that simply want to extract resources in ways that ultimately harm the land and people more than it can replenish.
While a social and cultural history of the edge of the northeastern USA, this work also can show how many regions struggle to make a living in the midst of post industrial, global capitalism. The Lobster Coast was written in the years before the 2008 Financial Crisis, so the elements that stretched so many have only accelerated in Maine since then, and the suburbinazation of the Maine coast has continued in fits and starts, and more mills have shut for good.
As history that connects how many different elements create a culture that still works to maintain an identity, this is a very engaging read and well worth the time to think through.
December 24, 2021
Woodard's work on the Maine Coast is invaluable for people interested in the region and its defining tensions. These tensions mainly revolve around the Maine Coast's relationship to outsiders (or pre-existing populations in Native tribes)--whether they be loyalist proprietors, Massachusetts colonial elites, summer visitors, foreign fishermen, and eventually suburbanite settlers. Mainers negotiated these tensions in various ways. Sometimes, they asserted their independence. With Massachusetts, a failure to defend Maine during the War of 1812 precipitated independent statehood. At other points, they learned to accept certain changes and fought others, realizing the growing importance of summer vacationers to the economy but seeking to preserve some natural land from suburbanization.
Woodard also foregrounds the alternate giving/taking relationship between coastal Maine and its harsh environment. While fish were abundant at first, overfishing destroyed the stocks of fish like cod and haddock. Sadly, conservation measures for what once were the most abundant fisheries came too late and proved ineffective. Simultaneously though, lobster became more popular. With time, conservation measures and mysterious natural forces made Maine's lobster industry a "triumph of the commons" and of the small over the corporate. Run by local lobstermen (and women), this industry never fell prey to the same industrial, extractive mentality of the other fisheries. Instead, it was defined by stewardship which state government officials upheld. Coastal Maine's relationship with its lobster industry remained healthy for this reason.
In classic Colin Woodard fashion, he explains how the region's early Scotch-Irish settlers lent it an independent streak and how that streak ebbed and flowed over time. As a historian of ethnography, Woodard is thought-provoking.
On this note, I wish "The Lobster Coast" had explored the region's politics a bit more. Their ancestral Republicanism wasn't well-situated and neither is its current partisan independence, especially because Woodard discussed the region's attachment to Jeffersonianism early in the book. I expected further discussion but it just wasn't there! Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book for fans of regional history like myself. Might be worth reading alongside Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America for a fuller picture of the region.
Woodard also foregrounds the alternate giving/taking relationship between coastal Maine and its harsh environment. While fish were abundant at first, overfishing destroyed the stocks of fish like cod and haddock. Sadly, conservation measures for what once were the most abundant fisheries came too late and proved ineffective. Simultaneously though, lobster became more popular. With time, conservation measures and mysterious natural forces made Maine's lobster industry a "triumph of the commons" and of the small over the corporate. Run by local lobstermen (and women), this industry never fell prey to the same industrial, extractive mentality of the other fisheries. Instead, it was defined by stewardship which state government officials upheld. Coastal Maine's relationship with its lobster industry remained healthy for this reason.
In classic Colin Woodard fashion, he explains how the region's early Scotch-Irish settlers lent it an independent streak and how that streak ebbed and flowed over time. As a historian of ethnography, Woodard is thought-provoking.
On this note, I wish "The Lobster Coast" had explored the region's politics a bit more. Their ancestral Republicanism wasn't well-situated and neither is its current partisan independence, especially because Woodard discussed the region's attachment to Jeffersonianism early in the book. I expected further discussion but it just wasn't there! Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book for fans of regional history like myself. Might be worth reading alongside Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America for a fuller picture of the region.
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