The rousing sea stories are all here: The dramas of near-death battles, the sickening tragedy of lovers and friends lost to the waters - but this is not the whole story. This collection represents an extraordinary holistic view of Alaskan fishing: Not just the dying, but the living; not just the obsessive doing of fishing, but the passionate being as well. Readers will understand why so many are hooked, unwilling or unable to leave this uncommon life.

Collectively, the 15 fisher-writers in this anthology have fished cod, halibut, salmon, crab, and herring. Some have fished...