Down at the Docks

In the opening pages of Moby Dick, Herman Melville called New Bedford, Massachusetts, "the dearest place to live in, in all of New England." But the old fishing port and manufacturing center--once one of the richest cities in New England--has withered in the modern economy. Its once-prosperous fishermen now struggle with government regulations and fished-out seas, while its empty factories now offer more work to the Fire Department than anyone else.

In Down at the Docks, Rory Nugent tells the "riches to rags" story of this iconic American town through beautifully told and unsentimental portraits of its residents. Their lives inform a eulogy to the distinctive ideas, traditions, and culture that is about to disappear from the waterfront.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: 02/09/2010
ISBN: 9780385720137
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.49lbs
Size: 8.02h x 5.36w x 0.68d

Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 02/07/2010 pg. 24