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WINNER OF THE PHILLIP D. REED MEMORIAL AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING WRITING ON THE SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENT
Beyond the oil-soaked pelican, beyond the oil-soaked beach, beyond the Deepwater Horizon oil spill entirely, there is a deeper story of sacrifice unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. Reporters and government officials focused on the smallest part of it: oil gushed into the water for 153 days, then, on September 19, 2010, the well was capped. The story was over. But for David Gessner the unimaginable amount of oil spilled into the ocean was only the beginning.
In The Tarball Chronicles, Gessner eats, drinks, and talks his way into the heart of Gulf country—exploring the region’s birds, sea life, and ecosystems with the oceanographers, activists, and subsistence fishermen who call it home. Just how much, he asks, are we willing to sacrifice to keep living the way we do? Part absurdist travelogue, part manifesto, The Tarball Chronicles is a love song for the Gulf from an author who has “redefined what it means to write about the natural world” (Washington Post).
"If you read only one book about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill this year, it should be this one. If you plan not to read any books about it, make an exception for this blunt, funny, eye-opening quest to find the real stories behind the Gulf crisis." —Shelf Awareness
“Expressive and adventurous. A profoundly personal inquiry into the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe unique in its hands-on immediacy and far-ranging ruminations.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist
“Brilliant—the best and most original writing coming out of the Gulf.”—Scott Dodd, OnEarth magazine, Natural Resources Defense Council
“David Gessner is on a roll.” —Times-Picayune
“Gessner has the heart and mind of an investigative journalist. . . . Not everyone will be pleased with this Jeremiah in our midst, but the word is a fire and a hammer, and Gessner delivers it well.” —Mobile Press-Register
“An expert naturalist, he not only observes but talks with people who are in the know—forceful, insightful, blood-and-guts people who will speak their minds (like David). There is grit and heartbreak and energy in just about everything he writes.”—Clyde Edgerton, the author of Lunch at the Piccadilly and Walking Across Egypt
“Vivid, funny, opinionated, poignant, and mold breaking—Gessner takes us deep into the environmental and personal tragedies of the spill.” —Jim Campbell, the author of The Final Frontiersman
“Plenty of people are writing about the BP oil disaster, but few indeed will be able to make us feel the reality of it like David Gessner can. The likelihood that his account will also be action-filled and darkly funny is pure bonus.” —John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Blood Horses
“In this highly readable, firsthand account of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, David Gessner considers the catastrophe in the Gulf as a symptom of even bigger economic and cultural challenges that loom in our future. This excellent book is not judgmental, but thought provoking and well worth reading.” —David Allen Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Birds