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Highliners  By  cover art

Highliners

By: William McCloskey
Narrated by: Aaron Abano
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Editorial reviews

William McCloskey's regional best seller, originally published in 1979, is sure to draw comparisons to the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch today. The tale of Hank Crawford's rise from greenhorn to highliner, informed by the author's own experience, marries fact and fiction with chapters on the history of Alaska and its marine life. Aaron Abano's performance equally enlivens Highliners' educational context and the triumphs and tragedies of its cast: men and women equal parts tough skin and warm hearts, drawn irresistibly to America's last great frontier.

Publisher's summary

A magnificent story based on America’s last frontier: The wild waters of the Pacific Ocean off the Alaskan coastline.

Highliners are the elite of the fishing world, the skippers and crews who make the biggest catches—salmon, king crab, halibut, shrimp—and deliver them first to the bustling canneries of Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. For these men—and for their women—the safe eight-hour day does not exist. It never will. Some fishermen get rich, many die broke. But they find a special joy in their work that can never be matched by the easier world of the landsman. No matter how great the hardship or how bad the storm, the highliners put out to sea in their primitive battle against the elements.

The protagonist of the novel is Hank Crawford, a young greenhorn who first comes to Alaska to work in a cannery to earn money while on summer vacation from college. He is quickly hooked by the fisherman’s life, and this novel re-creates how a young man becomes a highliner. He succeeds because he is young enough, strong enough, and brave enough. He learns the brutal business from hard-fisted skippers, penny-pinching cannery managers, and the pirates of the fishing world. Hank also meets the tough women who endure the hardships of Alaska alongside their men. Journey with him as he learns to survive the elements (100-mile-an-hour winds, ice storms, tidal waves, and fire at sea) and attempts to become a highliner.

©1979, 2013 William B. McCloskey Jr. (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

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What a roller coaster ride!

Story packs in a ton of fisheries and things that can go wrong on the water. As an Alaskan some of the mispronounced place names made me wince which is why I gave 4 stars on performance. Otherwise very well read. Also things have changed quite a lot in Dutch Harbor and Kodiak since the 1970s, so this is definitely historical fiction, but a great way of getting to know how things were when the council management system was put in place. Would recommend!

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Captivating.

Once you start it is extremely hard to stop what an amazing story. At times I felt like I was right there alongside them.

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1 person found this helpful