• National Geographic will publish a piece on the eel written by the author to cocincide with the book’s publication.

They are the only fish to spawn in the middle of an ocean but spend their adult lives in freshwater. They can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and even cross over land. They are revered as guardians and monster seducers by New Zealand’s Maori and have inspired myths concerning breadfruit, banana and coconut among the Pacific Island peoples. Often viewed with disgust in the West, they are a multi-billion dollar business in the Asian food market—the Japanese eat them to beat summer fatigue. And they are often mistaken for snakes. They are eels—one the world’s most amazing and little understood fish. (Yes, fish.)

James Prosek offers a fascinating tour through the life history and cultural associations of the freshwater eel, exploring its biology in streams and epic migrations in the ocean, myth and lore, mystery and beauty. Prosek travels the globe to tell the story of the eel—from New York to New Zealand, Europe to the small island of Pohnpei in Micronesia, where freshwater eels are worshipped by members of the eel clan.  Along the way he introduces individuals whose lives are most connected with the eels’ story—including fishermen, conservationists, and scientists seeking to uncover their elusive home in the Sargasso Sea and spawning places in other oceans of the world. Though eels have been here for hundreds of millions of years, populations of freshwater eels are rapidly declining, largely due to dams, overfishing, pollution and perhaps even global climate change.

Illustrated with etchings by the author, Eels is a mesmerizing biography and history of this intriguing and mysterious creature. It is also a telling look at humanity, the will to persist, and the ever-changing relationship between man and the natural world.