Down at the Docks

By Rory Nugent

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385720130
• ISBN13: 9780385720137
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"