The Tide Is Out

Book Review: Abalone by Ann Vileisis

Today, we’re reviewing Anne Vileisis’ book Abalone: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California’s Iconic Shellfish, published by Oregon State University Press in 2020.

If you haven’t seen an abalone yet in your tide pooling adventures…well, that’s what this book is all about. These large mollusks, once enjoyed by many Californians as abalone steaks, were prevalent, then superabundant, and now endangered through a tangle of factors like of overfishing, predator removal, questionable management, and community rallying around this or that legislation. If you think the history of a snail is not long enough for a nearly 300-page book, think again. The history is wrapped around cultural movements, biologists’ careers, political agendas, and fisheries management. 

Information: 9/10

The information in this book is excellent and well researched. Though I am not an expert in the history myself, I think I can confidently say that this book is nearly comprehensive. It begins with abalone use, both their shells and their meat, by various indigenous peoples in California, continuing to the arrival of the Spanish, and then California as a state in the early 1900s through the present day. My only qualm with the information is the same as my praise: there is a lot of it. If a reader isn’t prepared or interested in the nitty-gritty details of this biologist’s life or this legalization, there isn’t a way to skim the major points instead of reading the entire thing. 

Image and Illustrations: 6/10

The author and publisher did not emphasize images in this book, which perhaps makes sense for a history book. There are a few scattered black-and-white images of people and abalone throughout, but the text would have been enhanced by more. Additioanlly, a plate section of glossy color images might have brought them to life more. 

Readability and format: 7/10

The format of this book is great. It tracks the history of Alabone in a peopled California in chronological order. It is slightly less readable than it could be, however, with long sections of text that lack descriptive headers. The text isn’t hard to follow if you’re reading it straight through, but if you’re trying to glean the main points or find a specific section about this or that, the chapter headers are your lowest descriptive level. 

Portability: 8/10

This book is rather portable and isn’t overly heavy or bulky. My copy is a paperback 6×9 and is easy to hold and read. 

Overall usefulness for the Tidepooler: 8/10

The tidepooler won’t learn new skills by reading this book, but the policy history informs how we tidepool and how we observe and care for the ecosystem. Much of this book recounts the mismanagement of the commercial and recreational abalone fishery because it didn’t heed biologists’ warnings, which led to the population collapse. Want to know why you don’t see abalone very often anymore? Read this book. By looking at the ways we’ve messed up in the past, we can better understand how to be good stewards now and realize how lucky we are to still have what we have. While the book is not enriching in tidepooling skills, it is highly enriching for the mind.