Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World's Most Mysterious Fish

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Title: Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World's Most Mysterious Fish
Author: James Prosek
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Year: 2010
303 pages

An enjoyable, easy to read book about eels. While there is enough scientific and technical information to be engaging, the heart of the story is cultural, with an emphasis on New Zealand, Pohnpei, and Japan. I would think of this genre as "personal nature writing," with Prosek as a character as well as narrator of the story, woven together by both the focus on eels and Prosek's shift of focus from the objective to the spiritual. I found it engrossing as well as sometimes gross. I admire Prosek's ability to subtlely shift between genres as he reports on his learning and experiences. I'll never eat unagi again without thinking about this book.