The Run Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
40th anniversary of a Cape Cod classicPerched on the banks of Stony Brook in the Cape Cod town of Brewster, Hay observes the stunning phenomenon of the annual run of the alewife, a herring that spawns in fresh water, enters the ocean as a fingerling, and returns to its natal pond.
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press; 40 Anv edition (March 1, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0807085707
ISBN-13: 978-0807085707
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #2,776,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #87 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides > Fish #1424 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Animals > Fish & Sharks #1580 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems
I first read this book in the early 1970s when I was conducting my Ph.D. thesis research, which dealt with the migratory behavior of a fish called the alewife, also known as river herring. Alewife are like small, silvery salmon. About 10 inches long, they migrate into small streams and rivers along the East Coast in the spring to spawn, and the juveniles then migrate to the ocean in the fall, where they live for four or five years before returning to their home stream to spawn. John Hay captures the mystery and delight of an alewife run. Unlike salmon runs that occur in large rivers where the fish can't be seen, alwife migrate into many very small streams, many of which pass through towns and under old mills, such that the fish are readily visible to people. To see thousands of fish stacked up at the base of a dam, knowning that they had traveled thousands of miles in the Atlantic for years before finding their way back to the location where their life began as an egg, is almost incredible. John Hay describes the essence of the alewife in a very informative but tremendously readable style. This is a must read for anyon who enjoys fine writing and has an interest in the natural world.
I read this book 30 years ago and decided to become a naturalist, but I found the coursework too dry. I got it for my wife and reread it myself, finding it as gripping now as then. Part of the reason is that The Run, which is in Brewster MA, was my backyard growing up But I would urge anyone with an interest in nature to read this charmer.
Sublime and enchanting is how John Hay has the reader feeling. It is truly a superb book, well written and thoughtful as well as thought provoking.
A story that weaves its own spell.
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