This is a delightful work with the urgency of a good detective story. --Thomas McGuaneI loved it A beautiful adventure story of one of the most wide-spread and least-known but ecologically important fish. --Bernd Heinrich, author of Summer WorldFamous for his deeply informed, compulsively readable books on trout, writer-painter James Prosek (whom the New York Times has called the Audubon of the fishing world) takes on natures quirkiest and most enigmatic fish: the eel. Fans of Mark Kurlanskys Cod and The Big Oyster or Trevor Corsons The Secret Life of Lobsters will love Proseks probing exploration of the hidden deep-water dwellers. With characteristically captivating prose and lavish illustrations, Prosek demystifies the eels unique biology and bizarre mating routines, and illuminates the animals varied roles in the folklore, cuisine, and commerce of a variety of cultures.