A book of creative nonfiction, this is an account of the situation of Atlantic salmon and wilderness Down East by a professional science journalist. The book begins and ends with an old Maine tradition, the annual gift of the first salmon caught in the Penobscot River to the President of the United States. The last President to see the ceremony was George W. Bush, who was happy to catch fish but had no use for eating them. Now there are too few Atlantic salmon to catch. Native tribes, who still have the right to harvest, advise their people against it due to unsafe levels of heavy metals and pesticides. The author documents the paradox of modern urbanized conservation; people eat more salmon than ever, and things called Atlantic salmon are common on the market, but the wild Atlantic salmon is near extinction. And as the author documents with fierce attention, as a result so are a host of proud human-and American-traditions and the cultures of people who depended on them. The book notes that salmon are among the most difficult species to restore in the wild, because they require a clean environment from springhead to sea. So while the story keeps a focus on the efforts to restore Atlantic salmon, it also documents the frameworks of values and choices that have destroyed them on the coast of New York City and Washington. Because many defenders of wild Atlantic salmon spring from conservative or Puritan roots, the author frames issues differently than typical conservation writing in the California style. Though it is written in an engaging style for general readers, the book is meticulously researched, and has extensive endnotes. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)