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Tin Can Coast
- Author
- Joseph Ogilvy
- Narrator
- Ryan Wilson
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 21 July 2026
- Run Time
- 11 hours 56 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
"Powerful nature writing . . . a lively story about the consequences of rapacious capitalism." —LOS ANGELES TIMES
"You'll never look at a can of tuna the same way again." —MALCOM HARRIS, nationally bestselling author of Palo Alto
The hidden story of the California Coast, told through generations of immigrants, surges of industry, and three marine species caught in the dragnet of human history.
Look west from San Francisco or Monterey, past the surfers and cargo ships. This is the California Current, 1,900 miles of the most productive waters on earth. It was here that eighteenth-century locals encountered frisbee-sized abalone mollusks, sardine schools the size of buses, and Yellowfin tuna, each the size of a man. But it was not to last.
Over the next three centuries, the abalone, sardine, and tuna were swept into the violent undertow of history. Their species became resources. Fishing and hunting drove the Spanish-Russian territory battle of the eighteenth century, California’s virulently racist first “conservation” laws in the 19th, and an ad campaign that kept America fed on just-like-chicken canned goods in the 20th. Along the way, they became drivers of geopolitical competition, catalysts for the dramatic rise and fall of Cannery Row aristocracy, and even surly muses for John Steinbeck and Fritz Lang.
Collapsing the distinctions between human and natural history, Tin Can Coast brings the cautionary tale of the California shore to life.
Critics Review
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Revelatory.
The New York Times
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Joseph Ogilvy explores the poetry and the beauty of this coastal world, the marine creatures who live within it, as well as the practices that are gutting it… Ogilvy writes in propulsive prose that elevates this, his first book, above a simple history… Tin Can Coast is, ultimately, a powerful eulogy to a now nearly vanished world—still remembered by some through such imaginative works as John Steinbeck’s ‘Cannery Row’ (1945) and institutions such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium… It’s a profoundly sad story, beautifully told.
The Wall Street Journal
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Ogilvy’s book is a study of the history and risks of overfishing, but it’s also powerful nature writing, rich with his own first-hand observations, along with a lively story about the consequences of rapacious capitalism, international disputes and technological innovation.
Los Angeles Times, "Best of the Summer 2026"
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Ogilvy is a gifted writer, and his evocative language takes readers into places like reeking cannery decks slick with fish guts to explore the racism and labor exploitation that were prevalent throughout history and still haunt the industry today…. Tin Can Coast, which treats the land as a character alongside the human players, deserves a place among classic California history texts such as City of Quartz.
Civil Eats
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Tin Can Coast is beautifully written and well researched... It's the definitive book on California’s fishing history.
Monterey County Weekly
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As tinned fish packed in fancy olive oil remains all the rage on store shelves, Joseph Ogilvy takes the conversation to California, whose complicated fishing history remains overlooked. Tin Can Coast reckons with the state’s often exploitative relationship with its coasts. The chef and writer explores how the California Current—once home to troves of large yellowfin tuna, abalone, and sardines—became a gold mine for profit. Ogilvy traces the geopolitical, capitalist, and cultural forces that led to the growing popularity of seafood, racist immigrant policies, and the depletion of sea once brimming with life.
Food Tank
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Ogilvy’s first book, firmly situated at the intersection of social sciences and ecocriticism, pulls no punches as it examines the legacy of the California Current...Lyrically written, the book examines these topics from an ecological lens, emphasizing interconnectedness and the domino effect of cascading harmful practices. It is an eye-opening and even jaw-dropping account.
Library Journal
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Ogilvy debuts with an ambitious and sweeping history of hunting and fishing along the California coast, tracing centuries of upheaval by humans . . . A lucid, unsettling diagnosis of the economic, political, and ecological forces shaping the Pacific Coast.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
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This far-reaching work of history demonstrates how seemingly disparate forces can work together to make or break a town, an industry, a community, or a once-thriving species. Tin Can Coast will appeal to a wide variety of readers interested in economic forces, the environment, and twentieth-century American history.
Booklist
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A deep dive into California's murky maritime memories, Tin Can Coast surfaces a full net of iridescent stories. You'll never look at a can of tuna the same way again.
Malcolm Harris, nationally bestselling author of PALO ALTO
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In Tin Can Coast, Ogilvy does a masterful job of weaving together the enmeshed fates of the California Current’s fisheries, the immigrant communities that first exploited them, and the way greed eventually killed what could have been the Golden Coast’s golden goose. A fascinating story at every turn, exceptionally well told.
Scott Weidensaul, New York Times bestselling author of THE WORLD ON THE WING
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A keen-eyed and comprehensive look at the fisheries of the West Coast and the cultures that fished them, Tin Can Coast will leave you awed by the majesty of these extraordinary ecosystems, heartbroken at their exploitation and collapse, and fiercely appreciative of this uniquely American story, in all its contradictions.
Rowan Jacobsen, James Beard Award-winning author of A GEOGRAPHY OF OYSTERS
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The story of California is one of sun, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and—perhaps surprisingly—fish. In Tin Can Coast, Joseph Ogilvy explores the Golden State's long relationship with the ocean through well-crafted tales of successive waves of immigrants and the marine creatures they hunted and profited from. A rigorous, engaging book that'll peel the scales from your eyes and foster deeper appreciation for the sea.
Adam Welz, author of The End of Eden
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Joseph Ogilvy
- Narrator
- Ryan Wilson
- Duration
- 11 hours 56 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781639736836
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Food security and supply, Maritime history
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents Tin Can Coast by Joseph Ogilvy, read by Ryan Wilson."Powerful nature writing . . . a lively story about the consequences of rapacious capitalism." —LOS ANGELES TIMES"You'll never look at a can of tuna the same way again." —MALCOM HARRIS, nationally bestselling author of Palo AltoThe hidden story of the California Coast, told through generations of immigrants, surges of industry, and three marine species caught in the dragnet of human history.Look west from San Francisco or Monterey, past the surfers and cargo ships. This is the California Current, 1,900 miles of the most productive waters on earth. It was here that eighteenth-century locals encountered frisbee-sized abalone mollusks, sardine schools the size of buses, and Yellowfin tuna, each the size of a man. But it was not to last. Over the next three centuries, the abalone, sardine, and tuna were swept into the violent undertow of history. Their species became resources. Fishing and hunting drove the Spanish-Russian territory battle of the eighteenth century, California’s virulently racist first “conservation” laws in the 19th, and an ad campaign that kept America fed on just-like-chicken canned goods in the 20th. Along the way, they became drivers of geopolitical competition, catalysts for the dramatic rise and fall of Cannery Row aristocracy, and even surly muses for John Steinbeck and Fritz Lang. Collapsing the distinctions between human and natural history, Tin Can Coast brings the cautionary tale of the California shore to life.
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