A few readers have said they wished there had been photographs in THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS of some of the people depicted. In a way, I'm glad there are not. I prefer to have the words in the book stand on their own. But here are a few mug shots.


In trying to get a photograph of Jack Merrill, I asked him and then his wife if they could supply one, and both laughed and said they didn't think any pictures of Jack existed -- at least, not any recent pictures. I finally tracked down this photo of him in the archives of the newspaper Commercial Fisheries News, probably taken while Jack was attending the annual Maine Fishermen's Forum.

This picture of Bob Steneck, the marine biologist from the University of Maine, was taken by the photographer Peter Ralston, who shoots for the Island Institute and takes stunning pictures of coastal and island scenes, often involving fishing boats and working harbors. I'm always blown away by his work and can recommend his book Sightings.

And here is Diane Cowan, with one of her beloved baby "lobbies."