Stronghold: One Man's Quest to Save the World's Wild Salmon

About this book

PNBA BESTSELLER "A powerful and inspiring story. Guido Rahrs mission to save the wild Pacific salmon leads him into adventures that make for a breathtakingly exciting read."--Ian Frazier author of Travels in Siberia Editors Choice: The New York Times Book Review Outside Magazine National Book Review Forbes Amazon In the tradition of Mountains Beyond Mountains and The Orchid Thief Stronghold is Tucker Malarkeys eye-opening account of one of the worlds greatest fly fishermen and his crusade to protect the worlds last bastion of wild salmon. From a young age Guido Rahr was a misfit among his family and classmates preferring to spend his time in the natural world. When the salmon runs of the Pacific Northwest began to decline Guido was one of the few who understood why. As dams industry and climate change degraded the homes of these magnificent fish Rahr saw that the salmon of the Pacific Rim were destined to go the way of their Atlantic brethren: near extinction. An improbable and inspiring story Stronghold takes us on a wild adventure from Oregon to Alaska to one of the worlds last remaining salmon strongholds in the Russian Far East a landscape of ecological richness and diversity that is rapidly being developed for oil gas minerals and timber. Along the way Rahr contends with scientists conservationists Russian oligarchs corrupt officials and unexpected allies in an attempt to secure a stronghold for the endangered salmon an extraordinary keystone species whose demise would reverberate across the planet. Tucker Malarkey who joins Rahr in the Russian wilderness has written a clarion call for a sustainable future a remarkable work of natural history and a riveting account of a species whose future is closely linked to our own. Praise for Stronghold "This book isnt just about fish its about life itself and the fragile unseen threads that connect all creatures across this beleaguered orb we call home. Guido Rahrs quest to save the worlds wild salmon should serve as an inspiration--and a provocation--for us all and Tucker Malarkeys exquisite book captures Rahrs weird and wonderful story with poignancy humor and grace."--Hampton Sides author of In the Kingdom of Ice and Blood and Thunder "A crazy-good intensely lived book that reads like an international thriller--only its our beloved salmon playing the part of diamonds or oil or gold."--David James Duncan author of The River Why and The Brothers K