Called "stunning and suspenseful" (Andrea Barrett, Outside), and "exquisitely detailed" (Alan Cheuse, NPR), The Forty Fathom Bank is a gripping novella of adventure and desperation in the tradition of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. This acclaimed cult classic tells the story of two men seeking riches on a late-season fishing trip off the coast of San Francisco. When a storm hits and the engine fails, they confront more than treacherous seas in their fight for survival. This edition also includes the late author's other rarely seen stories of the sea, as well as an afterword by his friend and editor, Jerome Gold. As James Lee Burke says, "No one who reads this book will ever forget it."

The sea and Great Lakes have inspired American authors from colonial times to the present to produce enduring literary works. This reference is a comprehensive survey of American sea literature. The scope of the encyclopedia ranges from the earliest printed matter produced in the colonies to contemporary experiments in published prose, poetry, and drama. The book also acknowledges how literature gives rise to adaptations and resonances in music and film and includes coverage of nonliterary topics that have nonetheless shaped American literature of the sea and Great Lakes. The alphabetical arrangement of the reference facilitates access to facts about major literary works, characters, authors, themes, vessels, places, and ideas that are central to American sea literature. Each of the several hundred entries is written by an expert contributor and many provide bibliographical information. While the encyclopedia includes entries for white male canonical writers such as Herman Melville and Jack London, it also gives considerable attention to women at sea and to ethnically diverse authors, works, and themes. The volume concludes with a chronology and a list of works for further reading.

In San Francisco, a fisherman's get-rich-quick scheme ends in violence. As sharks fetch high prices, he hires a professional shark hunter to go fishing, the deal being he gets the first three tons, the hunter the rest. But as the hunter's share piles up, jealousy rears its head.