The Tarball Chronicles

This bestselling account of an environmental disaster's aftermath offers "a firsthand look at the Gulf after the news cycle ended . . . brilliant." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Winner of an ASLE Book Award and a Reed Award
Named a Top Book from the South by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Traveling the shores of the Gulf from east to west with oceanographers, subsistence fishermen, seafood distributors, and other longtime Gulf residents, environmental advocate and acclaimed author of All the Wild That Remains David Gessner offers a lively, arresting account of the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


With The Tarball Chronicles, Gessner tells a story that extends beyond the archetypal oil-soaked pelican, beyond politics, beyond BP, and beyond other oil-spill accounts. Instead, heart on his sleeve and beer in hand, he explores the ecosystem of the Gulf as a complicated whole and focuses on the people whose lives and livelihoods have been jeopardized by the spill. With his signature combination of intellect, passion, and humor, Gessner asks how much we are willing to sacrifice for the conveniences of modern life.


"Gessner has the heart and mind of an investigative journalist." —Mobile Press-Register