Shaping the Shoreline

Monterey, California is home to the hugely successful Monterey Bay Aquarium and provided the setting for John Steinbeck's classic novel Cannery Row, yet the city's coastline was also the stage for a great shift in the junction of industry and tourism. From the late-nineteenth-century immigrant fisheries and the sardine boom of the interwar years and World War II, to the Southern Pacific Railroad's promotional campaigns and recent post-industrial tourism, Shaping the Shoreline looks at the ways in which Monterey has formed, and been formed by, the tension between labour and leisure. Connie Y. Chiang examines Monterey's development from a seaside resort to a working-class fishing town and, finally, to a tourist attraction again. Through the subjects of work, recreation, and environment - the intersections of which are applicable to communities across the United States and abroad - she documents the struggles and contests over this coastal region. By tracing Monterey's shift from what was once the literal Cannery Row to an iconic hub that now houses an aquarium in which nature is replicated to attract tourists, the interactions of people with nature continues to change. Encompassing histories of immigration, unionization, and the impact of world events and national demands as well as commercial and nonprofit initiatives on localities, Chiang explores the reciprocal relationship between social and environmental change. By integrating topics such as race, ethnicity, and class into environmental history, Chiang opens the door to a new understanding of the idea that work and play are not mutually exclusive endeavours. This book will appeal to academics interested in labour history, ethnic history, environmental studies, and western history, as well as environmentalists, planners of local, state, and federal government programs, and members of the general public interested in the future of their communities. Connie Y. Chiang is assistant professor of history and environmental studies at Bowdoin College.