Kings of the Yukon
A River Journey in Search of the Chinook
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Kings of the Yukon
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Narrated by:
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Charlie Anson
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Written by:
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Adam Weymouth
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Harold R. Johnson
About this listen
A stunning new voice in nature writing makes an epic journey along the Yukon River to give us the stories of its people and its protagonist - the king salmon, or the Chinook - and the deepening threat to a singular way of life, in a lyrical, evocative, and captivating narrative.
The Yukon River is 3,190 kilometers long, flowing northwest from British Columbia through the Yukon Territory and Alaska to the Bering Sea. Every summer, millions of salmon migrate the distance of this river to their spawning ground, where they go to breed and then die. The Chinook is the most highly prized among the five species of Pacific salmon for its large size and rich, healthy oils. It has long since formed the lifeblood of the economy and culture along the Yukon - there are few communities that have been so reliant on a single source. Now, as the region contends with the effects of a globalized economy, climate change, fishing quotas, and the general drift toward urban life, the health and numbers of the Chinook are in question, as is the fate of the communities that depend on them.
Traveling in a canoe along the Yukon River with the migrating salmon, a three-month journey through untrammeled wilderness, Adam Weymouth traces the profound interconnectedness of the people and the Chinook through searing portraits of the individuals he encounters. He offers a powerful, nuanced glimpse into the erosion of indigenous culture and into our ever-complicated relationship with the natural world. Weaving in the history of the salmon run and their mysterious life cycle, Kings of the Yukon is extraordinary adventure and nature writing and social history at its most compelling.
©2018 Adam Weymouth, Harold R. Johnson (P)2018 Knopf CanadaYou may also enjoy...
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 315
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 266
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 267
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- Narrated by: Adam Shoalts
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Well written and frightening
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- Written by: Adam Shoalts
- Narrated by: Adam Shoalts
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 226
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 199
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 199
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- Narrated by: Steven Rinella, Clay Newcomb
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Written by: Steven Rinella, and others
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MeatEater's Campfire Stories: Close Calls
- Written by: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella, the Contributors
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 478
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 412
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Story5 out of 5 stars 410
In Campfire Stories: Close Calls, Steven Rinella invites seasoned hunters, anglers, adventurers, and outdoor professionals to share their tales of perilous adventures in the natural world, from run-ins with black bears and grizzlies to bad falls and severe hypothermia.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent for my cross Canada journey
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Written by: Steven Rinella
What the critics say
“Travel writing? Climate change? Here’s a book that does it all.... He writes like Annie Dillard, Bruce Chatwin and Jack London combined: suspenseful and sensitive storytelling and sumptuous descriptions.” (National Observer)
“Shift over, Pierre Berton and Farley Mowat. You, too, Robert Service. Set another place at the table for Adam Weymouth, who writes as powerfully and poetically about the Far North as any of the greats who went before him.” (Roy MacGregor, author of Original Highways: Travelling the Great Rivers of Canada)
“A moving, masterful portrait of a river, the people who live on its banks, and the salmon that connect their lives to the land. It is at once travelogue, natural history, and a meditation on the sort of wildness of which we are intrinsically a part. Adam Weymouth deftly illuminates the symbiosis between humans and the natural world - a relationship so ancient, complex, and mysterious that it just might save us.” (Kate Harris, author of Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road)
2019 Lonely Planet Adventure Travel Book of the Year
Winner of the 2018 Sunday Times/Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award
Short-listed for UK's Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize
What listeners say about Kings of the Yukon
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bo
- 2019-01-04
Amazing Book
I might be a little bias as i am a fisherman, but this book was very entertaining and informative. I learned a lot about native cultures and practices and why they love salmon so much. I live in BC and we are getting horrible runs of Sockeye, its scary to think that some day they might not come anymore.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Val C.
- 2023-05-11
A beautiful journey
The words, as beautiful, frank, and full of wonder as they are, are likely insufficient to fully describe what the author experienced. With child-like curiosity and simplicity, the natural and anthropological story of the Chinook is retold from the eyes of an outsider - although I’d argue he’s as much a part of the story as anyone now. A great read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-02-24
Beautiful, informative, thought provoking.
Being from northern British Columbia, eaten fresh salmon caught from the river, lived the restrictions upon fishing as well as heard both sides of the argument from politicians and communities alike - this book delves further into the situation than most may be aware of. Those such as myself, a northern BC Canadian who understand the connection to communities and people, but less so about the history and global effects.
Well written, characters and interviews are genuinely brought to life through the vibrancy of those they wish to recreate.
Recommended for anyone who is interested in the natural world, First Nations culture, global issues and how they interact from nation to nation, as well as those who wish to enjoy a novel containing a magnificent story and inspiring journey!
What a fish, the Chinook, to commend such a tale!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- nathanmeakes
- 2025-01-31
Reader is terrible
I have some familiarity with the subject and the landscape. I was born in Whitehorse and lived in Dawson for the first few years of my life. I studied conservation biology in university and volunteer for a conservation organization that works directly with these issues. The topic of the book felt like a great fit, but the audio performance is terrible. mispronounced words, names and efforts to put on accents for indigenous persons that are terrible and pretty well racist. I'll try reading this book, I hope it's better. Editing by a good editor and a director in the recording studio could have made a huge difference.
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