Beyond Trawlertown

'This is a fine piece of work, based on extensive archival and oral history research, which makes an important and original contribution.' 
Dr Graeme Milne, University of Liverpool

‘The book’s interdisciplinary approach, drawing on historical analysis, cultural geography and critical heritage studies, is highly welcome. Most refreshing of all, though, is Byrne’s adoption of an oral history methodology to enrich the analysis. Indeed, the real heart of this book lies in the recovery of the voices of the men and women who lived through this troubled period of the city’s long history. Through incorporating their rich oral testimonies, Byrne vividly and evocatively brings to life their lived experiences, and the recollections of the likes of fishers Michael and Thomas and factory worker Margaret add real poignancy to the narrative as their life stories are captured within the book’s pages… Beyond Trawlertown is a vividly-rendered, evocative history that captures the human cost of the decline in Hull’s distant-water fishing industry.’ Robert James, Northern History

‘Beyond Trawlertown broadly focuses on an unforgiving, dangerous occupation, a seacoast town, technological advances in an industry, and the effect on men from several nations who competed for a rapidly dwindling resource… Jo Byrne’s work is a multifaceted textbook of the history and politics of the UK fishing industry, a philosophical essay, and a warning to other prominent fishing ports around the world.’ Louis Arthur Norton, The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord