Tracing the history of rainbow trout from the nineteenth century to the present day, Center of the American West Research Faculty member Anders Halverson explores the origins, the costs, and the benefits of fish stocking and other freshwater fishery management techniques. In the process, the story he tells about this favorite target of American sport fishers illuminates the complex ties between human actions and what we commonly call “nature.”

An Entirely Synthetic Fish was published in the spring of 2010 by Yale University Press and has been the subject of acclaim since it arrived on bookstore shelves. The book has been featured in The Washington Post and on NPR, and it has won praise from anglers, environmentalists, and academics alike for Halverson’s ability to blend first-rate scholarship with compelling storytelling.

Copies of An Entirely Synthetic Fish are available at local bookstores and through online booksellers. You can read more about the project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation.