“An electric foray into the eel. Combining legal intrigue, a vision of untapped riches, and still-unsolved scientific mysteries, the author fashions a curious history that brims with wonderment.”
Kirkus Reviews
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About Ellen
Ellen spent years as a contributing editor and correspondent for The Atlantic, where she wrote on various issues of the day that intrigued, mattered or simply caught her fancy. Her reporting, essays and reviews have also appeared in The Smithsonian, Scientific American, the New York Times Magazine, Science Magazine, Audubon, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The L.A. Times, the Boston Globe, among other outlets. A Professor Emerita of Science Journalism at Boston University, her research focuses on the intersection of science, culture and society.
About Slippery Beast
What is it about eels? Depending on who you ask, they are a pest, a fascination, a threat, a pot of gold. What they are not is predictable. Eels emerged some 200 million years ago, weathered mass extinctions and continental shifts, and were once among the world’s most abundant freshwater fish. But since the 1970s, their numbers have plummeted. Because eels—as unagi—are another thing: delicious.
Recent Writings
"Carl Elliot, in ‘The Occasional Human Sacrifice,’ champions the whistleblowers of academic medicine"
The Boston Globe
"Innovative Fish Farms Aim to Feed the Planet, Save Jobs and Clean Up an Industry’s Dirty Reputation"
Scientific American
"The Legend of the Music Tree"
Smithsonian Magazine
The Surprising Eel
Featured Interview
Ellen Shell, Author Interview with Kara Swisher
Also by Ellen Ruppel Shell
