The rousing sea stories are all here: The dramas of near-death battles, the sickening tragedy of lovers and friends lost to the waters - but this is not the whole story. This collection represents an extraordinary holistic view of Alaskan fishing: Not just the dying, but the living; not just the obsessive doing of fishing, but the passionate being as well. Readers will understand why so many are hooked, unwilling or unable to leave this uncommon life. Collectively, the 15 fisher-writers in this anthology have fished cod, halibut, salmon, crab, and herring. Some have fished commercially for several seasons; others have spent most of their lives on the water. Included are Moe Bowstern, Michael Crowley, Wendy Erd, Leslie Leyland Fields, Naphtali Fields, Erin Freistrad, Joel Gay, Sig Hansen, Mary Jacobs, Nancy Lord, Marta Sutro, Toby Sullivan, Joe Upton, Spike Walker, and Shannon Zellerhoff.

Most fisherman don't really fish just to catch fish. While we might appear to only fill our boats with fish, the reality is fishing fills our hearts with purpose. Many of us don't conform to land well, or even at all. We often find ourselves more lost on dirt and grass than a parakeet in the middle of the ocean. The rogue nature of men who often live in vast waters without roads and traffic signs makes for a bad fit in a society filled with rules and regulations. Our relationship with the opposite sex is perhaps the most difficult aspect of being a fisherman. We often fight a winless battle between our primordial desire to be accepted and loved versus the unrelenting beckoning of the ocean. A fisherman has two lives: the one where he stares at sea from land and the life where he stares at land from sea. For the fisherman, the question is not whether joy or pain are on the horizon for they've come to learn that both live hand in hand. The sea teaches men they cannot appreciate joy without knowing pain, and pain is not fully recognized without first experiencing joy. Loads of fish and welcoming arms are the Ying to the Yang in the darkest nights, both at sea and ashore. Despite being shackled to both like an anchor to a chain, fisherman will forever be hopelessly torn apart so long as the sea has fish, and the land has women. Vicious Cycle is a collection of the author's personal tales from the sea and personal battles on land, likely resonating with every man who calls the sea home. Geer loved the ocean before he even truly knew the definition of love. He spent his lifetime trying to be nothing more than accepted as a fisherman. Now, he shares those stories and those challenges with you. This book is for those that understand that beauty can be found in something that seemingly possess no traits of the traditional definition of beautiful.

Reproduction of the original: Passages From the American Note-Books by Nathaniel Hawthorne

While performing a scene from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Una and Dan accidentally summon Puck who enables them to witness tales of English history.