Book Review of
The Fishermen and The Dragon

Lynn's Review

The Fishermen and The Dragon by Kirk Wallace Johnson was published in 2022. It is a nonfiction book. 

Fact really is stranger than fiction. The subtitle for this book is Fear, Greed, and A Fight For Justice On the Gulf Coast. It sums up the book well. 

The author was inspired to write this story after hearing a Bruce Springsteen song about a White shrimper planning to kill a Vietnamese refugee in Galveston Bay over turf. After looking up the origin of the song he knew he had a story. 

The book starts in a small Texas Gulf Coast town in the 1970s. After the Vietnam War, refugees settled on the Gulf Coast looking for a better life. They were hard-working Vietnamese people trying to find their place in a new country. 

They settled in a community where Texas families had made their living fishing for generations. 

The two groups clash. 

Add in the KKK, greedy lawyers looking to make a name for themselves, large companies polluting the water where so many make their living, and families just trying to survive, and you have a fascinating story that I could not put down. 

This is part of Texas history that I knew nothing about. I bought this book because I loved the book the Feather Thief by the same author. I am so glad I read this one. I love books that take me to a time and place I knew nothing about.

If you love true crime type of books or love to learn unusual historical facts, this is a great read.