Chesapeake Bay Blues cuts through the rhetorical muck, which, like the algae that blooms in the bay, tends to shut out the light.

The Washington Post

Ernst has written a book that is packed with information on the politics and science behind the past, present, and future management of the Chesapeake Bay. He digs deep into the exterior and interior layers of policy and procedure that surround Chesapeake Bay protection measures. Ernst presents complex ideas and concepts in detail while still making them accessible to beginning students or interested lay readers-no small task. Backed by a plethora of cited references, Ernst goes further than most authors and provides a detailed "Notes" section on interesting and necessary background and "See also" information for each chapter. A wise choice for all academic libraries as well as for all public libraries.

Library Journal

Chesapeake Bay Blues should motivate a wake-up call for all Bay lovers. A reading must for all concerned.

former Maryland state senator Bernie Fowler

Howard Ernst paints a stunning portrait of the Chesapeake Bay with a broad brush, yet fills the canvas with documented details of challenges to water quality, living resources and management programs. The text is written with energy and conviction without being melodramatic. A most valuable contribution to a growing library on the Bay.

Gerald L. Baliles Baliles, former Governor of Virginia

Howard Ernst's book is an original and needed view of the long struggle to restore the Chesapeake Bay to health. It's readable and thoughtful. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the Bay, or in environmental restoration in general.

Tom Horton

Chesapeake Bay Blues is an exceptionally rich and insightful analysis of how the nation's largest estuary fell victim to human greed, economic expansion, and pollution. Ernst skillfully surveys the multiple causes of the Bay's deterioration, with appropriate attention both to environmental science and public policy issues. The book offers a highly readable and well-informed account of threats to the Bay's health and what might be done to restore both the ecosystem and the enormous economic values it brings to the region.

Michael Kraft, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay