Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky (English)

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'Who would ever think that a book on cod would make a compulsive read? In a story that brings world history and human passions into captivating focus, he shows how the most profitable fish in history is today faced with extinction.

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

Charting the waves a mere fish can send through history, Kurlansky has fashioned an epic masterpiece out of a seemingly small subject.'Who would ever think that a book on cod would make a compulsive read? And yet this is precisely what Kurlansky has done' Express on SundayThe Cod. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been triggered by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it. To the millions it has sustained, it has been a treasure more precious that gold. This book spans 1,000 years and four continents. From the Vikings to Clarence Birdseye, Mark Kurlansky introduces the explorers, merchants, writers, chefs and fisherman, whose lives have been interwoven with this prolific fish. He chronicles the cod wars of the 16th and 20th centuries. He blends in recipes and lore from the Middle Ages to the present. In a story that brings world history and human passions into captivating focus, he shows how the most profitable fish in history is today faced with extinction.

Notes

A fascinating study of the humble cod, and of the social and financial impact it has had on societies worldwide throughout history. Blending history, lore and even recipes together, it also recounts the cod wars of the 16th and 20th centuries, and explains how the most profitable fish in history is now faced with extinction.

Author Biography

Mark Kurlansky is the author of several bestselling non-fiction titles including Cod- A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World (winner of the Glenfiddich Best Food Book Award), The Basque History of the World, Salt- A World History, 1968- The Year that Rocked the World, a short story collection The White Man in the Tree and a novel, Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue.

Review

"A must-have book for anyone who loves fish. Kurlansky was innovative (and is now much imitated) in writing a book about how a commodity shaped history." The Week "This is an extraordinary little book, unputdownable, written in the most lyrical, flowing style which paints vivid pictures and, at the same time, punches into place hard facts that stop you dead in your tracks. Who would ever think that a book on cod would make a compulsive read? And yet this is precisely what Kurlansky has done" -- Sir Roy Strong Express on Sunday "An engrossing and timely little epic" Scotsman "To go out and buy a book on the subject (of cod) is to invite glances of suspicion. While a few eccentrics might think this is a good reason to purchase several copies, for the rest of us it requires a certain leap of faith. Cod...amply rewards such a leap. It is compact and beautifully produced" Mail on Sunday "Refreshing and invigorating, full of fascinating facts" Independent on Sunday

Promotional

Charting the waves a mere fish can send through history, Kurlansky has fashioned an epic masterpiece out of a seemingly small subject.

Kirkus UK Review

The next time you have fish and chips, spare a thought for the poor cod. This aquatic perennial had been a staple of the human diet for millennia before it first became popular to deep-fry it in batter with slices of potato in the 1830s. Places have been named after the cod and whole economies supported by it; it has ignited revolutions and wars have been fought in its name. By taking this unlikely hero and telling its story from all corners of the globe over many centuries, Kurlansky provides a highly entertaining narrative. (Kirkus UK)

Kirkus US Review

Cod - that whitest of the white-fleshed fish, prize of every fish-and-chips establishment - gets expert, loving, and encyclopedic handling from Food and Wine columnist Kurlansky (A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry, 1994, etc.). There was one very good reason that tenth-century Vikings made it to the New World: Norway to Iceland to Greenland to Canada, they followed the exact range of the Atlantic cod. When explorers pushed off European shores in search of Eldorado, others made straight for the cod fisheries of the North Atlantic; the codfishers got by far the better results. Writing with a bright, crisp, journalistic flair, Kurlansky situates the cod in all its historic glory: the mysteries of the early Basque fisheries, the role of Catholic lean days in generating a profitable market, and the rise of the codfish aristocrats. The fish ascended from a commodity to a fetish: on coins, newspaper mastheads, tax stamps, official crests and seals. The author explains how a cod run could determine an entire regional economy and how salt cod figured in slave trading. Then came the steam engine and frozen food, changing the face of a dory-and-schooner fishing practice that hadn't seen a makeover in eons. The revolution wreaked havoc on the marketplace and just plain wrecked the bank fisheries. Territorial boundaries; the complexities of marine ecology; old, annotated recipes for preparing cod; place portraits of Gloucester, Mass., and Newlyn, England; and the current moratorium on cod fishing - Kurlansky sketches them all in his effort to compose this smart biography of the famous groundfish. Will the cod come back? Kurlansky demurs; maybe its place will be usurped by the ratty Arctic cod: "Nature, the ultimate pragmatist, doggedly searches for something that works. But as the cockroach demonstrates, what works best in nature does not always appeal to us." (Kirkus Reviews)

Review Text

A must-have book for anyone who loves fish. Kurlansky was innovative (and is now much imitated) in writing a book about how a commodity shaped history.

Review Quote

A must-have book for anyone who loves fish. Kurlansky was innovative (and is now much imitated) in writing a book about how a commodity shaped history.

Promotional "Headline"

Charting the waves a mere fish can send through history, Kurlansky has fashioned an epic masterpiece out of a seemingly small subject.

Details ISBN0099268701 Author Mark Kurlansky Pages 304 Year 1999 ISBN-10 0099268701 ISBN-13 9780099268703 Format Paperback Subtitle A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 338.3727633 Media Book Short Title COD Language English Residence New York City, NY, US Publisher Vintage Publishing Imprint Vintage UK Release Date 1999-05-06 Publication Date 1999-05-06 AU Release Date 1999-05-06 NZ Release Date 1999-05-06 Alternative 9781446450413 Audience General We've got this

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