Cod: A Biography Of The Fish That Changed The World

By Mark Kurlansky

Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies have depended on it, and the settlement of North America was driven by it. Cod, it turns out, is the reason Europeans set sail across the Atlantic, and it is the only reason they could. What did the Vikings eat in icy Greenland and on the five expeditions to America recorded in the Icelandic sagas? Cod -- frozen and dried in the frosty air, then broken into pieces and eaten like hardtack. What was the staple of the medieval diet? Cod again, sold salted by the Basques, an enigmatic people with a mysterious, unlimited supply of cod.

Cod is a charming tour of history with all its economic forces laid bare and a fish story embellished with great gastronomic detail. It is also a tragic tale of environmental failure, of depleted fishing stocks where once the cod's numbers were legendary. In this deceptively whimsical biography of a fish, Mark Kurlansky brings a thousand years of human civilization into captivating focus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307369802

Mark Kurlansky

Mark Kurlansky is the New York Times bestselling author of Milk!, Havana, Paper, The Big Oyster, 1968, Salt, The Basque History of the World, Cod, and Salmon, among other titles. He has received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Bon Appétit's Food Writer of the Year Award, the James Beard Award, and the Glenfiddich Award. He lives in New York City. www.markkurlansky.com

Reviews for Cod

[ericcostello-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've enjoyed a number of Kurlansky's books, such as his ones on oysters, and on salt; this rather goes with them in some respects. It's an examination of the business of fishing cod, and how it affected the history of Europe and the United States, including the exploration of the New World. It's written in a light and entertaining style, and Kurlansky obviously enjoyed writing this. I think you'll enjoy reading it. Recommended.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I often enjoy reading "microhistories": non-fiction that focuses on one very narrow subject but manages to tie that subject into much larger aspects of history and society. I think this may be one of the first books that really popularized this particular subgenre, back in 1997, which is what made it interesting to me. In this case, the narrow subject the book revolves around is the humble codfish, which, it turns out, has indeed played a massive role in human history, as well as telling us some important things about the effect of humans on the natural world today. It's decently written and informative (and also contains a large number of cod-related recipes from many different times and places, if that's something you're into). I will admit that, as someone who has very little inherent interest in fish -- I don't even eat them very much -- I sometimes had a little trouble staying entirely engaged even as I fully recognized the scope and importance of the subject, but I hardly feel like I can complain that a book about fish was a little too much about fish for me.

[ffifield-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An excellent book about the history of cod fishing and the depletion of this fish due to overfishing.

[miaculpa-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kurlansky charts the history of the world through one its most important resources; the fish that is the cod. Being Australian, my interaction with cod is minimal so I was astonished when I first heard about the Cod War between Britain and Iceland (and that Iceland won), and that cod has played such an important role in our history."Cod" covers the Basques, the Newfoundlers, the Icelandic, the British et al and the cod's role in their respective societies. Centuries of overfishing have led to a drastic drop in cod numbers, which terrifies the British, who have made cod and chips a significant part of their diet. Can we save the cod from extinction? After reading this book, I can only hope so.

[beebowallace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really good look at the human species, how we can see the unfavorable results of our decisions yet take zero responsibility and continue to make the same mistakes over and over ...

[marshapetry · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Highly recommend.

[kenno82 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kurlansky is terrific at drilling down on a subject, exploring it in scientific and historical detail, while making it readable and digestible. Having said that, of his works, I think I prefer The Last Fish Tale.

[marthaspeirs-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very nice overview of New England history and how it revolves around the cod and fishing in general. Lots of focus on Cape Cod.

[athenable · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this book very interesting and more than a little quirky. It makes you think about the way food shapes people's lives and even the fates of nations, especially centuries ago when everyone had to work hard for what they ate. This is not a book for everyone and I'm sure many readers would find it boring. But if you're into books that take an in-depth look at one topic and use it to enhance your view of the world, you will love Cod .

[stevesmits · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Read it through to the end, but sort of boring. A fish, important to fisheman and fishing nations, they fought over it again and again, etc., etc.

[timmyp-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great historical book about humankind's history of fishing Cod. It takes us from Vikings, through the middle Ages in Europe to early North American Settlers up to present day. It shows how much of Northern Europe and North American development and wealth was initially founded on the Cod industry. Also goes into today's overfishing of Cod in New England and political battles over North Atlantic Cod fishing rights. If you like history this book is great.

[ecw0647 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There is no way you could ever get me to eat cod, despite my partial Norwegian background where they eat a variety of disgusting fish dishes, the most famous being lutefisk, a kind of rotten, spoiled gelatinous mess. But I loved this book. Kurlansky is another John McPhee, supplying all sorts of interesting details. Turns out cod has been extremely important to civilization and almost as essential as bread. It was easy to fish and preserve and probably made discovery of North America by the Vikings possible. Fascinating.

[imyril · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unexpectedly compelling - I couldn't put this down.

[jimocracy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This wasn't quite as interesting as the author's book on salt but I was surprised that a fish I don't even eat has been so influential.

[dele2451 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A hearty chowder of fishing lore, naval history, maritime law, traditional cookery, cod biology, and ocean ecology. Would make a nice boxed set with Kurlansky's earlier book, "Salt".

[lukerik-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is essentially a history of the Atlantic nations told through the medium of cod. I'd never thought of the American Revolution in those terms. There are also some excellent saltcod recipes.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book about all things cod. Really. Beyond the historical and ecological significance of the fish there is etymology and art and music and of course, recipes. I have a student worker who is just amazed someone could write an entire book not just about fish in general, but a specific fish at that. Here's my reply: It's a concise book, but did you know that color of a cod fish depends on the local conditions? Also, the colder the water, the smaller the fish because cod grow faster in warmer waters. Better yet, there are fascinating tidbits not related to cod. For example, all English towns that end in "wich" were at one time salt producers. And did you know Clarence Birdseye of Brooklyn, New York held over 250 patents before his death and not all were related to freezing food? But, back to the cod: let's not forget about the historical significance this fish had on the American Revolution! Interesting, right? So, in the end one can safely say it's not just about a fish.

[bkohl_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great cultural history of cod eating — Kurlansky talks about the "secret" pre-Columbus Basque cod fishing grounds, the value of salt cod as an international trade good in the molasses/rum/slave triangle and many other intersections of military, political and cultural history that involve cod. The recipes are woven into the narrative (e.g. traditional Caribbean dishes of salt cod date from the poor-quality cures shipped to slave plantations). The missing bit is modern research — there are a few paragraphs about relevant natural history, such as cod's trophic strategy and type of musculature, but there's no insight into what is being learned now about small populations and stock rebuilding.

[jrtanworth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting, well-written history of the impact of cod fishing on the development of North America. Since this was published in 1999, it needs updating now.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a brief survey of the management of the Atlantic Cod fishery since the Middle Ages. I'm sure that there will be a revised edition bringing the story forward to 2019 from 1997, when this book was finished. The acidification of the oceans and the gradually warming waters may lead Mr. Kurlansky to a revised edition. As it stands it is a good exploration of how humans try to manage a declining resource. His prose is solid, and his picture is moving.

[driscoll42-801542 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A microhistory on the history of Cod, which is not something I ever expected to care about, but this book was an enjoyable trek through history, how crucial it was to human exploration of North America and the trade. The book does leave one a bit sad ultimately, as it's clear that humans are overfishing Cod and other fish, and there is clearly no desire from the fishermen to reduce their catches. One of the best things to happen to Cod were the world wars where fishing was extremely limited for obvious reasons. I came away from the book with a hope that we could just leave the oceans alone for a while to let nature recover.

[jonerthon-437513 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an older title, but I didn't have a good grasp on the details of cod-heavy fishing communities in New England and wanted to know more. This delivered. On a first blush I would have thought the title was rather exaggerated, but Kurlansky makes a convincing case for how cod made a major difference in geopolitics, especially in northern Europe but also Canada and the US. Amazingly, I think it is still in print, plus the author wrote a companion children's book more recently.The interstitial recipes are also a treat, to see how so many people across time differed in their preferred preparation for the ubiquitous fish, though excluding a few wouldn't have hurt.

[paul_s-289480 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too many cooking recipes.

[dhmontgomery-265379 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fast, fun and informative read about the oversized influence a single fish has had on human history — and how humans managed to all but wipe out the fish once thought immune to overfishing due to its fecundity and toughness.

Lots of little factoid gems buried in the text, like:

• How Basque and English cod fishermen almost certainly had reached the Americas decades before Christopher Columbus' famous voyage (the fishermen kept their discovery a secret to keep monopolizing the magnificent fishing ground they had found)
• That the fortress town of Louisbourg on Cape Breton (which I had visited just days before reading this) was founded where it was not so much for its decent harbor but because it was on the same latitude as the French city of La Rochelle, and thus easy to find via the primitive navigational method of "easting and westing" — sticking to the same easy-to-calculate latitude across the open ocean.
• Cod's role in making Britain's North American colonies economically independent long before political independence. (Britain's mercantilist laws were worthless because New England fishermen brought back far more cod than the British market could absorb, forcing them to allow trade with other nations.)
• The existence of three miraculously non-fatal "Cod Wars" between Iceland and Britain over offshore fishing.

Nice color comes from the collection of cod recipes inserted at the start of each chapter and collected in a sizable appendix at the end of the book. I doubt I'll actually ever prepare any of them, but they were fun to read.

My biggest frustration with the book was no fault of its own: it's nearly two decades old now, and I want to learn more about what's happened to the cod fisheries since its publication in 1999!

[bexaplex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great cultural history of cod eating — Kurlansky talks about the "secret" pre-Columbus Basque cod fishing grounds, the value of salt cod as an international trade good in the molasses/rum/slave triangle and many other intersections of military, political and cultural history that involve cod. The recipes are woven into the narrative (e.g. traditional Caribbean dishes of salt cod date from the poor-quality cures shipped to slave plantations). The missing bit is modern research — there are a few paragraphs about relevant natural history, such as cod's trophic strategy and type of musculature, but there's no insight into what is being learned now about small populations and stock rebuilding.

[satyridae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Kurlansky has a clear and engaging style that imparts knowledge in an almost whimsical tone. That tone was a saving grace throughout the parts discussing the utter collapse of the cod fisheries. Very interesting historical data, and overall a compelling read.

[juva_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A curious history of an unusual fish. The cod trade his driven world events in ways unforeseen and the author has determined to trace it back to its source. Cod is a fish so easy to catch and so naturally delicious that it is not almost extinct. This history is chock full of folklore and recipes from the past. Amusing.

[donhazelwood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really good look at the human species, how we can see the unfavorable results of our decisions yet take zero responsibility and continue to make the same mistakes over and over ...

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cod--not a favorite food. Mind you, salt-cod (bacalao) was a staple in my Puerto Rican family, but Americanized that I am, for me it was a reason to flee the family apartment until the smell was gone. This book on the fish was... moderately interesting. I didn't feel it was compelling in its narrative--it felt like a long extended textbook inset. You know, you're reading an American history textbook and there's this box that tells you how important cotton was to Georgia or silver to Nevada? Well, it was that sort of thing... only about cod. With lots of recipes thrown in, both before each new chapter and 40 pages of cod cookery in the back. The writer in fact was a chef and a food writer for the New York Times--and notably not a historian. So we got dabs of natural and human history such as suggestions the Basques may have discovered the New World first (and kept quiet so as to have the Grand Banks fisheries all to themselves), learn cod "built Boston" and was crucial to the Atlantic slave trade and the dilemma of contemporary fisherman caused by overfishing: fishing enough to keep earning a living is fishing too much to sustain the wild fish population. At least according to Kurlansky circa 1997--and a search online will quickly let you know it's still an issue today in 2012.

[melydia_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Apparently cod has a long an illustrious history I had absolutely no idea about. I'm not sure I've ever knowingly eaten cod, to be honest, but I guess it used to be a big thing. My favorite parts were the social and linguistic effects of this fish. The history and bizarre political maneuvers were pretty fun to learn about as well. The recipes, however, did nothing for me. Probably of more interest to foodies.