Rating: 
Summary: Fishy Recipe for History and Evolution
Review: There's a cartoon in Matt Groening, the nine types of professors. One is the single-minded type, as in "The country that controls magnesium controls the world!" His main drawback is that he could be right. Cod sort of reminds me of that. You may not have known how important or popular this particular fish was to most of our ancestors in Western civilization, but, according Kurlansky, Cod was practically like bread. It was easy to fish, there was a ton of it, and once Europeans learned the various ways of drying it (with cold and/or salt) all people could think about was trading this staple. Yes, Kurlansky's book is single-minded, and at times you might forget this is a fish tale. When the Vikings found America, what where they looking for? And how did they manage to sustain themselves through the long ocean voyage? The answers are of course, cod. Kurlansky also has a few outlandish things to say about another favorite topic of his, the Basque, who it appears had been regularly fishing for Cod in Newfoundland long before Columbus found America. They were really good at keeping a secret, you see. Fortunately, there's a serious, or, at least more socially acceptable side, to Kurlansky's fish story. The fishing trade really is threatened. You can no longer practically walk on Atlantic cod. Even Icelanders who found their entire economy changing from one of sustenance to a first world service economy, during the two world wars, have a difficult time protecting their dwindling stock. If Aldous Huxley's grandfather, Thomas, asserted in the 19th century that cod would never become extinct, it was only because he could not imagine the rapid technological changes which would turn fishing into harvesting, and the classic practice of drying fish into freezing it, on board the fishing boats themselves. Good bye bacalao, hello fishsticks. It's a sad tale as ways of life dwindle and change, and even the very essentials of human existence that have lasted for thousands of years go unheard of by the post-industrial society. But are we really evolving into something better? Kurlansky peppers his narrative with quotes from notables throughout the ages and interesting, if often archaic, recipes.
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Summary: What a dish!
Review: This book has to be one of the most entertaining history texts in, well, history. I couldn't put it down. What a joy!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and informative , but ...
Review: This book is another interesting and informative, but narrow subject history book of the type this author prefers to write. In some sections it poses as a cookbook. I was irritated by the amount of text actually devoted to Codfish recipes, when what I purchased was a historical type book . The author has a very good writing style. The book covers the early history of some cultures that took advantage of this bottom dwelling fish prized for its unique white meat. The Codfish affected these early cultures as it still does today, where regional and national economies are suffering from the impact of worldwide diminishing Codfish stocks in spite of some sporadic conservation measures.
This reader recommends ignoring the all too frequent codfish recipes interspersed with the good historical information. This book makes for a fine compact interesting history of man's relationship with the Codfish. Ignore the historical section and I suppose it would be a passable Codfish cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and informative , but ...
Review: This book is another interesting and informative, but narrow subject history book of the type this author prefers to write. In some sections it poses as a cookbook. I was irritated by the amount of text actually devoted to Codfish recipes, when what I purchased was a historical type book . The author has a very good writing style. The book covers the early history of some cultures that took advantage of this bottom dwelling fish prized for its unique white meat. The Codfish affected these early cultures as it still does today, where regional and national economies are suffering from the impact of worldwide diminishing Codfish stocks in spite of some sporadic conservation measures.
This reader recommends ignoring the all too frequent codfish recipes interspersed with the good historical information. This book makes for a fine compact interesting history of man's relationship with the Codfish. Ignore the historical section and I suppose it would be a passable Codfish cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the reputation
Review: This book was a recommended book by T.C. Boyle, by far my favorite author (sorry A. Hagy and M. Albrecht). My assumption is he was herded towards it because his forthcoming novel, "A Friend of the Earth" is to be about ecology, environmental issues, and the like.The book came out in 97 and was one of the New York Times top 25 books of the year. For good reason. Kurlansky writes in a very easy to read manner, well written, informative, at times even humorous. Even sprinkled with dozens of cod recipes. The history of Cod is the history of the world, the history of North America, a political essay, an ecological history, and of course, natural history. There are no footnotes, so I am assuming that the book was well researched by the attention to detail Kurlansky exhibits. North America was found due to cod. The Vikings were able to follow Cod from Europe to Nova Scotia and Greenland. It allowed them to have food the entire journey and not have to turn around. The U.S. revolution was partially due to Cod and the trade of it. There is an underlying message about the environment, as the Cod has become very endangered, as well as endangering many people, cities, lands that rely (relied) on Cod for income. Technology allowed us to get ahead of the natural production of this fish and numerous others according to the author. (Once discovered as a delicacy, Orange Roughy almost disappeared after only five years). Read in between the lines and one finds that it is the government subsidizing the fishing industry. The last few chapters are almost painful as entire chunks of Canada and Northeastern U.S. watch hopefully for Cod replenishments so they can go back to their old lives. In a short 264 pages, Mr. Kurlansky delivers 5 stars worth of information. Heavily recommended.
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Summary: A bitter ecological tale for our time
Review: This is a fascinating book. It's also very sad, because it illustrates the ability of modern people to almost unconsciously wipe out the natural resources of our planet. Codfish were once the "buffalo" of the oceans -- big, fat, useful and dumb. As one early explorer wrote, to catch cod all you need do is lower and bucket into the water and haul it back up full of fish. Sorta like buffalo in the days when passengers could shoot them from the windows of passing trains as a harmless sport intended solely to break the boredom of the trip. Yes, this book is a bitter ecological tale for our time. It is also a wonderful history of a marvelous fish. Kurlansky obviously had fun writing it, and his love of cod shows in the comfortable style of his writing. He delves into word origins for the different ways used to describe cod, and he plays with the history of a dozen or so nations to illustrate the impact one fish had on entire peoples. Plus, he includes dozens of recipes by which cod was cooked for generations. But he also explains why such an international treasure has almost vanished. "Whatever steps are taken, one of the greatest obstacles to restoring cod stocks off Newfoundland is an almost pathological collective denial of what has happened," Kurlansky writes near the end of the book. "Newfoundlanders seem prepared to believe anything other than they have killed off nature's bounty." What happened? Kurlansky writes that "One Canadian journalist published an article pointing out that the cod disappeared from Newfoundland at about the same time that stocks started rebuilding in Norway. "Clearly the northern stock had packed up and migrated to Norway," he adds. If this is the Canadian attitude, in one of the self-proclaimed best educated and wealthiest of nations, it's not hard to understand why and how Third World nations have environmental problems. My personal experience with a similar depletion is in the Sea of Cortez, where Mexican fishermen have taken about 20 years to just about exterminate the sharks. Shrimp boats, based in Puerto Penasco, have likewise decimated the shrimp. Who's to blame? The United States, of course, because the Americans built dams on the Colorado River which prevents the river water from reaching the sea. There's always someone else to blame. As I said earlier, it's a sad book. Yet, it is an excellent one and perhaps one of the most appropriate to read in terms of what is fast happening to our marine life. Cod are invisible, not like cute furry little baby seals which so excited Europeans a few years ago when they saw how Canadians clubbed them to death to avoid marking the fur. If the future of our world depends on cute pictures on TV, then our future is truly in deplorable shape. But, the fact this book exists and is written with elegance, style, wit and great insight, may persuade thick-headed politicians that even "invisible" wildlife deserves protection from our greed and ignorance. If not, and having known many politicians for many years I'm not optimistic, it is a beautiful elegy to a noble fish. What happens when a native species disappears? Well, two centuries ago the US Southwest had some of the world's finest grasslands. Then came the Russian Thistle, an almost useless weed that choked out the grass. Now we celebrate this import in song, "See them tumbling along . . . . . the tumbling tumbleweeds." It happens.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable journalism, pretty good history.
Review: Though this book is sold as a history book, Kurlansky is not primarily a historian. His background is in journalism, which is evident from his writing style and his use of source material. While the narrative is lively and full of poetic prose, it is also severely lacking in documentation. But this only really matters if you're reading the book for hard history. After all, the New York Times doesn't use footnotes either. Kurlansky succeeds in demonstrating the preeminence of cod to the history, culture, and especially the economy of the North Atlantic. The book makes a strong case that cod is the unsung hero of American history, and played an integral part in shaping the nation (at least in the north). The author may overemphasize cod's importance in a few instances (his claim that the American Revolution was fought primarily over cod comes to mind), but for the most part, he's on solid ground. The best parts of the book are the last 2 sections, which deftly demonstrate how greed, combined with ignorance, has led to the near commercial extinction of codfish. He balances his sympathy for the plight of the modern fisherman with an honest portrayal of the denial and blame-shifting that goes on in fishing communities. He makes a great case for conservation, regulation, and an end to the use of trawlers in order to allow the cod to repopulate the waters and restore the fishing industry. In all, the book is extremely well-written, compellingly told, and often convicting. The author's wit and style make up in large part for his minor shortcomings as a historian. And if his agenda is sometimes a bit transparent, it is a good agenda. Buy this book and read it. You'll never think of commodities the same way again.
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