Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend The codfish. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it, and the settlement of North America was driven by it. To the millions it has sustained, it has been a treasure more precious than gold. Indeed, the codfish has played a fascinating and crucial role in world history.Cod spans a thousand years and four… Product details and pricing info |
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117 Customer Reviews Posted
- Great Book...with one factual mistake.
- As with Salt, Kurlansky has put together another great book. I loved the history and wide range of research that went into it.
However, contrary to his statement (page 36 - "To the Spanish, Italians, and Portuguese, fresh cod does not even exists, and there is really no word for it"), Italians do know fresh cod. In fact it is a most utilitarian and common fish. Kids grow up on it, I know I did.
It is called Merluzzo, and there is plenty, fresh and cheap. Even in the modern era, Merluzzo is probably the most eaten fish by the youngster as every fish stick (packaged in a box) in the supermarket is Merluzzo.
It is such a huge miss that I wondered about the rest of the research but in the end, given the benefit of the doubt…. - 2006-06-04, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Surprisingly fascinating
- I was raised in a Swedish American household where my Parents and Grandparents would happily prepare Lutefisk every Christmas Eve. For the uninitiated, Lutefisk is cod preserved in some sort of lye solution. After boiling it has an essence that is "powerful" and a texture not unlike sushi. The older folks loved it and we younger ones were forced to "just try it". Yechh!!! The author of this fascinating book is correct in his description about cod as an element of culture, not just a food.
- 2006-02-20, 4 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- A Great Book
- An excellent book about the history of cod and its impact on world history over hundreds of years ... an impact much greater than anyone would guess before reading this book. History class in high school would have been much more interesting with the inclusion of books like Cod. I strongly recommend reading this fascinating book.
- 2006-02-12, 5 of 5 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Just Reiterating the Positive Comments
- Just wanted to add to the mass of positive reviews of this book. I can't really come up with anything new but I'll give this basic review: "Cod", considering it is all about the historical, social, and ecological significance of one immensely useful fish, it is a substantially entertaining, well-written, insightful, compelling read. The history of this Gadiform fish ("Gadiform" being one of the myriad little factoids that you pick up in this book) is shown to tie in to industrialization, economic competition, international law and trade, ecology, slavery, and revolutions for independence (U.S., Iceland, etc.). An amazing little book indeed!
- 2006-02-01, 2 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- The Fish That Changed the World
- An excellent book for anyone interested in history. It is a strangely fascinating story that leaves one wanting to keep reading. There is more history than fish story here.
- 2006-02-01, 1 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
