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A review by syllabus_of_errors
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
4.0
Another solid food history book by Mark Kurlansky. Kurlansky tends to focus on the issues and histories of the food itself, and less so on the cuisine involving it, and Cod is no different. Cod focuses on Atlantic Cod and the stock depletion issues in the 1990s.
Cod goes through the history of cod consumption in Europe, with the bulk of the narrative beginning in around 1500. The rich fishing grounds off Newfoundland were likely reached by Basque fishers before Columbus’s voyages, and this long history has made salt cod the prized staple of not only the countries near the North Atlantic stocks, but also Spain and Portugal.
Cod goes through a lot of the political history of cod, especially as it shaped international relations. Of note is cod’s role in Iceland’s rapid development, and eventually the Cod Wars between a newly-independent Iceland and the juggernaut UK over fishing rights.
Overfishing became a major issue starting in the 1960s, when catches had finally depleted famed fishing grounds. As Cod was written in 1997, much attention is given to the recent news of the utter collapse of cod in the 90’s. Kurlansky spends time diving deep with the struggling fishermen on both sides of the Atlantic, and the grim future.
Cod is an interesting read into a world that has been quietly influential to world history. It’s a bit much to call cod revolutionary, but I appreciate Cod for giving the fish’s day in the limelight. Especially knowing that the final piece of Brexit negotiations hinges on cod fishing rights, it’s interesting to understand why the negotiations were so fraught, thanks to the humble cod.
Cod goes through the history of cod consumption in Europe, with the bulk of the narrative beginning in around 1500. The rich fishing grounds off Newfoundland were likely reached by Basque fishers before Columbus’s voyages, and this long history has made salt cod the prized staple of not only the countries near the North Atlantic stocks, but also Spain and Portugal.
Cod goes through a lot of the political history of cod, especially as it shaped international relations. Of note is cod’s role in Iceland’s rapid development, and eventually the Cod Wars between a newly-independent Iceland and the juggernaut UK over fishing rights.
Overfishing became a major issue starting in the 1960s, when catches had finally depleted famed fishing grounds. As Cod was written in 1997, much attention is given to the recent news of the utter collapse of cod in the 90’s. Kurlansky spends time diving deep with the struggling fishermen on both sides of the Atlantic, and the grim future.
Cod is an interesting read into a world that has been quietly influential to world history. It’s a bit much to call cod revolutionary, but I appreciate Cod for giving the fish’s day in the limelight. Especially knowing that the final piece of Brexit negotiations hinges on cod fishing rights, it’s interesting to understand why the negotiations were so fraught, thanks to the humble cod.