Book Review: Cod
With a glance at the subject matter, one might think that Mark Kurlansky’s book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
Did you know that Vikings used cod to sustain themselves on long sea voyages, making it possible for them to cross great distances of water or that cod figured heavily in shaping the United States? Or did you know that in the middle of the 20th century, Iceland and Britain fought a series of “friendly” sea battles known as the “Cod Wars?” From the harbors of Nova Scotia, to the home of the Basque, to the shores of Africa, the intriguing story of cod barely leaves any land untouched.
Of central importance in this story is Kurlansky’s message of conservation, which is seeded throughout. Far from coming off as preachy, the author draws you into concern about overfishing by making you enamored with his fishy hero and by providing accounts of the slew of negative consequences that have already involved everyone from North American fishermen to the British naval forces.
Aside from the main content, one of the neatest touches in the book is its whimsical chapter headings, which highlight cod quotes, vignettes, and recipes. These vignettes sample the contributions of notable individuals from Dickens, to Dumas, to de Cervantes. This impressive list of contributors serves to further highlight cod’s wide cultural and historical importance. Foreshadowing the book’s cautionary message, the prologue opens with a verse from Yeats:
“The herring are not in the tides as they were of old/ My sorry for many a creak gave the creel in the cart/ That carried the take to Sligo town be sold/ When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart.”
Anyone who’s ever been interested in how food interacts with culture or how a single industry can shape the world should pick up this book.
