Synopses & Reviews
From the Bestselling Author of Salt and The Basque History of the World
Cod, Mark Kurlansky’s third work of nonfiction and winner of the 1999 James Beard Award, is the biography of a single species of fish, but it may as well be a world history with this humble fish as its recurring main character. 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. As we make our way through the centuries of cod history, we also find a delicious legacy of recipes, and the tragic story of environmental failure, of depleted fishing stocks where once their numbers were legendary. In this lovely, thoughtful history, Mark Kurlansky ponders the question: Is the fish that changed the world forever changed by the world's folly? “A charming fish tale and a pretty gift for your favorite seafood cook or fishing monomaniac. But in the last analysis, it’s a bitter ecological fable for our time.” –Los Angeles Times “Every once in a while a writer of particular skill takes a fresh, seemingly improbable idea and turns out a book of pure delight. Such is the case of Mark Kurlansky and the codfish.” –David McCullough “One of the 25 Best Books of the Year.” –The New York Public Library
Mark Kurlansky is the author of many books including Salt, The Basque History of the World, 1968, and The Big Oyster. His newest book is Birdseye.
Review
Praise forand#160;The Cod's Tale:
*"Contributing enormously to the book's visual appeal, Schindler's excellent ink drawings, brightened with colorful washes, illustrate incidents from the text with clarity, a flair for the dramatic, and a sense of humor."
and#8212;Booklist, starred review
"A welcome and intriguing addition to library shelves."
and#8212;School Library Journal
"Kurlansky is a masterful storyteller. . . . Schindler's pictures, from serious to silly, add to the pleasure . . . . Readers of this title will never again look at fish and chips in quite the same way."
and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
"Breezy, kid-friendly prose. . . . Fascinating and informative . . . bound to hook young readers."
and#8212;The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Synopsis
* Accessible to middle-grade readers The Cod s Taleconsiders how the cod fits into human history. Excellent ink drawings, brightened with colorful washes, illustrate incidents from the text with clarity, a flair for the dramatic, and a sense of humor.
Booklist, starred review
What was it that enabled the Vikings, Christopher Columbus, and the Pilgrims to cross the cold Atlantic Ocean to America? What became a staple of the medieval diet in Europe, helped spur the American Revolution, and allowed the early New Englanders to start making money of their own?
Would you believe that it was a fish?
The cod
Based on Mark Kurlansky sNew York Timesbestselling adult book, Cod, this picture book offers a unique look at over a thousand years of world history.
Breezy, kid-friendly prose...fascinating and informative...bound to hook young readers.
The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books
An ALA Notable Book
Includes suggestions for further reading, factual sidebars, and timeline"
Synopsis
* and#147;Accessible to middle-grade readersand#133;The Codand#8217;s Taleand#160;considers how the cod fits into human history. Excellent ink drawings, brightened with colorful washes, illustrate incidents from the text with clarity, a flair for the dramatic, and a sense of humor.and#8221; and#151;Booklist, starred review
and#160;
What was it that enabled the Vikings, Christopher Columbus, and the Pilgrims to cross the cold Atlantic Ocean to America? What became a staple of the medieval diet in Europe, helped spur the American Revolution, and allowed the early New Englanders to start making money of their own?
and#160;
Would you believe that it was a fish?
and#160;
The cod!
and#160;
Based on Mark Kurlanskyand#8217;sand#160;New York Timesand#160;bestselling adult book,and#160;Cod, this picture book offers a unique look at over a thousand years of world history.
and#160;
and#147;Breezy, kid-friendly prose...fascinating and informative...bound to hook young readers.and#8221;
and#151;The Bulletin of the Center for Childrenand#8217;s Books
An ALA Notable Book
Includes suggestions for further reading, factual sidebars, and timeline
About the Author
Mark Kurlansky is the acclaimed
New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four books, including
Cod,
Salt,
1968: The Year That Rocked the World,
The Big Oyster,
The Last Fish Tale,
The Food of a Younger Land,
The Eastern Stars, and
Edible Stories. He lives in New York City.
and#160;
S. D. Schindler has illustrated a wide range of picture books, including Hornbooks and Inkwells and Gold Fever (both by Verla Kay), The Unforgettable Season (by Phil Bildner), The Snow Globe Family (by Jane Oand#8217;Connor), Louder, Lili (by Gennifer Choldenko), and The Story of Salt (by Mark Kurlansky). He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.and#160;
Table of Contents
Prologue: Sentry on the Headlands (So Close to Ireland)
PART ONE: A FISH TALE
1: The Race to Codlandia
2: With Mouth Wide Open
3: The Cod Rush
4: 1620: The Rock and the Cod
5: Certain Inalienable Rights
6: A Cod War Heard 'Round the World
PART TWO: LIMITS
7: A Few New Ideas Versus Nine Million Eggs
8: The Last Two Ideas
9: Iceland Discovers the Finite Universe
10: Three Wars to Close the Open Sea
PART THREE: THE LAST HUNTERS
11: Requiem for the Grand Banks
12: The Dangerous Waters of Nature's Resilience
13: Bracing for the Spanish Armada
14: Bracing for the Canadian Armada
A COOK'S TALE: SIX CENTURIES OF COD RECIPES
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index