Perspective

Mark Kurlansky, the author, has worked on commercial fishing boats for several years. He has worked as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune and the International Herald Tribune. His work also has appeared in various national magazines including Harper's, Audubon, and the New York Times Magazine. Kurlansky also contributes a column on food history to Food & Wine. Kurlansky has previously published A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny, A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry, The Basque History of the World, and Salt. Many of his apparent interests, and several of his professional publications, make him well suited to present the history of cod as a staple food for several nations through the past several hundred years. This is especially apparent in the book's heavy focus on Basque involvement in the history of cod and in the processes of salting cod for preservation, including a...