Cod - by Mark Kurlansky (Hardcover)

About the Book

Mark Kurlansky's classic history of the mighty fish that became "the tragic fable of our age" (Bill McKibben)-with a new foreword by New York Times bestselling fish afficionado Paul Greenberg.

Book Synopsis

JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER * INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

"History filtered through the gills of the fish trade." -New York Times
"A charming fish tale and a pretty gift for your favorite seafood cook or fishing monomaniac." -Los Angeles Times

From viral author of Salt Mark Kurlansky, the classic history of the mighty fish that became "the tragic fable of our age" (Bill McKibben)-with a new foreword by New York Times bestselling fish afficionado Paul Greenberg.

The great codfish: root of revolutions and wars, centerpiece of diets and economies, and the foundation of North American settlement. To the millions it has sustained across the world, it's been a treasure more precious than gold.

Codfish history spans a thousand years and four continents-from the Vikings, who pursued it across the Atlantic, to the enigmatic Basques who commercialized it; from the apt naming of "Cape Cod" in 1602 to the ongoing battle for proper fish 'n' chips. Kurlansky expertly steers through it all, introducing the explorers, merchants, and chefs whose lives were interwoven with this prolific fish and punctuating their stories with gastronomic detail, recipes, and lore.

A modern classic, this "bitter ecological fable" (Los Angeles Times) is ever closer to its end. As our oceans warm and the codfish faces extinction, Kurlansky's dazzling history-featuring new and updated material-is more ensnaring than ever.

Review Quotes

"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." --The Los Angeles Times

"This eminently readable book is a new tool for scanning world history. . . Cod is history filtered through the gills of the fish trade." --The New York Times

"What a prodigious creature is the cod. Kurlansky's approach is intriguing-and deceptively whimsical. This little book is a work of no small consequence." --Business Week

"In the end the book stands as a kind of elegy, a loving eulogy not only to a fish, but to the people whose lives have been shaped by the habits of the fish, and whose way of life is now at an end." --Newsday

About the Author

Mark Kurlansky is the New York Times bestselling author of Salt, Milk!, Havana, Paper, The Big Oyster, 1968, and The Basque History of the World, among other titles. His most recent book, Cheesecake, was published by Bloomsbury in 2025. He has received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Bon Appétit's Food Writer of the Year Award, the James Beard Award, and the Glenfiddich Award. He is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and frequently contributes to the New York Times and the London Guardian. A four-time Jeopardy! clue, he lives in New York City.