Cod

A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

By: Mark Kurlansky

Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson

The cod has played a vital part in livelihoods, diets, and health in general — as well as roles in national economies and international wars. Drawing on his love of food and food culture, Mark Kurlansky leaps into history and folklore to explore how this innocuous fish had such an impact over the centuries. Kurlansky recounts how the cod spurred interest in the development of North America and caused a whole nation of people to jump into fishing and ocean exploration. In addition to providing word origins, this audiobook contains uses for all kinds of cod and recipes dating from the fourteenth century.

©1998 Mark Kurlansky (P)2006 Phoenix Books, Inc.

Absolutely fascinating and outstanding!

Definitely one of the best books I have ever come across. Kurlansky has researched this thing to death. I had no idea how big a part cod had played in the history and exploration of the world. The number of stories and anecdotes and the historical references is just astonishing. And on top of it all there are the historical recipes. Some of those are simply impractical as written, but as appetizing as they sound on audio, you might want to pick up a paper copy if you want to try them out.

Incredibly fascinating history w/ a GREAT narrator

All of Mark Kurlansky's works are incredibly fascinating and enlightening, as well as entertaining and important. And the person reading made it even better, he did really great accents and was very expressive! No monotone at all whatsoever.

Great book on the dullest of fishes!

This is a great history of the natural world and of globalism, capitalism, slavery, war, discovery and much else. Also a few good fish recipes!

Kurlansky Knows Cod

What made the experience of listening to Cod the most enjoyable?

Even though I've previously read three of Kurlansky's other books, this one stands out as similar in style, but deeper in its coverage of the specific topic, Cod.

What other book might you compare Cod to and why?

If you are familiar with Mark Kurlansky's other books (Salt, A Basque History of the World, etc), you will feel at home with Cod.

What about Richard M. Davidson’s performance did you like?

It took a while to get used to Richard Davidson, but after the first couple of hours I couldn't remember what seemed odd.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - I enjoy breaking this book into smaller sections. To listen all in one sitting would have my head spinning from all of the different anecdotes mentioned during the story.

Any additional comments?

This is one of the books that inspired the category of one word micro-history. It covers just about everything you'd want to know, from the influence of Cod on exploration of North America to the impact of fisheries on International Law. It's all here!

Fascinating topic--tough audiobook

The topic of cod and fisheries is fascinating and well described and researched by Mark Kurlansky. It's a wonderful blend of science, history, culture, literature, culinary arts, etc... But it is a difficult "read" as an audiobook, despite a valiant attempt by the narrator. There are many quotes, recipes, and other passages that are better read on paper than heard.

Seven and a half hour about COD???

Yep, that's what you get from Mark Kurlansky... over seven hours of engrossing information and storytelling about a fish. What a successful blend of journalist, historian, and novelist Kurlansky turned out to be as proven by this very readable book.

Who would have thunk that the cod played a significant role in the maintenance of the american slavery trade and keep? That the fish nearly started a war between UK and Iceland in modern time? That the Vikings discovered the American continent because of the darn cod? That our pilgrims of Thanksgiving fame failed to eat the bounty of the sea and elected rather to starve than feast on lobster and cod?

The chapters on the Basques made me pick up the next book by Kurlanski; he clearly has a tremendous knowledge of the area and the history of the Basque people.

Each segment is capped off by a number of appropriate recepies based on cod from the area narrated. I guess this is probably better suited to the printed page than in the audible edition.

The narration is very good and helps keep the attention throughout the story.

A Fun Book

This book catapulted me into a new understanding of the major role of cod in world history. The topic almost seems absurd to begin with, but the author makes a very convincing case. A sub-theme of the book is the sad tale of how this magnificent fish is now virtually wiped out because of over-fishing. If you are looking for a book that is amusing and yet informative, this is an ideal choice. The end of the book is composed of one cod recipe after another, which you could profitably skip; it gets old after awhile. The reading is quite well done.

Insightful & impactful

Alongside the variety of cod recipes, this historical account of how cod has shaped Europe & North America is a perspective I had never encountered before. Worth the listen.

Interesting

Informational, sometimes boring. Would be better read than listened to.

Great Story, Poor Narrator

As always, MK is full of facts and stories that invites the reader in. For anyone wanting a great read by MK, try SALT. Unfortunately the narrator's very poor accents (he's obviously never been to Newfoundland), and bad pronunciations (it's newfenland, not new foundlend + many others) took away from what would have been a better book.