Cod by Mark Kurlansky - 1997: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World

New York: Walker and Company, 1997. Hardcover. Blue boards. Near fine, in near fine dust wrapper. 63 pages. 17.5 x 13.5 cm. Cod spans a thousand years and four continents. It tells of the extraordinary Basques, who first commercialized cod in medieval times; of Bartholomew Gosnold, who named Cape Cod in 1602; and of Clarence Birdseye, who founded an industry on frozen cod in the 1930s. It takes us from Nova Scotia and New England to Scandinavia, the coast of England, Brazil, and West Africa. And Cod brings us right up to the twenty-first century, with the facts of how this once ubiquitous fish is today faced with extinction, dramatizing a global conflict. Includes historical photographs, drawings, artifacts, and a collection of recipes from cooks of the Middle Ages to great contemporary chefs.