Salmon

“Mark Kurlansky is the maestro of metaphor… . In his new book, Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate, Kurlansky does something similar — but, this time, also slightly different. As anybody who has bought king salmon at \(30 a pound can tell you, salmon are not ordinary. They are glamorous. And as Kurlanksy demonstrates, the light they cast on the 21st century Earth is less wondrous than worrisome." -- <i><b>San Francisco Chronicle</b></i><p><b><br /></b></p><p>“In championing a critically important part of the natural world, Kurlansky sounds an urgent alarm that commands our attention.” –<b>Kirkus Reviews<br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>"It is a beautiful book, spangled throughout with stunning color photographs of a lovely fish, of pristine streams and landscapes. It’s a coffee-table book shrunk to shelf-size, but the images are pertinent and illuminating, and there is nothing throwaway about the text that surrounds them or about the recipes for salmon dishes from all over the world and past centuries." -- <i><b>Wall Street Journal</b></i><b><br /></b></p><p><i><b><br /></b></i></p><p>"...this is a very handsome book with fantastic images and illustrations that are worthy complements to the writing. For \)30, a serious nature of angling aficionado can’t find a better value. This is one of the best books I’ve read in recent years, and it remains a fixture on my writing desk.” – Trout Magazine

“Salmon is rich in details, and a love story by one of the world’s foremost journalists.” – Tom Rosenbauer, Fly Fisherman Magazine

“Even if you are unlikely to ever swing Sunray Shadows for these fish, this book deserves your attention, because Salmon is a clarion call. If we can cause this much ecosystem damage to just one family of fish, it puts into stark relief the damage we wreak on other species.” - The Mission Fly Magazine

“Attractive enough to reside on your coffee table but small enough to fit on a shelf, the book’s 448 pages are filled with more than 150 photographs and illustrations that provide additional insight into the chronicle of these fish and their interaction with man… . In these pages, Kurlansky puts us on notice. The time to act is now.” --The Virginia Sportsman

“Mark Kurlansky’s Salmon makes the species an ecological poster child and a microcosm of the environmental challenges we face. More than an environmental book about overfishing, the text includes a comprehensive natural and cultural history about how the salmon impacts the world. A salmon may be: a food source, a commodity, a symptom of a troubled planet, a dweller in streams, an ocean swimmer, or each of these and more. Kurlansky proves that resilient salmon have impacted the world for generations, though the species now faces an uncertain future because of compromised habitats and humanity’s impact. Today’s salmon population decline is striking when compared to historical data showing that some rivers used to boast millions of the fish. The book traces how that change came about, including images of rivers teeming with fish with sawdust-choked gills, rivers dammed to them, and the start up of salmon fisheries and farms. Concern for salmon is reflected in voices from the past speaking to the fish’s value and the need to protect it, including from Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens. The result is a fascinating mosaic of history and science, embellished by remarkable illustrations that are a riot of fins and color, ranging from closeup natural shots to various landscapes and historical illustrations. The real beauty of the book is in its subtle transformation of a species often thought of in terms of food into one that needs to be considered with care and even championed. Its historical aspects are not easier to read once these connections are made. And while it will take a lot to change the calculus of population decline, Salmon shows that, in many ways, the salmon’s fate might also be our own. JEREMIAH ROOD (November / December 2019)” – Foreword Magazine

Mark Kurlansky

is theNew York Timesbestselling author ofHavana,Cod,Salt,Paper,The Basque History of the World,1968, andThe Big Oyster, among other titles.He has received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize,Bon Appetit’sFood Writer of the Year Award, the James Beard Award, and the Glenfiddich Award. His articles have appeared in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, includingThe International Herald Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Partisan Review, Harper’s, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Audubon Magazine, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, andParade. He lives in New York City.