Mark Kurlansky Books

To understand cod’s long and transformative role in history, we must begin with its earliest discoverers—the Viking sailors who roved the North Atlantic with both fear and fascination. They were among the first to find the immense schools off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. These people knew that ...

From Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

As European powers began their great age of discovery, cod was at the center of that momentum. In an era before refrigeration, a food that could be preserved and shipped halfway across the world was invaluable. Salted cod fed armies, sustained sailors, and nourished settlers. It became a currency as...

From Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

When I trace the origins of salt, I start with humanity’s first encounters with the sea. In ancient China, as early as 6000 BCE, people discovered the art of evaporating salt from seawater in clay pots. What seems like a simple task today was then an act of ingenuity. The Chinese were among the firs...

From Salt: A World History

From those humble beginnings, salt became a catalyst for settlement and trade. Cities arose wherever salt was abundant or easily obtained. In Africa, towns such as Taghaza thrived in the Sahara not because of fertile soil but because of the white slabs extracted from underground. In Europe, Salzburg...

From Salt: A World History

In the earliest chapters of human history, eating was not a choice but a constant pursuit for survival. As I explored this era, what struck me most was how our ancestors’ diet reflected the rhythm of nature — governed by seasons, migration, and instinct. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans li...

From The Story of Food: An Illustrated History of Everything We Eat

Food, more than any language or religion, built the first bridges between distant regions. When I look at the ancient networks of trade, I see them not simply as routes of commerce but as veins through which culture flowed. The Silk Road is often remembered for its textile trade, but what truly join...

From The Story of Food: An Illustrated History of Everything We Eat