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Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of a Common Fate
This wide-ranging study describes the evolution, lifecycle and migration of the salmon, before reviewing the history of its exploitation as a food source. It surveys written accounts from Julius Caesar to Henry David Thoreau, and considers the impact of Arctic exploration and the colonization of North America before examining the environmental effects of salmon farming, over-fishing and climate change, and what can be done to mitigate them.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2020
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1,514 people want to read
About the author
Mark Kurlansky
63Ìýbooks1,876ÌýfollowersMark Kurlansky is an American journalist and author who has written a number of books of fiction and nonfiction. His 1997 book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997), was an international bestseller and was translated into more than fifteen languages. His book Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (2006) was the nonfiction winner of the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
May 24, 2021
Salmon, A Fish, the Earth and a History of Their Common Fate by Mark Kurlansky is a fascinating dive into the wonderful, interesting and often sad tale of this beautiful fish.
Ìý
We start with ‘The tale of two fisheries', which takes is behind the scenes into two commercial fishing operators, one employing a number of rookies to work the nets during the salmon run and the other a much smaller solo operator � catching less fish but still able to make a living. Either way, it seems like incredibly hard work. It also gives us some insight into the issues and challenges thrown at these operators and the fish they are trying to catch.
Ìý
The author then teaches the reader about the life cycle of Salmon (he mainly uses Sockeye and Atlantic Salmon as examples). They lay their eggs hundreds or thousands of kilometres upstream, these are then fertilised by the male fish. After the little blighters have hung around their gravel beds for a while and are big enough � they head out to sea. This is where they fatten up to eventually return to the SAME river and end up at the SAME place to start the cycle again, and then sadly......die. Their urge to breed being more powerful than the will to live. They live for around 6 or 7 years.
Ìý
Kurlansky describes how these beautiful animals are excellent indicators of environmental health. This, due to the fact they live inland in freshwater and also in the ocean in saltwater. He explains how industrialisation has trashed their environment, clogging up rivers with waste, warming the waters, chemicals, sawdust...and so much more. We have made life impossible for Salmon in countless places. In fact, there is a need for us to farm these fish which in itself creates a whole host of other issues.
Ìý
Indigenous communities have eaten salmon for millennia. They worship the fish, and respect it’s home. Whereas Western incursions, Ìýpopulation growth and industrialisation has done the opposite.Ìý
Sometimes I wonder whether we deserve this planet , and the animals and plants in it. We are so determined to destroy this place, Earth would be better off without us. What do we do, to make this place better? This book really made me reflect on our purpose here. I’m not sure if this is the author’s intention, as he doesn’t smack us around the head with this message. But for me, it had this effect.
Ìý
On a brighter note, this is a beautifully presented book with lots of fantastic colour pictures of the environment and the star of the show, the Salmon. Some of the colour changes of the fish when they re-enter the river , and their physical changes are astounding. The author also throws in numerous recipes, even some from Indigenous Indian culture.
Ìý
This is a good book, it’s interesting and it’s subject matter is important. I highly recommend this one.
Ìý
4 Stars
Ps. I've just discovered Mark Kurlansky has produced an even better book about Cod :)
Ìý
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Ìý
We start with ‘The tale of two fisheries', which takes is behind the scenes into two commercial fishing operators, one employing a number of rookies to work the nets during the salmon run and the other a much smaller solo operator � catching less fish but still able to make a living. Either way, it seems like incredibly hard work. It also gives us some insight into the issues and challenges thrown at these operators and the fish they are trying to catch.
Ìý
The author then teaches the reader about the life cycle of Salmon (he mainly uses Sockeye and Atlantic Salmon as examples). They lay their eggs hundreds or thousands of kilometres upstream, these are then fertilised by the male fish. After the little blighters have hung around their gravel beds for a while and are big enough � they head out to sea. This is where they fatten up to eventually return to the SAME river and end up at the SAME place to start the cycle again, and then sadly......die. Their urge to breed being more powerful than the will to live. They live for around 6 or 7 years.
Ìý
Kurlansky describes how these beautiful animals are excellent indicators of environmental health. This, due to the fact they live inland in freshwater and also in the ocean in saltwater. He explains how industrialisation has trashed their environment, clogging up rivers with waste, warming the waters, chemicals, sawdust...and so much more. We have made life impossible for Salmon in countless places. In fact, there is a need for us to farm these fish which in itself creates a whole host of other issues.
Ìý
Indigenous communities have eaten salmon for millennia. They worship the fish, and respect it’s home. Whereas Western incursions, Ìýpopulation growth and industrialisation has done the opposite.Ìý
Sometimes I wonder whether we deserve this planet , and the animals and plants in it. We are so determined to destroy this place, Earth would be better off without us. What do we do, to make this place better? This book really made me reflect on our purpose here. I’m not sure if this is the author’s intention, as he doesn’t smack us around the head with this message. But for me, it had this effect.
Ìý
On a brighter note, this is a beautifully presented book with lots of fantastic colour pictures of the environment and the star of the show, the Salmon. Some of the colour changes of the fish when they re-enter the river , and their physical changes are astounding. The author also throws in numerous recipes, even some from Indigenous Indian culture.
Ìý
This is a good book, it’s interesting and it’s subject matter is important. I highly recommend this one.
Ìý
4 Stars
Ps. I've just discovered Mark Kurlansky has produced an even better book about Cod :)
Ìý
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
January 23, 2020
This excellently written book looks at the life cycle, evolution and legends of the salmon in the early chapters, and at the fisherfolks who depend upon it. Moving on to Europe and how salmon has been almost fished out of existence except in Britain where laws came in to protect it but rivers were often polluted by industry.
America has both Atlantic salmon (in small numbers) and Pacific salmon, of which we hear much. Japan even has some salmon and there are land-locked lake salmon in odd places. These suggest that the anadromous fish (living both in fresh and salt water at different times) started out as a freshwater fish.
Mixed in are many cheerful and tasty sounding recipes for salmon through the ages.
Pollution, overfishing and dead or dammed rivers are shown as the major threats, but breaching big dams or providing fish ladders can help the fish reach the upper streams. While seals eat salmon, they seem to have a severe shortage of other fish to catch, so blame the cause of them hunting salmon first.
The author has provided plenty of illustrations and photos. This is a first-class book which can be enjoyed by a wide spread of people. The author has also written a book about Cod.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Edelweiss. This is an unbiased review.
America has both Atlantic salmon (in small numbers) and Pacific salmon, of which we hear much. Japan even has some salmon and there are land-locked lake salmon in odd places. These suggest that the anadromous fish (living both in fresh and salt water at different times) started out as a freshwater fish.
Mixed in are many cheerful and tasty sounding recipes for salmon through the ages.
Pollution, overfishing and dead or dammed rivers are shown as the major threats, but breaching big dams or providing fish ladders can help the fish reach the upper streams. While seals eat salmon, they seem to have a severe shortage of other fish to catch, so blame the cause of them hunting salmon first.
The author has provided plenty of illustrations and photos. This is a first-class book which can be enjoyed by a wide spread of people. The author has also written a book about Cod.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Edelweiss. This is an unbiased review.
June 29, 2020
Eh. It's fine. Yeah, there's a ton of information on the history, classification, and future conservation efforts of salmon. But . . . there's nothing especially interesting. None of the "fun facts" I quest for in my microhistories. There's no particular angle here.
Although, hats off to Kurlansky for somehow managing to talk about the Basque people in literally every book he writes. No matter how irrelevant the topic. It's just his thing.
Although, hats off to Kurlansky for somehow managing to talk about the Basque people in literally every book he writes. No matter how irrelevant the topic. It's just his thing.
October 13, 2021
Salmon
A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate
by Mark Kurlansky
This book is so thoroughly researched! This is the bible of salmon! It has everything! Their biology, history of where they have been and when, who fished them, the ecology around them, life cycles, and things I would never have thought to research! Anything that effects the salmon is in here! What do they eat? Who eats them? Where do they go? Wild vs raised?
Oh, and recipes! Oh my! Not just for salmon. Beer bread anyone?
Climate change and other issues that are effecting them and how. All of this and so much more. I was very impressed with this book. If you are an animal lover, fish lover, or just interested in nature then this is for you. It's not written in scientific jargon either. Just every day language so we can all come together and help these beautiful fish!
I received this book from NetGalley and the review is my own opinion.
A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate
by Mark Kurlansky
This book is so thoroughly researched! This is the bible of salmon! It has everything! Their biology, history of where they have been and when, who fished them, the ecology around them, life cycles, and things I would never have thought to research! Anything that effects the salmon is in here! What do they eat? Who eats them? Where do they go? Wild vs raised?
Oh, and recipes! Oh my! Not just for salmon. Beer bread anyone?
Climate change and other issues that are effecting them and how. All of this and so much more. I was very impressed with this book. If you are an animal lover, fish lover, or just interested in nature then this is for you. It's not written in scientific jargon either. Just every day language so we can all come together and help these beautiful fish!
I received this book from NetGalley and the review is my own opinion.
March 5, 2023
Starts out well, and it's a beautifully-produced book. But after a few chapters, my interest flagged. Too much about fish, not enough about people! And the fish stuff is packed with unfamiliar species names: it turns out there are a LOT of salmon and related species worldwide, a lot more than I'm interested in reading about, it turns out. The photos are nice, but most of the fish are, well, critters only a fisherman (or other salmon) could love. So I'm stalled at about halfway in, reading and skimming.
Here's a nice, enthusiastic review: (Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Author Kurlansky, you may recall is the COD guy.
Excerpt:
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. The streams and landscapes, though, are just the problem for an anadromous fish that—unlike the cod—can’t aspire to stay out of our way, must instead swim up our rivers to spawn. . . .
When European settlers came later to North America, they found rivers as teeming with salmon as theirs once had been. The Connecticut River boasted the largest runs of Atlantic salmon on the continent. In the Pacific Northwest, prodigious runs of several species of Pacific salmon supported “the densest nonfarming population in North America.� In the Salish language of that region’s Lummis, he adds, “there is no word for famine.�
[end excerpt]
Well, this ended up being a book I wanted to like more than I did. Basically, TMI! And just not that interesting, to me. Plus, adult salmon (to my eye) are (largely) UGLY. Your mileage may vary!
For me a 2.5 star book. But "E" for effort, so rounding up to 3.
The WSJ reviewer does mention some woo-woo stuff. But I liked COD enough to give this one a spin (a swim?).
February 17, 2021
3.5 - Not my favorite of Kurlansky's - I enjoyed "Cod" quite a bit more. But it is certainly the most depressing of Kurlansky's that I've read thus far. Overall, the book served as yet another (in a long list) of reminders that the more modern humans are involved in something in the natural world, the worse off it is.
January 31, 2025
Another Mark Kurlansky banger. This time with an apocalyptic twist
February 4, 2021
Not Kurlansky’s best work but an interesting read. The history aspects are great and it’s always enjoyable to read about various locations around the world. However, the assertion that the survival of any one species is somehow “inextricably tied to the survival of the planet� is ludicrous. I believe most scientists in the field of biology, paleontology, botany, paleobotany, and many more would tell us that 99% of all living things have already gone extinct. Yet the planet is still here. Humans may not be the best stewards of this planet, we can certainly do better, but one fish isn’t going to make or break us.
April 15, 2024
I resonate with the lifecycle of the salmon � so much so I have one tattooed on my ribs. I wanted more insight into the species and thought reading this might do it.
Nature of salmon
The author covered the nature of salmon in the first 50 pages. Salmon never give up. They exhibit a rare and unconquerable determination to reach their spawning grounds. They live life hard, courageously face countless dangers, sets it chin against all obstacles, and are relentless and unstoppable in its will to carry out its mission. Why such a strong will? The strongest instinct of all species is to reproduce. In some humans the desire for sex is all that is left of that instinct. In a salmon, the urge to reproduce is far stronger than the urge to stay alive. As long as they can reproduce, they have no fear of death. It is their destiny and they swim toward it.
Salmon travel. A king salmon will travel 4 years at sea and swim 10,000 miles. The fish that go to sea will have a much lower survival rate but will experience the most growth. This is an acceptable tradeoff for salmon. As the saying goes: nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Human intervention
The rest of the book was about human's origin and then interference with salmon populations. When it comes to economic development, the mentality has always been to dominate and tame nature. Economic development is supposed to create order out of the disorder of wildlife but the more it is imposed, the more disorder this creates. Hydroelectric dams clog up passageways salmon use to reach their breeding grounds. But don't we want clean renewable sources of energy?! This stuff powers the internet for crying out loud. Salmon should not get in the way of economic prosperity. And that is the mindset most political decisions have been ruled by. Economy > ecology. And this comes at a cost, but so too would the opposite. A lot of us would not be working from home without the technological advances made at the cost of havoc wreaked on habitats.
The best guess of scientists is that there are 1.5 million Atlantic salmon left in the world. To put this tragic fact in perspective, the July sockeye run in Bristol Bay in 2018 was 62.3 million fish. Salmon stocks are in freefall. The only way we've been able to keep them alive and consumable is through hatcheries, a.k.a. fish farms. These are not a silver bullet to replenishment, no such thing as a silver bullet in nature. You cannot outwit God. A fish is genetically suited for a specific river; most fish will survive only in the river they were born in, and those fish will not succeed in any other river.
Salmon, in relation to humans, is ultimately for food. The author even threw delicious salmon recipes that different cultures use salmon for. Some points of interest:
- Anything labeled as wild-caught should come as a disclaimer. It means that we can vouch that this salmon was caught in a wild setting but cannot be sure if it is genetically wild. I don't think this is really all that bad as far as freshness goes. More of a drop in the nutrient profile than anything.
- If you ever hear that fish farms "dye" their fish orange it's not totally true. The industry has learned how to produce the compound carotenoid from bacteria and yeast and supply that in the salmon feed. In the wild this usually comes from the fish feeding on crustaceans.
Motif
The long-term downside is the salmon population is not only dwindling but for the salmon that live on their characteristics are getting weaker. Interbreeding of hatchery fish with wild fish leads to passing on traits that are poorly suited for the wild and reduce genetic diversity.
The principal point of the book was not that the salmon is a magnificent animal that holds its own compared to anything on the Serengeti � though beautiful in its many phases; thrilling in its athleticism; moving in its strength, determination, and courage; poetic in its heroic and tragic life story � it would be said if it were to disappear. It's already sad that these characteristics are being dimmed by weaker generations of hatchery-bred salmon. All that is true, but a more important point is that if the salmon does not survive, there is little hope for the survival of the planet. Because salmon have always been a kind of barometer for health of the planet. Once we have altered the balance of nature, it is very difficult to get it right again.
P.S. One funny lesson I learned is that there's always a tax to be paid, even in nature. When commercial fishing, seals will take a chunk of the catch. Preying on the fat bellies of the salmon in the nets. Seals want their cut, just like the government. What a world we live in.
Nature of salmon
The author covered the nature of salmon in the first 50 pages. Salmon never give up. They exhibit a rare and unconquerable determination to reach their spawning grounds. They live life hard, courageously face countless dangers, sets it chin against all obstacles, and are relentless and unstoppable in its will to carry out its mission. Why such a strong will? The strongest instinct of all species is to reproduce. In some humans the desire for sex is all that is left of that instinct. In a salmon, the urge to reproduce is far stronger than the urge to stay alive. As long as they can reproduce, they have no fear of death. It is their destiny and they swim toward it.
Salmon travel. A king salmon will travel 4 years at sea and swim 10,000 miles. The fish that go to sea will have a much lower survival rate but will experience the most growth. This is an acceptable tradeoff for salmon. As the saying goes: nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Human intervention
The rest of the book was about human's origin and then interference with salmon populations. When it comes to economic development, the mentality has always been to dominate and tame nature. Economic development is supposed to create order out of the disorder of wildlife but the more it is imposed, the more disorder this creates. Hydroelectric dams clog up passageways salmon use to reach their breeding grounds. But don't we want clean renewable sources of energy?! This stuff powers the internet for crying out loud. Salmon should not get in the way of economic prosperity. And that is the mindset most political decisions have been ruled by. Economy > ecology. And this comes at a cost, but so too would the opposite. A lot of us would not be working from home without the technological advances made at the cost of havoc wreaked on habitats.
The best guess of scientists is that there are 1.5 million Atlantic salmon left in the world. To put this tragic fact in perspective, the July sockeye run in Bristol Bay in 2018 was 62.3 million fish. Salmon stocks are in freefall. The only way we've been able to keep them alive and consumable is through hatcheries, a.k.a. fish farms. These are not a silver bullet to replenishment, no such thing as a silver bullet in nature. You cannot outwit God. A fish is genetically suited for a specific river; most fish will survive only in the river they were born in, and those fish will not succeed in any other river.
Salmon, in relation to humans, is ultimately for food. The author even threw delicious salmon recipes that different cultures use salmon for. Some points of interest:
- Anything labeled as wild-caught should come as a disclaimer. It means that we can vouch that this salmon was caught in a wild setting but cannot be sure if it is genetically wild. I don't think this is really all that bad as far as freshness goes. More of a drop in the nutrient profile than anything.
- If you ever hear that fish farms "dye" their fish orange it's not totally true. The industry has learned how to produce the compound carotenoid from bacteria and yeast and supply that in the salmon feed. In the wild this usually comes from the fish feeding on crustaceans.
Motif
The long-term downside is the salmon population is not only dwindling but for the salmon that live on their characteristics are getting weaker. Interbreeding of hatchery fish with wild fish leads to passing on traits that are poorly suited for the wild and reduce genetic diversity.
The principal point of the book was not that the salmon is a magnificent animal that holds its own compared to anything on the Serengeti � though beautiful in its many phases; thrilling in its athleticism; moving in its strength, determination, and courage; poetic in its heroic and tragic life story � it would be said if it were to disappear. It's already sad that these characteristics are being dimmed by weaker generations of hatchery-bred salmon. All that is true, but a more important point is that if the salmon does not survive, there is little hope for the survival of the planet. Because salmon have always been a kind of barometer for health of the planet. Once we have altered the balance of nature, it is very difficult to get it right again.
P.S. One funny lesson I learned is that there's always a tax to be paid, even in nature. When commercial fishing, seals will take a chunk of the catch. Preying on the fat bellies of the salmon in the nets. Seals want their cut, just like the government. What a world we live in.
November 1, 2021
I really enjoyed Salmon by Mark Kurlansky, having read his book Cod, and really enjoying that too. It's not just an education on the different species of salmon, their fascinating fresh-saltwater lifecycles (though not always), but also of the history around salmon, from the Indigenous peoples around the world that have hunted them (especially the Ainu in Hokkaido, Japan, and the Native Americans), to the colonialists who came along and, to put it bluntly, messed it all up and overfished them - some species having very precarious positions now indeed.
You can see a lot of Kurlansky's respect for the salmon in this book. It's clear that while he generally avoids anthropomorphising, he - like many others - finds their journey to spawn heroic and admirable. Their ability to adapt in almost any circumstance (except, sadly, overfishing) incredible.
I learned a lot of things I wasn't previously aware of in this book, especially relating to the fact that fish farming creates massive issues with sea lice, and the further issues they cause with nearby wild salmon. Fish farm diseases hurting wild salmon is an issue I wasn't aware of, and am glad to be more informed on. Likewise, I wasn't aware of organised crime in Russia focusing on huge salmon poaching rings, and how much of a money-maker that can be.
Two quibbles with this book, though they're pretty minor. The recipes didn't really seem like useful recipes people could use, so much as historical or contextual recipes, which isn't a bad thing by any means, but actually came to feel a little jarring after a while. Likewise, while the book is called 'Salmon' - it could easily be called 'the North American Story of Salmon' quite comfortably. With only two or three forays into UK, Norwegian and Japanese salmon fishing, the focus is almost wholly on the relationship that North Americans and Native Americans have with salmon, and the other mentions feel less centralised. This book is going to assume you understand a bit about North American geography and history, things that are not taught in many schools all around the world. So it's definitely a book suffering a wee bit from some cultural imperialism.
I did like that Kurlansky spent a lot of time debunking the myth that Native Americans didn't overfish because their populations were sparse, they didn't overfish because they educated themselves and each other about overfishing and how to avoid it. Likewise, a lot of attention is given to how much colonialists have really just made everything not much fun for everyone, from the massacres and seizing of unceded land from Native Americans, to the first canneries that exploited Chinese immigrants horrendously, to the mostly unsuccessful or problematic hatcheries and disease-breeding fish farms, to the rich (mostly white, male) practice of fly fishing, proof that you can toy with an animal that you don't intend to use for food, and certainly don't need for food.
In many ways this book is a damning essay on how colonialism simply makes creatures go extinct en masse, and certainly comes close to destroying the ones that haven't disappeared yet.
I think this book would be very much enjoyed by anyone interested in salmon in general, or anyone who - like me - has an interest in wild creatures, environmentalism, colonialisation, and history. It has a broad reach! Anyone looking for recipes would probably be better off looking elsewhere though!
You can see a lot of Kurlansky's respect for the salmon in this book. It's clear that while he generally avoids anthropomorphising, he - like many others - finds their journey to spawn heroic and admirable. Their ability to adapt in almost any circumstance (except, sadly, overfishing) incredible.
I learned a lot of things I wasn't previously aware of in this book, especially relating to the fact that fish farming creates massive issues with sea lice, and the further issues they cause with nearby wild salmon. Fish farm diseases hurting wild salmon is an issue I wasn't aware of, and am glad to be more informed on. Likewise, I wasn't aware of organised crime in Russia focusing on huge salmon poaching rings, and how much of a money-maker that can be.
Two quibbles with this book, though they're pretty minor. The recipes didn't really seem like useful recipes people could use, so much as historical or contextual recipes, which isn't a bad thing by any means, but actually came to feel a little jarring after a while. Likewise, while the book is called 'Salmon' - it could easily be called 'the North American Story of Salmon' quite comfortably. With only two or three forays into UK, Norwegian and Japanese salmon fishing, the focus is almost wholly on the relationship that North Americans and Native Americans have with salmon, and the other mentions feel less centralised. This book is going to assume you understand a bit about North American geography and history, things that are not taught in many schools all around the world. So it's definitely a book suffering a wee bit from some cultural imperialism.
I did like that Kurlansky spent a lot of time debunking the myth that Native Americans didn't overfish because their populations were sparse, they didn't overfish because they educated themselves and each other about overfishing and how to avoid it. Likewise, a lot of attention is given to how much colonialists have really just made everything not much fun for everyone, from the massacres and seizing of unceded land from Native Americans, to the first canneries that exploited Chinese immigrants horrendously, to the mostly unsuccessful or problematic hatcheries and disease-breeding fish farms, to the rich (mostly white, male) practice of fly fishing, proof that you can toy with an animal that you don't intend to use for food, and certainly don't need for food.
In many ways this book is a damning essay on how colonialism simply makes creatures go extinct en masse, and certainly comes close to destroying the ones that haven't disappeared yet.
I think this book would be very much enjoyed by anyone interested in salmon in general, or anyone who - like me - has an interest in wild creatures, environmentalism, colonialisation, and history. It has a broad reach! Anyone looking for recipes would probably be better off looking elsewhere though!
April 30, 2021
Disappointed? That's probably the best description. After reading most of Kurlansky's other food histories, I was hoping for the same interesting, informative treatment of salmon in this book. But it falls far short of Cod, Salt, and The Big Oyster, coming in more like Food of a Younger Land in an environmentalist wrapper.
The problem (mine, perhaps not yours) is evident in the subtitle "A Fish, the Earth and the History of Their Common Fate." What makes their fate "common"? Does the apparent demise of the world's salmon stocks mean the Earth's demise is imminent? I don't know, and neither does Kurlansky.
But that subtitle is also what sets this book apart from his others on food: this is not purely a history of salmon; Kurlansky seems to have a policy objective in mind. Whatever that policy objective is, Kurlansky doesn't do a very good job of expressing it. So it's a poor history and a poor policy prescription.
As in his other books, there are numerous interesting historical asides and we meet a wide variety of interesting individuals. Minor quibble: his aside about the etymology of "Lynching" is discredited by most scholars and seems intended mostly as an excuse to include Che Guevara's name in a book about salmon. (And really, should we shed any tears that Guevara was lynched after he lynched so many others himself?)
Kurlansky's apocalyptic environmental perspective is a bit heavy handed at times and he introduces politics in unhelpful ways. Why take a gratuitous, unsupported swipe at the Reagan administration? It doesn't serve to make a useful point and merely annoys readers who don't share Kurlansky's political views.
Finally, the recipes. As in some of his other books, Kurlansky includes recipes throughout the text. I like the concept, but some of them seem to have been shoe-horned into the book without any thought to the immediate context.
Definitely not my favorite Kurlansky book.
The problem (mine, perhaps not yours) is evident in the subtitle "A Fish, the Earth and the History of Their Common Fate." What makes their fate "common"? Does the apparent demise of the world's salmon stocks mean the Earth's demise is imminent? I don't know, and neither does Kurlansky.
But that subtitle is also what sets this book apart from his others on food: this is not purely a history of salmon; Kurlansky seems to have a policy objective in mind. Whatever that policy objective is, Kurlansky doesn't do a very good job of expressing it. So it's a poor history and a poor policy prescription.
As in his other books, there are numerous interesting historical asides and we meet a wide variety of interesting individuals. Minor quibble: his aside about the etymology of "Lynching" is discredited by most scholars and seems intended mostly as an excuse to include Che Guevara's name in a book about salmon. (And really, should we shed any tears that Guevara was lynched after he lynched so many others himself?)
Kurlansky's apocalyptic environmental perspective is a bit heavy handed at times and he introduces politics in unhelpful ways. Why take a gratuitous, unsupported swipe at the Reagan administration? It doesn't serve to make a useful point and merely annoys readers who don't share Kurlansky's political views.
Finally, the recipes. As in some of his other books, Kurlansky includes recipes throughout the text. I like the concept, but some of them seem to have been shoe-horned into the book without any thought to the immediate context.
Definitely not my favorite Kurlansky book.
May 21, 2024
This was a book I very much looked forward to but it left me pretty annoyed.
It seems hastily researched, and has an odd structure.
One statement about Scotland and the Scots ‘rebelling� against English Law by poaching (we can’t do that unless we move to England to poach as in Scotland we have, erm, Scots Law) is simply laughable. A glance at Wikipedia would have taught the author enough about Scotland to avoid such an error.
It was in general badly written and repetitive; like a history book written in an afternoon. When Kurlansky makes such mistakes about Scotland, I don’t trust if what he tells me of the Native Americans (or any other people) and their relationship with salmon is factually correct.
In all this a poor attempt at a history which has been much needed. David Montgomery’s book from around two decades ago is still the go-to.
It seems hastily researched, and has an odd structure.
One statement about Scotland and the Scots ‘rebelling� against English Law by poaching (we can’t do that unless we move to England to poach as in Scotland we have, erm, Scots Law) is simply laughable. A glance at Wikipedia would have taught the author enough about Scotland to avoid such an error.
It was in general badly written and repetitive; like a history book written in an afternoon. When Kurlansky makes such mistakes about Scotland, I don’t trust if what he tells me of the Native Americans (or any other people) and their relationship with salmon is factually correct.
In all this a poor attempt at a history which has been much needed. David Montgomery’s book from around two decades ago is still the go-to.
March 24, 2020
I love Mark Kurlansky's strolls through history and one element's role throughout time. "Salmon" is less like "Cod" but focuses more on the fate of salmon today and its indicator of the earth's health in general. It is a very good read.
June 6, 2021
I've read a lot of Mark Kurlansky books, because I've really enjoyed the way he takes one thing - salt, in particular - and investigates its history and place in the human and natural world. Sometimes his work can feel a bit too general; I think this is a function of the format and his purpose, which is to present a wide-ranging view of the chosen topic. However, he does also present specifics - vignettes, effectively, to illuminate a broader point.
All of these comments stand for Salmon.
The first chapters are largely about the biology of the fish, which is way more complicated than I had realised - what even is a salmon, basically?? - and about its natural habitat and habits. Most salmon return to their natal spawning ground for their own spawning, and then die, which is just a whole thing when it comes to life cycles and how on earth they find their way back to a particular river after hanging out in the ocean for a variable number of years.
Much of the rest of the book is a litany of how humans have placed the existence of salmon in peril: through destruction of habitat in a multitude of ways, and directly through overfishing. Kurlansky touches on several ways in which indigenous peoples in what are today the USA and Canada and Japan used and managed salmon over hundred or thousands of years to demonstrate the possibility of living in balance... but all of that is against the construction of dams and other ways that 'progress' and 'civilisation' have led to the destruction of rivers, in particular. Honestly most of this book was pretty depressing to read. There's so much we just don't really understand about how to make it possible for salmon stocks to redevelop... which leads to further catastrophe in the food web. Salmon is, to an extent, just a symbol for how much the last 300-odd years of industrial development have ravaged the environment. So that's fun.
If you can handle the story of environmental destruction, this is a readable and generally approachable book. As noted above, Kurlansky necessarily goes in for some generalisations - it's a result of making a readable book for the general public, I think. But he does present specifics - about particular rivers, about particular indigenous groups, about particular styles of fishing, and so on - and there's no doubt that he's put an enormous amount of research and work into telling this story. It's a sobering read, and it's a worthwhile one.
All of these comments stand for Salmon.
The first chapters are largely about the biology of the fish, which is way more complicated than I had realised - what even is a salmon, basically?? - and about its natural habitat and habits. Most salmon return to their natal spawning ground for their own spawning, and then die, which is just a whole thing when it comes to life cycles and how on earth they find their way back to a particular river after hanging out in the ocean for a variable number of years.
Much of the rest of the book is a litany of how humans have placed the existence of salmon in peril: through destruction of habitat in a multitude of ways, and directly through overfishing. Kurlansky touches on several ways in which indigenous peoples in what are today the USA and Canada and Japan used and managed salmon over hundred or thousands of years to demonstrate the possibility of living in balance... but all of that is against the construction of dams and other ways that 'progress' and 'civilisation' have led to the destruction of rivers, in particular. Honestly most of this book was pretty depressing to read. There's so much we just don't really understand about how to make it possible for salmon stocks to redevelop... which leads to further catastrophe in the food web. Salmon is, to an extent, just a symbol for how much the last 300-odd years of industrial development have ravaged the environment. So that's fun.
If you can handle the story of environmental destruction, this is a readable and generally approachable book. As noted above, Kurlansky necessarily goes in for some generalisations - it's a result of making a readable book for the general public, I think. But he does present specifics - about particular rivers, about particular indigenous groups, about particular styles of fishing, and so on - and there's no doubt that he's put an enormous amount of research and work into telling this story. It's a sobering read, and it's a worthwhile one.
November 19, 2022
I spent my youth in the Pacific North West mainly in Oregon and Alaska. Salmon fishing was always a big deal this book taught me a lot about the fish and the history surrounding them. Really fascinating study of one of the critical species and it's future in our world. Just as they are tasty, Salmon are important and worth protecting.
June 20, 2024
I’m torn on the rating. I found d the info fascinating, but getting through the book was a struggle. It was just SO dry.
January 10, 2021
My favorite conservation book of 2020.
May 11, 2020
"Salmon" by Mark Kurlansky, the historian author renown for his books "Cod", "Salt", and "Paper", is the best nonfiction book I have read thus far this year. This book looks not just into the history of the salmon fisheries around the globe, but also into what we know and still do not know about different salmon species' biological and ecological requirements for survival. The environmental concerns we need to contend with when studying and managing this magnificent fish include:
- habitat loss to dams or logging,
- industrial pollution,
- climate change,
- hatcheries, and
- fish farms.
Many salmon fishing practices, as well as traditional recipes, are mentioned. Fishing communities and industry socio-political histories of England, Scotland, Ireland, Northeast United States, the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, Alaska, Kamchatka, Japan, Norway, and Iceland are all given due attention. Reading this book gave me a greater appreciation for the complicated life cycle these fish go through, as well as the rich diversity in cultures that have respected such an impressive resource down through the centuries.
As an historian, Kurlansky is well suited to present his research on the historical trends of salmon fishery management, because rules and regulations have been primarily guided by socio-political environments of the region rather than the biology of the fish being managed. This is especially true for hatcheries, which pose risks to local wild populations, are deemed successful without supporting evidence, and ignore the necessity of place-based rearing of salmon. Because the early environment is so essential to salmon life cycle success--salmon spawn in the spot on the river in which they were barn--hatchery salmon are often unsuccessful, do not know where they need to go to spawn, and likely wander into other rivers where they compete for space and mates with the wild salmon already living in those rivers naturally. Fish farming is also not an adequate substitute for wild populations, because of the higher risk in disease transference for fish living in close quarters, escaped diseases and fish mixing with local wild populations, and the inherent pollution of farming practices.
An ethologist or vegan could rather easily get a book about salmon sold, in which fishermen are scapegoated as the reason salmon populations around the world are in decline. But Kurlansky doesn't do that. Instead, he looks at history and facts about salmon management to point out that banning all fishing on certain rivers and in certain seas has not brought back salmon in those areas. Salmon populations are still in decline, and they only begin to recover in regions where their environment has been restored.
Salmon are not going to thrive in polluted, dammed up rivers with no trees nearby to keep the water cool enough or attract the insects crucial to feeding young developing fish. Humans subsisted on mainly salmon for generations before the start of the industrial revolution. Logging, farming, and hydroelectric dams have simply devastated salmon habitat, from Scotland to throughout the Pacific Northwest. The wild populations in Alaska and Kamchatka are the most abundant in modern times because those regions are colder than most people prefer to live in and do not have land conducive to farming. The land where there are still more bears than people correlate to the best rivers for salmon.
Yes, humans are consuming a lot of salmon. But the fishermen and women catching wild salmon are not to blame for our insatiable appetites for this powerful fish's tender flesh. I have great respect for these impressive fish, as I have tremendous respect for the harsh conditions small independent fishermen and women work under.
Policy makers, environmentalists, and biologists need to focus resources on managing and restoring natural salmon habitat in order to truly care for this species. Salmon are f***ing tough! They don't need to be hand-reared and coddled and spoon-fed. They will come if their rivers are clean and clear and cool. We just need to get out of their f***ing way.
My favorite chapter was that about Native American cultures and fishing practices, especially the Nez Perce tribe and those that fed Lewis and Clark so much salmon that they got physically sick from it, haha! The Nez Perce were intelligent and skilled fishers who had a thriving trade network with other tribes throughout the Pacific Northwest centered around their salmon economy. White Europeans thought the Native Americans weren't tapping into the natural resources of the land because there weren't roads and farms everywhere. But the Native Americans were prosperous and knew what the land had to offer. They fishes tremendously every year! They just didn't kill ALL the fish like the Europeans because they didn't cut down all the trees and pollute the rivers.
*sigh* Will we ever learn to take care of our environment? How we act today will determine if we survive tomorrow. Our survival as a species is as integral to the health of our planet as the salmon's survival is. Hopefully, books like this one and people who internalize and champion its messages will help us get our heads out of our own asses.
"Salmon" has an exquisite production value and I highly recommend people get it in hardcover. The photography and artwork are magnificent. Such a joy to experience. However, because it is on the larger side, I didn't read it as fast I would have if it were a trade paperback I could carry in my purse or onto the beach. Just something to keep in mind if you get this. I loved it and look forward to Kurlansky's other works someday.
- habitat loss to dams or logging,
- industrial pollution,
- climate change,
- hatcheries, and
- fish farms.
Many salmon fishing practices, as well as traditional recipes, are mentioned. Fishing communities and industry socio-political histories of England, Scotland, Ireland, Northeast United States, the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, Alaska, Kamchatka, Japan, Norway, and Iceland are all given due attention. Reading this book gave me a greater appreciation for the complicated life cycle these fish go through, as well as the rich diversity in cultures that have respected such an impressive resource down through the centuries.
As an historian, Kurlansky is well suited to present his research on the historical trends of salmon fishery management, because rules and regulations have been primarily guided by socio-political environments of the region rather than the biology of the fish being managed. This is especially true for hatcheries, which pose risks to local wild populations, are deemed successful without supporting evidence, and ignore the necessity of place-based rearing of salmon. Because the early environment is so essential to salmon life cycle success--salmon spawn in the spot on the river in which they were barn--hatchery salmon are often unsuccessful, do not know where they need to go to spawn, and likely wander into other rivers where they compete for space and mates with the wild salmon already living in those rivers naturally. Fish farming is also not an adequate substitute for wild populations, because of the higher risk in disease transference for fish living in close quarters, escaped diseases and fish mixing with local wild populations, and the inherent pollution of farming practices.
An ethologist or vegan could rather easily get a book about salmon sold, in which fishermen are scapegoated as the reason salmon populations around the world are in decline. But Kurlansky doesn't do that. Instead, he looks at history and facts about salmon management to point out that banning all fishing on certain rivers and in certain seas has not brought back salmon in those areas. Salmon populations are still in decline, and they only begin to recover in regions where their environment has been restored.
Salmon are not going to thrive in polluted, dammed up rivers with no trees nearby to keep the water cool enough or attract the insects crucial to feeding young developing fish. Humans subsisted on mainly salmon for generations before the start of the industrial revolution. Logging, farming, and hydroelectric dams have simply devastated salmon habitat, from Scotland to throughout the Pacific Northwest. The wild populations in Alaska and Kamchatka are the most abundant in modern times because those regions are colder than most people prefer to live in and do not have land conducive to farming. The land where there are still more bears than people correlate to the best rivers for salmon.
Yes, humans are consuming a lot of salmon. But the fishermen and women catching wild salmon are not to blame for our insatiable appetites for this powerful fish's tender flesh. I have great respect for these impressive fish, as I have tremendous respect for the harsh conditions small independent fishermen and women work under.
Policy makers, environmentalists, and biologists need to focus resources on managing and restoring natural salmon habitat in order to truly care for this species. Salmon are f***ing tough! They don't need to be hand-reared and coddled and spoon-fed. They will come if their rivers are clean and clear and cool. We just need to get out of their f***ing way.
My favorite chapter was that about Native American cultures and fishing practices, especially the Nez Perce tribe and those that fed Lewis and Clark so much salmon that they got physically sick from it, haha! The Nez Perce were intelligent and skilled fishers who had a thriving trade network with other tribes throughout the Pacific Northwest centered around their salmon economy. White Europeans thought the Native Americans weren't tapping into the natural resources of the land because there weren't roads and farms everywhere. But the Native Americans were prosperous and knew what the land had to offer. They fishes tremendously every year! They just didn't kill ALL the fish like the Europeans because they didn't cut down all the trees and pollute the rivers.
*sigh* Will we ever learn to take care of our environment? How we act today will determine if we survive tomorrow. Our survival as a species is as integral to the health of our planet as the salmon's survival is. Hopefully, books like this one and people who internalize and champion its messages will help us get our heads out of our own asses.
"Salmon" has an exquisite production value and I highly recommend people get it in hardcover. The photography and artwork are magnificent. Such a joy to experience. However, because it is on the larger side, I didn't read it as fast I would have if it were a trade paperback I could carry in my purse or onto the beach. Just something to keep in mind if you get this. I loved it and look forward to Kurlansky's other works someday.
September 12, 2021
The fantastic clarity of the simple mind: Kurlansky knows one aspect. Maybe he does not know it that well, but he is certain. And that certainty gives him power to make predictions and move into other areas as well. Which is pretty much like taking the evolution of the wrist watch up to the Apple Watch and than explain how the self driving shuttle to Mars will work.
May 9, 2021
The wide-ranging, somewhat rambling, and at times rushed feeling of this text suggest the book was commissioned and did not originate with Kurlansky himself. Hefty and beautifully illustrated, it makes good coffee-table conversation, but there are better books out there about salmon. ;-)
June 5, 2021
This book is a superb historical overview of everything salmon. As a commercial salmon fisherman in Alaska I'm well acquainted with the fish, but this book hugely broadened my perspective. The long dismal history of salmon disappearing in waters where it once flourished is well known, but when reading about it all at once, it becomes clear that "while history may not repeat itself it does rhyme." People, habitat destruction, dams, contaminated industrial runoff, logging, roads, etc. are all contributing factors to the demise. Oh, and of course overfishing and lax fisheries regulation too. It's the same old story, played out over and over again. Alaska stands out as exceptional in these regards, in part due to some of the best managed fisheries in the world, in part due to the fortune of having few people and enormous unbroken swaths of pristine wilderness.
The historical perspective on hatcheries was of particular interest too. In Alaska they've been a bonus, hatcheries are considered a huge success amongst stakeholders. I was surprised to read of the dismal track record of hatcheries on the East Coast and in Europe. It appears that hatcheries pumping salmon into the ocean is not sufficient to resurrect dwindling salmon stocks. It just won't make up for poor habitat and ecological degradation. Alaska is an anomaly in the hatchery game due to the fact that we're using hatcheries as a supplement to wild stocks where in much the rest of the world they are being used as a last ditch effort to keep salmon returning to their native rivers. The two things that Kurlansky makes mention of, which are hardly ever seriously discussed in Alaska, are the dumbing down (narrowing of genetic diversity) of the wild fish genome and the ocean's carrying capacity for more salmon. Hatcheries can't just print fish ad infinitum in Alaska. Mother Nature is dynamic and complex, unintended consequences are the rule when humans intervene with their static thinking, simple models and naïve reasoning. We'll have to wait and see how it all plays out.
I don't agree with all of Kurlansky's takes in this book, but as a whole this book is a gem. I highly recommend it for anyone who's in love with salmon or has a hankering for some fascinating fish history. It's every bit as good as that other classic of his, "Cod."
The historical perspective on hatcheries was of particular interest too. In Alaska they've been a bonus, hatcheries are considered a huge success amongst stakeholders. I was surprised to read of the dismal track record of hatcheries on the East Coast and in Europe. It appears that hatcheries pumping salmon into the ocean is not sufficient to resurrect dwindling salmon stocks. It just won't make up for poor habitat and ecological degradation. Alaska is an anomaly in the hatchery game due to the fact that we're using hatcheries as a supplement to wild stocks where in much the rest of the world they are being used as a last ditch effort to keep salmon returning to their native rivers. The two things that Kurlansky makes mention of, which are hardly ever seriously discussed in Alaska, are the dumbing down (narrowing of genetic diversity) of the wild fish genome and the ocean's carrying capacity for more salmon. Hatcheries can't just print fish ad infinitum in Alaska. Mother Nature is dynamic and complex, unintended consequences are the rule when humans intervene with their static thinking, simple models and naïve reasoning. We'll have to wait and see how it all plays out.
I don't agree with all of Kurlansky's takes in this book, but as a whole this book is a gem. I highly recommend it for anyone who's in love with salmon or has a hankering for some fascinating fish history. It's every bit as good as that other classic of his, "Cod."
May 14, 2023
I will ask that you keep in mind I've been terribly emotional fairly recently (and my default state is pretty emotional) so the fact that I was so moved by this book is probably in part down to that.
Anyway, regardless, this is a beautifully put-together book about salmon as a means of depicting the relationship of humans to the planet. It's about the fish, of course, but also very much about culture and anthropology. It makes sense, really, that how a group treats an important food source makes for a good analogue of their worldview as a whole, but it's not something that'd come to mind so much when I think about salmon.
The writing style is easy to read with a lot of curiosity and a bit of snark. God, whenever I hear anything about hatcheries now I'm going to end up ranting about how badly government bodies will cope and seethe and say "Noooooo the hatcheries are definitely helping!!! Infinite fish hack!!!!" when they SO OBVIOUSLY barely help and it has been demonstrated time and time again. There is no infinite fish hack!!
A lot of the book discusses colonisation - mostly that of European settlers in North America. I got so pissed off reading it (and I mean that in a good way!). It's devastating how much damage was done to the environment in the name of "progress", and it feels all the more real when there's one life form in the centre of it. The butterfly effect of industries such as logging and canning are as succinctly described as you could ask for.
The differences in salmon fishing methods - traditional spearfishing, commercial fishing, flyfishing, etc. - are all described, as well as their relationship to the culture around them. That sounds pretty dry when I say it like that, but I really did find it fascinating!!
Sadly, the conclusion of the book is pessimistic, and - as I said, I have been very quick to upset lately - it devastated me a little bit. The point that Kurlansky makes is that, essentially, if we aren't respecting the salmon, we're not respecting the wider world, and even now, the people who can make any difference aren't doing a whole lot to fell unused dams; reduce pollution; replant forests; similar steps that, while an investment, would be a step in the right direction and a net positive, it's unlikely that the salmon will ever recover to their previous numbers.
That being said, if you like reading about nature and ecology, then this is a great book!
Anyway, regardless, this is a beautifully put-together book about salmon as a means of depicting the relationship of humans to the planet. It's about the fish, of course, but also very much about culture and anthropology. It makes sense, really, that how a group treats an important food source makes for a good analogue of their worldview as a whole, but it's not something that'd come to mind so much when I think about salmon.
The writing style is easy to read with a lot of curiosity and a bit of snark. God, whenever I hear anything about hatcheries now I'm going to end up ranting about how badly government bodies will cope and seethe and say "Noooooo the hatcheries are definitely helping!!! Infinite fish hack!!!!" when they SO OBVIOUSLY barely help and it has been demonstrated time and time again. There is no infinite fish hack!!
A lot of the book discusses colonisation - mostly that of European settlers in North America. I got so pissed off reading it (and I mean that in a good way!). It's devastating how much damage was done to the environment in the name of "progress", and it feels all the more real when there's one life form in the centre of it. The butterfly effect of industries such as logging and canning are as succinctly described as you could ask for.
The differences in salmon fishing methods - traditional spearfishing, commercial fishing, flyfishing, etc. - are all described, as well as their relationship to the culture around them. That sounds pretty dry when I say it like that, but I really did find it fascinating!!
Sadly, the conclusion of the book is pessimistic, and - as I said, I have been very quick to upset lately - it devastated me a little bit. The point that Kurlansky makes is that, essentially, if we aren't respecting the salmon, we're not respecting the wider world, and even now, the people who can make any difference aren't doing a whole lot to fell unused dams; reduce pollution; replant forests; similar steps that, while an investment, would be a step in the right direction and a net positive, it's unlikely that the salmon will ever recover to their previous numbers.
That being said, if you like reading about nature and ecology, then this is a great book!
November 20, 2020
Mark Kurlansky is a skilled writer and the book has wonderful photography and recipes but this is a political book at it's core. As someone with a connection to aquaculture, I was pleasantly surprised by how fair he was to fish farms - though far more shocked by his treatment of hatcheries.
The book has research backing it but as the text admits at certain points, the scientific consensus is far from clear on many arguments made. In some sense, it can never be clear because the issues are more philosophical: What makes a fish "fake"? What makes an environment good?
Kurlansky, and his backers at Patagonia, are proponents of a more anti-human approach that is willing to see humans as net negative. A general disdain for the masses that culminates in the echoing of malthusian talking points is found in the constant praise for aristocracy and the wealthy, who tend to be better stewards of the salmon than the plebians who have now been empowered by democracy. Instead of focusing on the specifics of political economy that encourage the development of fishing fleets and canneries, it is simply the greed of the masses and the desire for people not to be eaten by bears.
But that said, the book as a whole product is of decent quality. Despite being littered with inaccuracies it's too pedantic to correct, it would make a lovely coffee table book.
The book has research backing it but as the text admits at certain points, the scientific consensus is far from clear on many arguments made. In some sense, it can never be clear because the issues are more philosophical: What makes a fish "fake"? What makes an environment good?
Kurlansky, and his backers at Patagonia, are proponents of a more anti-human approach that is willing to see humans as net negative. A general disdain for the masses that culminates in the echoing of malthusian talking points is found in the constant praise for aristocracy and the wealthy, who tend to be better stewards of the salmon than the plebians who have now been empowered by democracy. Instead of focusing on the specifics of political economy that encourage the development of fishing fleets and canneries, it is simply the greed of the masses and the desire for people not to be eaten by bears.
But that said, the book as a whole product is of decent quality. Despite being littered with inaccuracies it's too pedantic to correct, it would make a lovely coffee table book.
March 29, 2021
If, as the Bible says, God gave man dominion over all the earth and it’s creatures, he should have expounded on that by adding that it is up to man to exercise wise stewardship of the earth, lest he destroy it along with himself. Kurlansky’s book is most depressing in its depiction of man’s destruction of the environment and depletion of the salmon.
The reader is given some great insights into the varieties of salmon species and their lives. At the same time, we better understand the importance of salmon as a valued food source in cultures around the world, and the decimation of that source due to ignorance and greed. In the end, farm-raised salmon will likely replace wild salmon, since the wild species requires much more attention to the environment.
For this reader, a more condensed version of the book would have been preferred. It wondered off a little too much into historical discussions only loosely related to salmon, and provided many recipes for its consumption that were an unwelcome distraction. On the other hand, the addition of the pictures added a lot to the reading.
The reader is given some great insights into the varieties of salmon species and their lives. At the same time, we better understand the importance of salmon as a valued food source in cultures around the world, and the decimation of that source due to ignorance and greed. In the end, farm-raised salmon will likely replace wild salmon, since the wild species requires much more attention to the environment.
For this reader, a more condensed version of the book would have been preferred. It wondered off a little too much into historical discussions only loosely related to salmon, and provided many recipes for its consumption that were an unwelcome distraction. On the other hand, the addition of the pictures added a lot to the reading.
July 21, 2024
I was really impressed by the scope of this book, both in time and subject matter. Kurlansky covers time periods back hundreds of years, continents over the globe, and many cultures who related profoundly to salmon for survival. He also covers the impact of salmon on the environment and other animals, and the salmon themselves in depth, as well as the threats they face and the intricacies that make changes to those threats slow or non-existent. He speaks about fisheries, dams, logging, canneries, chemicals, GMOs, fish farming, renewable energy, global warming, and more, as well as going deep into the history of Native American tribal rights to fishing and the obstacles that their population has faced from the US government in maintaining those rights and protecting the lands and fish they care for.
I’m very grateful to Mark Kurlansky for having written Salmon. This is a necessary compilation of information, a meaningful opportunity to take an objective perspective on our impact as humans on the ecosystems around us, most especially on salmon, who are a cornerstone species, necessary for the survival of many other beings in nature. And he does all this with a neutral tone rather than a pontificating one, which I also appreciated, as the facts themselves can already be hard enough to look at without adding in the vitriol of the reporter. This was at times a challenging read to process emotionally, but being more informed on this issue and more prepared to make good decisions on behalf of salmon and to help others who are interested in doing so was more than worth it. I dearly wish this book was required reading for everyone.
I’m very grateful to Mark Kurlansky for having written Salmon. This is a necessary compilation of information, a meaningful opportunity to take an objective perspective on our impact as humans on the ecosystems around us, most especially on salmon, who are a cornerstone species, necessary for the survival of many other beings in nature. And he does all this with a neutral tone rather than a pontificating one, which I also appreciated, as the facts themselves can already be hard enough to look at without adding in the vitriol of the reporter. This was at times a challenging read to process emotionally, but being more informed on this issue and more prepared to make good decisions on behalf of salmon and to help others who are interested in doing so was more than worth it. I dearly wish this book was required reading for everyone.
June 5, 2021
Salmon is Mark Kurlansky’s latest entry in a long running line of hits from Cod to Salt to Milk. It is masterful as only he can seem to do covering the history of topic from its early days in prehistoric history to modern day implications with a sprinkling of recipes thrown throughout. Is a book about fish hatcheries and the evil they are doing on native/wild Salmon intriguing? It is a down right page turner that you get sucked into and find yourself cheering as they demolish a damn to return to breeding grounds. Covering the globe from impacts on both Atlantic and Pacific salmon, Kurlansky tracks the fate of this fish and how its demise can impact all levels of the food chain. The stunning research into wild levels of Salmon and the switch to wild caught salmon as a moniker since there are not enough true wild Salmon left any more to know was shocking. If you have liked his other books then this one will not disappoint and if you are new to Kurlansky I think this is a good one to get started on.
July 8, 2021
I was very excited to read another Kurlansky book when I realized there was another one. I really loved Salt, and enjoyed Cod and the Big Oyster, so I knew more or less what to expect. I felt like this one didn't really go quite deep enough. It ranged all over the place, and I was disappointed by a few of the blind spots. He talked about Salmon not really being a thing in Ireland in the past, and ignored the huge place it had in Irish myth, which was a disappointment, though I suppose myths don't always take a big place in Kurlansky books. A large part of this book was a fairly firm stance against dams and hatcheries when the evidence is not as strong as he presents, and his standards are set rather too high, in my opinion. Despite a bit of lack of nuance at times, there were still quite a bit that I learned from the book, and from a variety of perspectives, and I definitely think it is worth reading... but I didn't have that kind of unalloyed enjoyment of reading that I did from some of the author's previous works.
October 20, 2023
This was a very informative book about salmon! I picked it up after fishing the Kenai River in Alaska for sockeye salmon this summer, as it seemed like a good introduction to salmon for some of my research.
This author was super thorough in his research about the fish, the challenges, and even the role that salmon played in cultures around the world. He hit both the Atlantic and Pacific species and their unique struggles, and I learned so much!
I left it at 4 stars instead of 5 because I think he let his personal bias majorly inform the tone of the book. He left out commercial fishing as a major problem and was quick to attack recreational anglers, even when grudgingly admitting that recreational anglers do fight for conservation and commercial fishing objectively harms salmon populations. I think it would have made his book and arguments for better environmental practices stronger if he had been more neutral on the fishing issue.
This was a great start for my research and a better understanding of salmon, though.
This author was super thorough in his research about the fish, the challenges, and even the role that salmon played in cultures around the world. He hit both the Atlantic and Pacific species and their unique struggles, and I learned so much!
I left it at 4 stars instead of 5 because I think he let his personal bias majorly inform the tone of the book. He left out commercial fishing as a major problem and was quick to attack recreational anglers, even when grudgingly admitting that recreational anglers do fight for conservation and commercial fishing objectively harms salmon populations. I think it would have made his book and arguments for better environmental practices stronger if he had been more neutral on the fishing issue.
This was a great start for my research and a better understanding of salmon, though.
February 7, 2022
A sobering read about all the species of Salmon out there. Definitely wrote in a way so as to wake people up and realise that by saving Salmon we save ourselves.
Atlantic Salmon are species that I can see going extinct in my lifetime here in Ireland and I'm 28 this year. We've destroyed their habitat from hydro electric dams, dredging to alleviate flooding, removing the natural riparian zone of the river, agricultural pollution, the list goes on... the problem is all these things are still going on today. Our biggest Hydro station that is so old that less than 10 wind turbines would produce the power it generates blocks the passage to the largest river in Ireland and Britain. We need to do better, but maybe it's already too late!
Whatever you do, read this book and pass no remarks on the negative reviews.
Atlantic Salmon are species that I can see going extinct in my lifetime here in Ireland and I'm 28 this year. We've destroyed their habitat from hydro electric dams, dredging to alleviate flooding, removing the natural riparian zone of the river, agricultural pollution, the list goes on... the problem is all these things are still going on today. Our biggest Hydro station that is so old that less than 10 wind turbines would produce the power it generates blocks the passage to the largest river in Ireland and Britain. We need to do better, but maybe it's already too late!
Whatever you do, read this book and pass no remarks on the negative reviews.
September 16, 2023
Having spent most of the summer of 1977 putting salmon on trays at a salmon freezing plant in Kenai, Alaska, I thought I knew quite a bit about dead salmon, but Mark Kurlansky gave me an even more encyclopedic picture of the living (and dead) fish in this interesting book. He brings out why the salmon is a unique fish (only a Northern Hemisphere resident and both a salt-water and fresh-water fish) and goes through its history in both the Atlantic (where the wild version has almost died out) and the Pacific Ocean. Kurlansky brings out how it was hurt through economic development mainly in salmon spawning rivers and what has been tried to resuscitate the animals. A very interesting book, written in an engaging style and one that really gets you to think about how this fish is a bell-weather animal for us in this time of climate change.
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