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Being Norwegian on both sides since at least the Napoleonic wars, I have a relationship with fish, especially cod. While cod roe is a favorite, lutefisk is something I've only tried once and don't plan on trying again--it was like fishy jello. Yuck! Regular cod, served with potato, was something served at the Norwegian Club, back when there was such a thing, that Dad would occasionally attend. There, however, he would order the meatballs, fish being associated in his mind and in mother's with the depression and the war--something you ate because you couldn't obtain or afford red meat.

This book is primarily a history of the cod fisheries of the North Atlantic, beginning in the middle ages and continuing into present. As such, it's also a survey of fisheries worldwide and of their impoverishment, if not extinction, owing to overuse and environmental degradation. Secondarily, it's a celebration of a disappearing lifestyle and cuisine.

Well written, cautionary, this is a commendable book.