by Mark Kurlansky (Author), Richard M. Davidson (Narrator), Phoenix Books, Inc. (Publisher)

An Audiobook Review by Jackie Houchin

  I enjoyed COD: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FISH THAT CHANGED THE WORLD quite a lot, which surprised me. The history, the numerous facts describing the fish, the places and the ways to catch them, and even a wide variety of recipes to preserve and eat them were very interesting. Who knew that the original New England Cod could grow up to 5 feet long!

The book sadly describes the greed of both nations and the fishermen in catching and selling this fish (and others) and how drastic over-fishing has nearly caused the demise of both the great size of the individual fish and massive schools that used to swarm in the oceans.

I was fascinated by how people learned to eat cod in so many different ways and the various parts of the fish itself (tongues, skin, even bones).  NOTHING of the creature is lost. Fresh or salted, equally loved. And for many years adults and children were fed that teaspoon of cod liver oil for the health benefits (ick!)

The narration was very well done too. I am definitely going to read more non-fiction books by this author! ( such as, Salt, and Salmon)

FOUR stars