Mark Kurlansky

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Florida

The Story of a Nation

From Mark Kurlansky, the bestselling author of Cod, Salt, Birdseye, and Paper--the illuminating story of an ancient and enigmatic people

Straddling a small corner of Spain and France in a land that is marked on no maps except their own, the Basques are a puzzling contradiction--they are Europe's oldest nation without ever having been a country. No one has ever been able to determine their origins, and even the Basques' language, Euskera--the most ancient in Europe--is related to none other on earth. For centuries, their influence has been felt in nearly every realm, from religion to sports to commerce. Even today, the Basques are enjoying what may be the most important cultural renaissance in their long existence, as displayed by new cookbooks like chefs Alexandra Raij and Eder Montero's The Basque Book and restaurateur Jose Pizarro's Basque.

Mark Kurlansky's passion for the Basque people and his exuberant eye for detail shine throughout this fascinating book. Like Cod, The Basque History of the World, blends human stories with economic, political, literary, and culinary history into a rich and heroic tale.

Among the Basques' greatest accomplishments:

   * Exploration--the first man to circumnavigate the globe, Juan Sebastian de Elcano, was a Basque and the Basques were the second Europeans, after the Vikings, in North America
   * Gastronomy and agriculture--they were the first Europeans to eat corn and chili peppers and cultivate tobacco, and were among the first to use chocolate
   * Religion--Ignatius Loyola, a Basque, founded the Jesuit religious order
   * Business and politics--they introduced capitalism and modern commercial banking to southern Europe
   * Recreation--they invented beach resorts, jai alai, and racing regattas, and were the first Europeans to play sports with balls


"A delectable portrait of an uncanny, indomitable nation." -Newsday


"Exciting, Illuminating, and thought provoking." -The Boston Globe


Entertaining and instructive... [Kurlansky's] approach is unorthodox, mixing history with anecdotes, poems with recipes." -The New York Times Book Review

The Basque History of the World

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Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Montana

The Year That Rocked the World

Provides a detailed look at 1968, a pivotal year in the history of the twentieth century, exploring the turbulent events, politics, culture, economics, and social changes that marked a volatile year.

1968

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Indiana

Clean text and dust jacket intact. Signed by the author. First edition. 

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Massachusetts

Paging Through History

Kurlansky offers a definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today's world.

Paper - signed by author

650409e4-e782-450c-8b2b-d7ce64e0291c-1

A Novel in Sixteen Parts

All-new stories about the food we share, love, and fight over from the national bestselling author of Cod and Salt.

In these linked stories, Mark Kurlansky reveals the bond that can hold people together, tear them apart, or make them become vegan: food. Through muffins or hot dogs, an indigenous Alaskan fish soup, a bean curd Thanksgiving turkey or potentially toxic crème brulee, a rotating cast of characters learns how to honor the past, how to realize you're not in love with someone any more, and how to forgive. These women and men meet and eat and love, leave and drink and in the end, come together in Seattle as they are as inextricably linked with each other as they are with the food they eat and the wine they drink.

Kurlansky brings a keen eye and unerring sense of humanity to these stories. And throughout, his love and knowledge of food shows just how important a role what we eat plays in our lives.

Edible Stories

f88e972d-3e14-4435-8b09-b7b4879b227e-1

Louisiana

Our Vanishing Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles

By now you've probably heard that bees are disappearing--but they aren't the only species at risk. Populations of fireflies, butterflies, and ladybugs have all been declining in recent years, too. This middle grade nonfiction explains the growth, spread, and recent declines of each of these four types of insects. Exploring human causes, like the Baltimore electric company that collected fireflies to attempt to harness their phosphorescent lighting source, to natural occurrences, like the mysterious colony collapse disorder that plagues bee populations, master nonfiction storyteller Mark Kurlansky shows just how much bugs matter to our world.

Bugs in Danger

958ee4f9-be5d-45d9-bc78-789f69317923-1

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Maryland

A KID'S GUIDE TO THE OCEAN



"Can you imagine a world without fish? It's not as crazy as it sounds. But if we keep doing things the way we've been doing things, fish could become extinct within fifty years. So let's change the way we do things!"



World Without Fish is the uniquely illustrated narrative nonfiction account--for kids--of what is happening to the world's oceans and what they can do about it. Written by Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod, Salt, The Big Oyster, and many other books, World Without Fish has been praised as "urgent" (Publishers Weekly) and "a wonderfully fast-paced and engaging primer on the key questions surrounding fish and the sea" (Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish). It has also been included in the New York State Expeditionary Learning English Language Arts Curriculum.



Written by a master storyteller, World Without Fish connects all the dots--biology, economics, evolution, politics, climate, history, culture, food, and nutrition--in a way that kids can really understand. It describes how the fish we most commonly eat, including tuna, salmon, cod, swordfish--even anchovies-- could disappear within fifty years, and the domino effect it would have: the oceans teeming with jellyfish and turning pinkish orange from algal blooms, the seabirds disappearing, then reptiles, then mammals. It describes the back-and-forth dynamic of fishermen, who are the original environmentalists, and scientists, who not that long ago considered fish an endless resource. It explains why fish farming is not the answer--and why sustainable fishing is, and how to help return the oceans to their natural ecological balance.



Interwoven with the book is a twelve-page graphic novel. Each beautifully illustrated chapter opener links to the next to form a larger fictional story that perfectly complements the text.

World Without Fish

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New York

History on the Half Shell

“Part treatise, part miscellany, unfailingly entertaining.” –The New York Times “A small pearl of a book . . . a great tale of the growth of a modern city as seen through the rise and fall of the lowly oyster.” –Rocky Mountain News Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants–the oyster. For centuries New York was famous for this particular shellfish, which until the early 1900s played such a dominant a role in the city’s life that the abundant bivalves were Gotham’s most celebrated export, a staple food for all classes, and a natural filtration system for the city’s congested waterways. Filled with cultural, historical, and culinary insight–along with historic recipes, maps, drawings, and photos–this dynamic narrative sweeps readers from the seventeenth-century founding of New York to the death of its oyster beds and the rise of America’s environmentalist movement, from the oyster cellars of the rough-and-tumble Five Points slums to Manhattan’s Gilded Age dining chambers. With The Big Oyster, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious. “Suffused with [Kurlansky’s] pleasure in exploring the city across ground that hasn’t already been covered with other writers’ footprints.” –Los Angeles Times Book Review “Fascinating stuff . . . [Kurlansky] has a keen eye for odd facts and natural detail.” –The Wall Street Journal “Kurlansky packs his breezy book with terrific anecdotes.” –Entertainment Weekly “Magnificent . . . a towering accomplishment.” –Associated Press

The Big Oyster

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Utah

Clarence Birdseye's Outrageous Idea about Frozen Food

"This biography--perfect for middle-grade readers--tells the life story of Clarence Birdseye, the man who revolutionized the frozen food industry, and is adapted from Mark Kurlansky's adult work Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man. Adventurer and inventor Clarence Birdseye had a fascination with food preservation that led him to develop and patent the Birdseye freezing process and start the company that still bears his name today. His limitless curiosity spurred his other inventions, including the electric sunlamp, an improved incandescent lightbulb, and a harpoon gun to tag finback whales. This true story of an early entrepreneur is as thrilling as the story of Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. Includes an 8-page black-and-white photo insert"--

Frozen in Time

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Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Michigan

A Portrait of American Food - Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal, Regional, and Traditional - From the Lost WPA Files

The Food of a Younger Land

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Pennsylvania

A 10,000-Year Food Fracas

Milk!

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A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

An unexpected, energetic look at world history via the humble cod fish from the bestselling author of Salt and The Basque History of the World Cod, Mark Kurlansky’s third work of nonfiction and winner of the 1999 James Beard Award, is the biography of a single species of fish, but it may as well be a world history with this humble fish as its recurring main character. Cod, it turns out, is the reason Europeans set sail across the Atlantic, and it is the only reason they could. What did the Vikings eat in icy Greenland and on the five expeditions to America recorded in the Icelandic sagas? Cod, frozen and dried in the frosty air, then broken into pieces and eaten like hardtack. What was the staple of the medieval diet? Cod again, sold salted by the Basques, an enigmatic people with a mysterious, unlimited supply of cod. As we make our way through the centuries of cod history, we also find a delicious legacy of recipes, and the tragic story of environmental failure, of depleted fishing stocks where once their numbers were legendary. In this lovely, thoughtful history, Mark Kurlansky ponders the question: Is the fish that changed the world forever changed by the world's folly? “Every once in a while a writer of particular skill takes a fresh, seemingly improbable idea and turns out a book of pure delight. Such is the case of Mark Kurlansky and the codfish.” –David McCullough, author of The Wright Brothers and 1776

James Beard award winner * Cod

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Texas

A World History

“Kurlansky finds the world in a grain of salt.” - New York Times Book Review An unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.

Salt

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Missouri

Explore the rich and fascinating history of the Basque people with "Basque History of the World" by Mark Kurlansky. This hardcover book, published in 1999 by Walker & Company, provides a comprehensive overview of Basque culture and heritage. With 400 pages of detailed information, this book is perfect for those interested in European history, anthropology, and cultural studies.

Discover the origins of the Basque people, their unique language and traditions, and their impact on the world. The book is beautifully illustrated and includes topics such as the Basque's relationship with Spain and France, their customs, and their famous cuisine. This informative and engaging book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Basque culture and history.

Ohio

The Basque History of the World is the illuminating story of an ancient and enigmatic people. Signs of their civilization existed well before the arrival of the Romans in 218 B.C., and though theories abound, no one has ever been able to determine their origins. Their ancient tongue, Euskera, is equally mysterious: It is the oldest living European language, and is related to no other language on Earth.

Yet despite their obscure origins and small numbers (2.4 million people today), the Basques have had a profound impact on Europe and the world for more than 2,000 years. Never seeking more land, they have nonetheless fiercely defended their own against invaders ranging from the Celts and Visigoths to Napoleon and Franco. They have always been a paradoxical blend of inbred tradition and worldly ambition, preserving their indigenous legal code, cuisine, literature--even their own hat and shoe--while at the same time striving immodestly to be leaders in the world. They were pioneers of commercial whaling and cod fishing, were among the first Europeans in the Americas, Africa, and Asia during the age of exploration, and were prosperous capitalists when capitalism was a new idea, later leading the Industrial Revolution in southern Europe. Their influence has been felt in every realm, from religion (the charismatic Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuits in 1534) to sports and commerce. Today, even while clinging to their ancient tribal identity, they are ready for a borderless world: The unique Basque concept of nationhood has never been more relevant, at a time when Basques are enjoying what may be the most important cultural renaissance in their long existence.

Mark Kurlansky's passion for the Basque people- their heroes and commoners alike-and his exuberant eye for detail shine throughout The Basque History of the World. Like his celebrated book Cod, it blends human stories with economic, political, literary, and culinary history into a rich and heroic tale.

Illinois

A Portrait of American Food from the Lost WPA Files

From the New York Times bestselling author who 'powerfully demonstrates the defining role food plays in history and culture' (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

In the throes of the Great Depression, a make-work initiative for authors-called 'America Eats'-was created by the WPA to chronicle the eating habits, traditions, and struggles of local Americans. Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt and Cod, unearths this forgotten literary treasure, chronicling a bygone era when Americans had never heard of fast food or grocery superstores. Kurlansky brings together the WPA contributions-featuring New York automats and Georgia Coca-Cola parties, Maine lobsters and Montana beaver tails-and brilliantly showcases them with authentic recipes, anecdotes, and photographs.

Maine

A KID'S GUIDE TO THE OCEAN

"Can you imagine a world without fish? It's not as crazy as it sounds. But if we keep doing things the way we've been doing things, fish could become extinct within fifty years. So let's change the way we do things!"

World Without Fish is the uniquely illustrated narrative nonfiction account--for kids--of what is happening to the world's oceans and what they can do about it. Written by Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod, Salt, The Big Oyster, and many other books, World Without Fish has been praised as "urgent" (Publishers Weekly) and "a wonderfully fast-paced and engaging primer on the key questions surrounding fish and the sea" (Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish). It has also been included in the New York State Expeditionary Learning English Language Arts Curriculum.

Written by a master storyteller, World Without Fish connects all the dots--biology, economics, evolution, politics, climate, history, culture, food, and nutrition--in a way that kids can really understand. It describes how the fish we most commonly eat, including tuna, salmon, cod, swordfish--even anchovies-- could disappear within fifty years, and the domino effect it would have: the oceans teeming with jellyfish and turning pinkish orange from algal blooms, the seabirds disappearing, then reptiles, then mammals. It describes the back-and-forth dynamic of fishermen, who are the original environmentalists, and scientists, who not that long ago considered fish an endless resource. It explains why fish farming is not the answer--and why sustainable fishing is, and how to help return the oceans to their natural ecological balance.

Interwoven with the book is a twelve-page graphic novel. Each beautifully illustrated chapter opener links to the next to form a larger fictional story that perfectly complements the text.

For nerds who like to know EVERYTHING. The History of Salt!

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The Basque History of the World

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1968

Mark Kurlansky

The Basque History of the World

Mark Kurlansky

Paper - signed by author

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Edible Stories

Mark Kurlansky

Bugs in Danger

Mark Kurlansky

World Without Fish

Mark Kurlansky

The Big Oyster

Mark Kurlansky

Frozen in Time

Mark Kurlansky

The Food of a Younger Land

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World Without Fish

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Milk!

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James Beard award winner * Cod

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The Big Oyster

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