Book Review

I have been a huge fan of Mark Kurlansky’s work and truly believe he is one of the literary geniuses of our time. I fired through a raggedy copy of Cod within days, the historical account on how that fishery built Europe and North America. Then I moved onto Salt, also a great novel. Finally I devoured Big Oyster, and enjoyed every page. His ability to focus on a historical subject and deep-dive into the nuances, while keeping me turning the pages, is rare and very appreciated.

Where I Met Mark Kurlansky

I was working as a fishing guide in Cordova, Alaska several year and Mark visited our humble lodge. The purpose of visiting our tiny fishing hamlet on Prince William Sound was to gain a better perspective on the past, present and future of North Pacific Salmon stocks for his new book, Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate. He fished with us, shadowed Copper River commercial gillnet harvesters, and met with local Eyak tribal leaders. I can say that this guy does his homework.

Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate is an intriguing book that covers the history of our North American Salmon stocks, the unfortunate destruction of the fishery for human gain, and the hope for the future. I bought it as soon as I saw it was available and couldn’t put it down! A must read for anyone that loves fishing anywhere on the Pacific Coast or beyond for Salmon.