Fish on Friday

Feb 20, 2006
Hardcover
US $26.95
CAN $36.95
UK £17.99
ISBN: 9780465022847
ISBN-10: 0465022847
Published by Basic Books

Description

What gave Christopher Columbus the confidence in 1492 to set out across the Atlantic Ocean? What persuaded the king and queen of Spain to commission the voyage? It would be convenient to believe that Columbus and his men were uniquely courageous. A more reasonable explanation, however, is that Columbus was heir to a body of knowledge about seas and ships acquired at great cost over many centuries. Fish on Friday tells a new story of the discovery of America. In Brian Fagan's view, that discovery is the product of the long sweep of history: the spread of Christianity and the radical cultural changes it brought to Europe, the interaction of economic necessity with a changing climate, and generations of unknown fishermen who explored the North Atlantic in the centuries before Columbus. The Church's tradition of not eating meats on holy days created a vast market for fish that could not be fully satisfied by fish farms, better boats, or new preservation techniques. Then, when climate change in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries diminished fish stocks off Norway and Iceland, fishermen were forced to range ever farther to the west-eventually discovering incredibly rich shoals within sight of the Nova Scotia coast. In Ireland in 1490, Columbus could well have heard about this unknown land. The rest is history.

Reviews

“A fast-paced, edge-of-the-seat tale . . . Fagan’s rich prose creates a lively social history that will captivate readers of Mark Kurlansky and Jared Diamond.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“In this latest and most delightful of his books, Brian Fagan weaves a detective story of Friday fish-eating, climate change, and ship design to guess who beat Columbus to the New World.”
— Jared Diamond, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse

"FISH ON FRIDAY delves deeply into the essential and long-neglected role of fish and fishermen in the European discovery and settlement of North America. Fagan reveals their role not just in the reconnaissance of the continent, but in the development of the technologies that made it possible to travel and trade across a cold and unforgiving ocean."
— Colin Woodard, author of The Lobster Coast and Ocean’s End

“In this enthralling history of one of our basic foods, Brian Fagan displays an expert's knowledge of subjects ranging from archaeology to sailing ships to early Christian ritual and dietary law. FISH ON FRIDAY gives a new perspective on mankind's ancient relationship to the sea and a lasting appreciation of how fish was caught, preserved, distributed, cooked and eaten when we were less devouring of Nature.”
— Anne Willan, founder of Ecole de Cuisine la Varenne, author of La Varenne Pratique and The Good Cook

“FISH ON FRIDAY gives us a new perspective on the history North Atlantic fishing and the pivotal role of the early commercial fisheries in the discovery and settlement of North America. This is a fresh presentation of cutting edge research on fish and fishing.”
— Thomas H. McGovern, Professor of Anthropology, Hunter College

“What a wonderful book! Full of fascinating, obscure facts that I never even knew I didn't know, beautifully and convincingly written, and as well-plotted as a good novel. I loved it and learned from it. (And I don't even like fish.)”
— Aaron Elkins, Edgar-winning author of Where There's a Will

"This is a delightful book. The author's intelligence, erudition, and sheer enthusiasm for his subject shine through on every page. The blend of scholarly narrative and medieval recipes is peculiarly compelling."
— William Chester Jordan, Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Princeton University, author of Europe in the High Middle Ages

Selling Territory