Kurlansky at a Barnes & Noble book signing, New York City, July 11, 2013
Born
December 7, 1948 Hartford, Connecticut
Occupation
journalist
Nationality
American
Genre
non-fiction
Mark Kurlansky (December 7, 1948) is an American journalist and writer of general interest non-fiction. He has written a number of books of fiction and non-fiction. His 1997 book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, (1997) was an international bestseller and was translated into more than 15 languages. His book Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (2006) was the non-fiction winner of the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
He wrote his first book, A Continent of Islands, in 1992 and went on to write several books throughout the 1990s. His 1997 book Cod was an international bestseller and was translated into more than 15 languages. His work and contribution to Basque identity and culture was recognized in 2001 when the Society of Basque Studies in America named him to the Basque Hall of Fame.[1] That same year he was awarded an honorary ambassadorship from the Basque government.[1]
Kurlansky as a teenager called Émile Zola his "hero", and in 2009 Kurlansky translated one of Zola's novels The Belly of Paris whose theme is the food markets of Paris.[3]
His 2009 book The Food of a Younger Land, details American foodways in the early 20th century, with the lengthy subtitle, "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."
Publications
Non-fiction
A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny (1992), Addison-Wesley Publishing. ISBN0-201-52396-5
A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry (1995), ISBN0-201-60898-7
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997), ISBN0-8027-1326-2
Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (2006), ISBN0-679-64335-4
The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America's Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town (2008), ISBN0-345-48727-3