"Henry David Thoreau wrote, 'Who hears the fishes when they cry?'
Maybe we need to go down to the river bank and try to listen."
In what he says is the most important piece of environmental writing in
his long and award-winning career, Mark Kurlansky, best-selling author
of Salt and Cod, The Big Oyster, 1968, and Milk, among many
others, employs his signature multi-century storytelling and compelling
attention to detail to chronicle the harrowing yet awe-inspiring life
cycle of salmon.
During his research Kurlansky traveled widely and observed salmon and
those who both pursue and protect them in the Pacific and the Atlantic,
in Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Japan, and even the robust but not as
frequently visited Kamchatka Peninsula. This world tour reveals an
eras-long history of man's misdirected attempts to manipulate salmon and
its environments for his own benefit and gain, whether for entertainment
or to harvest food.
In addition, Kurlansky's research shows that all over the world these
fish, uniquely connected to both marine and terrestrial ecology as well
as fresh and salt water, are a natural barometer for the health of the
planet. He documents that for centuries man's greatest assaults on
nature, from overfishing to dams, from hatcheries to fish farms, from
industrial pollution to the ravages of climate change, are evidenced in
the sensitive life cycle of salmon.
With stunning historical and contemporary photographs and illustrations
throughout, Kurlansky's insightful conclusion is that the only way to
save salmon is to save the planet and, at the same time, the only way to
save the planet is to save the mighty, heroic salmon.
