I really enjoyed Salmon by Mark Kurlansky, having read his book Cod, and really enjoying that too. It's not just an education on the different species of salmon, their fascinating fresh-saltwater lifecycles (though not always), but also of the history around salmon, from the Indigenous peoples around the world that have hunted them (especially the Ainu in Hokkaido, Japan, and the Native Americans), to the colonialists who came along and, to put it bluntly, messed it all up and overfished them - some species having very precarious positions now indeed.

You can see a lot of Kurlansky's respect for the salmon in this book. It's clear that while he generally avoids anthropomorphising, he - like many others - finds their journey to spawn heroic and admirable. Their ability to adapt in almost any circumstance (except, sadly, overfishing) incredible.

I learned a lot of things I wasn't previously aware of in this book, especially relating to the fact that fish farming creates massive issues with sea lice, and the further issues they cause with nearby wild salmon. Fish farm diseases hurting wild salmon is an issue I wasn't aware of, and am glad to be more informed on. Likewise, I wasn't aware of organised crime in Russia focusing on huge salmon poaching rings, and how much of a money-maker that can be.

Two quibbles with this book, though they're pretty minor. The recipes didn't really seem like useful recipes people could use, so much as historical or contextual recipes, which isn't a bad thing by any means, but actually came to feel a little jarring after a while. Likewise, while the book is called 'Salmon' - it could easily be called 'the North American Story of Salmon' quite comfortably. With only two or three forays into UK, Norwegian and Japanese salmon fishing, the focus is almost wholly on the relationship that North Americans and Native Americans have with salmon, and the other mentions feel less centralised. This book is going to assume you understand a bit about North American geography and history, things that are not taught in many schools all around the world. So it's definitely a book suffering a wee bit from some cultural imperialism.

I did like that Kurlansky spent a lot of time debunking the myth that Native Americans didn't overfish because their populations were sparse, they didn't overfish because they educated themselves and each other about overfishing and how to avoid it. Likewise, a lot of attention is given to how much colonialists have really just made everything not much fun for everyone, from the massacres and seizing of unceded land from Native Americans, to the first canneries that exploited Chinese immigrants horrendously, to the mostly unsuccessful or problematic hatcheries and disease-breeding fish farms, to the rich (mostly white, male) practice of fly fishing, proof that you can toy with an animal that you don't intend to use for food, and certainly don't need for food.

In many ways this book is a damning essay on how colonialism simply makes creatures go extinct en masse, and certainly comes close to destroying the ones that haven't disappeared yet.

I think this book would be very much enjoyed by anyone interested in salmon in general, or anyone who - like me - has an interest in wild creatures, environmentalism, colonialisation, and history. It has a broad reach! Anyone looking for recipes would probably be better off looking elsewhere though! ( )

Salmon
A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate
by Mark Kurlansky

This book is so thoroughly researched! This is the bible of salmon! It has everything! Their biology, history of where they have been and when, who fished them, the ecology around them, life cycles, and things I would never have thought to research! Anything that effects the salmon is in here! What do they eat? Who eats them? Where do they go? Wild vs raised?
Oh, and recipes! Oh my! Not just for salmon. Beer bread anyone?
Climate change and other issues that are effecting them and how. All of this and so much more. I was very impressed with this book. If you are an animal lover, fish lover, or just interested in nature then this is for you. It's not written in scientific jargon either. Just every day language so we can all come together and help these beautiful fish!
I received this book from NetGalley and the review is my own opinion. ( )