Life of a Lobster : The Beauty of an Ugly Creature

From the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Cod and Salt, a new global history of the mysterious, misunderstood, globally beloved crustacean.

When Mark Kurlansky was 17, he got his first job as a commercial fisherman in the Atlantic on a 45-foot, wooden-hulled, two-man lobster boat, thus igniting a lifelong fascination and kinship with the mysterious creature. Since that defining experience, the lobster's role in cuisine and culture have changed dramatically, as it has throughout history: Once thought of as peasant food ("Lobster again?" some 18th century New Englanders are reported to have griped), the humble crustacean, a cornerstone of coastal cuisine and economies, is now considered a delicacy, an animal rights cause celebre, and a scientific marvel.

In The Life of a Lobster, Kurlansky examines the lobster and its scientific, cultural, historical, and culinary identities throughout history and around the world, including fifteen historic recipes that bring to life eras and cultures devoted to cooking the crustacean.