Synopsis
Scots like to smoke or salt them. The Dutch love them raw. Swedes look on with relish as they open bulging, foul-smelling cans to find them curdling within. Jamaicans prefer them with a dash of chili pepper. Germans and the English enjoy their taste best when accompanied by pickle's bite and brine.
The herring has done much to shape both human taste and history. Men cooperated and came into conflict over its shoals, setting out on boats to catch them and straying to bring full nets to shore. Women gutted and salted the catch during the annual harvest and knitted the garments fishermen wore to protect them from the ocean's chill.
Following a journey from the western edge of Norway to the east of England, from Shetland and the Outer Hebrides to the fishing ports of the Baltic coast of Germany and the Netherlands, Donald S. Murray has stitched together tales of the fish that was of central importance to the lives of many Europeans, noting how both it--and those involved in its capture--were celebrated in the art, literature, craft, music, and folklore of northern Europe.
Blending together politics, science, history, religion, and commercial life, Murray contemplates, too, the possibility of restoring the silver darlings of legend to their long-ago shores.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Donald S. Murray comes from Ness at the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis and now lives in Shetland. Donald is an award-winning writer, playwright and poet. His last Bloomsbury book, Herring Tales, was one of The Guardian's nature books of the year in 2015, as was his previous book,The Guga Stone, in 2013.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Herring Tales: How the Silver Darlings Shaped Human Taste and History
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Bloomsbury Natural History, 2015
ISBN 10: 1472912160
ISBN 13: 9781472912169
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Herring Tales: How the silver darlings shaped human taste and history
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ISBN 10: 1472912160
ISBN 13: 9781472912169
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ISBN 10: 1472912160
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Herring Tales : How the Silver Darlings Shaped Human Taste and History
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Herring Tales : How the Silver Darlings Shaped Human Taste and History
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ISBN 10: 1472912160
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Herring Tales
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ISBN 10: 1472912160
ISBN 13: 9781472912169
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Herring Tales: How the Silver Darlings Shaped Human Taste and History
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ISBN 10: 1472912160
ISBN 13: 9781472912169
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Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. A lighthearted and informative narrative about the history of herring and our love affair with the silver darlings. Scots like to smoke or salt them. The Dutch love them raw. Swedes look on with relish as they open bulging, foul-smelling cans to find them curdling within. Jamaicans prefer them with a dash of chilli pepper. Germans and the English enjoy their taste best when accompanied by pickle's bite and brine. Throughout the long centuries men have fished around their coastlines and beyond, the herring has done much to shape both human taste and history. Men have co-operated and come into conflict over its shoals, setting out in boats to catch them, straying, too, from their home ports to bring full nets to shore. Women have also often been at the centre of the industry, gutting and salting the catch when the annual harvest had taken place, knitting, too, the garments fishermen wore to protect them from the ocean's chill. Following a journey from the western edge of Norway to the east of England, from Shetland and the Outer Hebrides to the fishing ports of the Baltic coast of Germany and the Netherlands, culminating in a visit to Iceland's Herring Era Museum, Donald S. Murray has stitched together tales of the fish that was of central importance to the lives of our ancestors, noting how both it - and those involved in their capture - were celebrated in the art, literature, craft, music and folklore of life in northern Europe. Blending together politics, science, history, religious and commercial life, Donald contemplates, too, the possibility of restoring the silver darlings of legend to these shores. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR007201183
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