Lobster: A Global History (Edible)

I love this little series of condensed food books. It is a good, surprisingly comprehensive volume of information on lobsters. It touches on the science, history, and the place of the lobster in pop culture. Perfect for me as I've never adapted to e-readers or kindles so it's a slim and stout volume that is perfect for slipping in a bag and reading while waiting or on the metro. The short chapters make it easy to put down and pick back up.

This book and another on the Lobster (by Richard King) came out at about the same time. King's book was better. There is enough of a difference between the two books that they are both worth having -- if you like lobsters -- but I wish this had gone more into ancient history.

It is a pleasure to read Lobster: A Global History, by Elisabeth Townsend. While most writing about lobster simply praises it as a delicacy, this book goes far beyond, presenting a layered and complex picture of the crustacean. The book is broad in scope, but manageable and easy to read - lots of information in a well-written package.I found the historical focus and social history in the book most interesting. Townsend's Impressive research has turned up a multitude of facts, stories and amusing tidbits. Before Lobster: A Global History, I didn't know much about lobster besides great taste and controversies on overfishing and humane treatment. Ms. Townsend's book covers these, but goes far beyond. Townsend presents innovations in trapping, transportation, preservation and cooking, and their impact on the appeal and popularity of lobsters. I even learned how war had an impact on the availability of lobster meat. All these interesting stories are interspersed with delicious lobster dishes - even the lobster roll!The book has a light-hearted spirit - not just informative, but amusing. Townsend gives a personality to the lobster: She periodically features Fiona, a unique spotted orange and yellow lobster caught in 2009, giving the lobster a personality as well as a history. And the illustrations are great, from French lobster fishermen to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.Thanks to this book, I can regale fellow diners with stories of times when huge lobsters were available to anyone who waded out to get them; when lobster was a mundane and sometimes scorned dish; when sauces were used to camouflage the lobster's taste rather than enhance it. I predict that it will enrich reading, preparation and dining for cooks, locavores and foodies of all kinds.

"Now the various species of whales need some sort of popular comprehensive classification," Herman Melville wrote in "Cetology", Chapter 32 of Moby Dick. Melville wanted his readers to appreciate the wonder and diversity of these marine mammals---from sperm whale to right whale, from fin-back to razor-back. His intent was to inspire awe and respect. "But it is a ponderous task, no ordinary letter-sorter in the Post-office is equal to it," Melville writes. You must "grope down into the bottom of the sea after them."No Great Whites are evident in Elisabeth Townsend's Lobster: A Global History, though she does introduce Fiona, "a rare polka-dotted lobster...found near Rockport, Maine in 2004." Also cited are incidents of 45-pound, large-clawed monsters captured in the 1930`s off the Atlantic coast. (None are reported to have sunk ships.) Townsend's entertaining book is filled with facts, history, anecdote, and lively lobster lore. Great recipes are included, but this is not simply a "food book." It falls squarely and successfully in the newly-emerging "Cultural history - foodways" category. The reader becomes a lobster expert, learning about these fascinating creatures in all their numerous incantations. Also communicated is a clear sense of how politics, economics, geography, and ecology intersect at the dinner table.Melville was pessimistic concerning his whale classification project. He saw it as overwhelming, a never-ending task. Lobsters, like whales, are complicated and mysterious creatures. (This is the nature of Nature and probably Melville's point.) However, Townsend has gone down deep groping after these curious crustaceans. And, she brings them back alive.

Elisabeth Townsend's definitive book on the global history of lobsters calls to mind the question, "who was the first human to dare to eat this large insect-like phenomenon?!" She comes close to answering this, tracing the history of consumption of all types of lobsters throughout the world. Don't be surprised when you learn that evidence of lobsters - their shells - goes back as far as 250 million years!The book is replete with fascinating anecdotes and factoids. Who wouldn't be amazed at Diamond Jim Brady's appetite for lobsters? Townsend's description of his eating habits brings alive the excesses of our very own American Gilded Age. You also meet the lobstermen "down Maine" who remind us what a precious resource these crustaceans are. And you learn why some lobsters are clawed and others are not.The author has included a awesome range of fabulous illustrations that emphasize the ubiquitous and timeless nature of these ancient creatures. Her excellent index reflects the long worldwide history of the lobster. There is no doubt you will enjoy the wonderful section on recipes for lobster; don't miss Lobster Tail Souffle in the Shell (from South Africa).Townsend is an author who cares deeply about the sustainability of flora and fauna, and she reminds us that the future of lobsters lies directly in our hands. Citing a variety of information, she provides us with tools that we can use to ensure these strange and succulent denizens of the deep remain with us. The first step is to read and savor this delightful publication.