Mark Kurlansky (December 7, 1948) is an American journalist and author who has written a number of books of fiction and nonfiction. His 1997 book,Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997), was an international bestseller and was translated into more than fifteen languages. His bookNonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (2006) was the nonfiction winner of the 2007Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
Kurlansky was born inHartford, Connecticut on December 7, 1948.[1] He attendedButler University, where he earned a BA in 1970.[1] He started his career as a playwright. He was a theatre major at college and wrote seven or eight plays, a few of which were produced. He later said that he became "frustrated with theatre, which is to say I became frustrated with Broadway".[2]
Kurlansky wrote his first book,A Continent of Islands, in 1992, and went on to write several more throughout the 1990s. His third work of nonfiction,Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, won the 1998 James Beard Award.[5] It became an international bestseller and was translated into more than 15 languages. His 2002 book,Salt, was aNew York Times bestseller.[6] Kurlansky's work and contribution toBasque identity and culture was recognized in 2001 when the Society of Basque Studies in America named him to the Basque Hall of Fame.[1] That same year, he was awarded an honorary ambassadorship from the Basque government.[1]
As a teenager, Kurlansky calledÉmile Zola his "hero", and in 2009, he translated one of Zola's novels,The Belly of Paris, whose theme is the food markets of Paris.[7]
Kurlansky's 2009 book,The Food of a Younger Land, with the subtitle "A portrait of American food – before the national highway system, before chain restaurants, and before frozen food, when the nation's food was seasonal, regional, and traditional – from the lostWPA files", details Americanfoodways in the early 20th century.
The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris (2010),ISBN1-59448-750-2
World Without Fish (2011), this work was chosen by many school districts to be used in their curriculum as part of EL education, includingWake County Public School System.
What?: Are These the 20 Most Important Questions in Human History—Or Is This a Game of 20 Questions? (2011),ISBN978-0-8027-7906-9
Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn't Want to Be One (2011),ISBN978-0300136609
