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The Book of Eels
- Author
- Tom Fort
- Narrator
- Richard Derrington
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 23 July 2020
- Run Time
- 11 hours 37 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
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What to expect
What has been the dish of kings, the subject of myths and the traveller of epic and mysterious journeys? The eel.
Beginning life in the Sargasso Sea, the eel travels across the ocean, lives for twenty or so years, and then is driven by some instinct back across the ocean to spawn and die. And the next generation starts the story again. No one knows why the eels return, or how the orphaned elvers learn their way back. One man discovered, after many adventures, the breeding ground of all eels – and he is the hero of this book.
Eels were being caught and consumed 5000 years before the birth of Christ – Aristotle and Pliny wrote about them; Romans regarded them as a peerless delicacy; Egyptians accorded them semi-sacred status; English kings died of overeating them. There are many strange practices among eel fishers all over the world, and many great fortunes based upon the eel harvest.
The Book of Eels, a combination of social comment, biography and natural history, is also a fascinating and witty account of Tom Fort’s obsession with the eel, his journeying to discover the eel in all its habitats, and the people he meets in his pursuit.
Critics Review
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Praise for The Grass is Greener:
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‘Cultural history at its best.’ Country Life
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‘This book is absolutely hilarious. Brilliantly written, a minor classic. A gem.’ The Field
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Details
- Author
- Tom Fort
- Narrator
- Richard Derrington
- Duration
- 11 hours 37 minutes
- Release Date
- 23 July 2020
- ISBN
- 9780008438906
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Popular science, Freshwater life: general interest, Zoology: fishes (ichthyology), Sea life and the seashore: general interest, Fishing, angling, Fisheries and related industries, Aquaculture and fish-farming, Fishes as pets and aquaria, Maritime history, Marine biology
Synopsis
What has been the dish of kings, the subject of myths and the traveller of epic and mysterious journeys? The eel. Beginning life in the Sargasso Sea, the eel travels across the ocean, lives for twenty or so years, and then is driven by some instinct back across the ocean to spawn and die. And the next generation starts the story again. No one knows why the eels return, or how the orphaned elvers learn their way back. One man discovered, after many adventures, the breeding ground of all eels – and he is the hero of this book. Eels were being caught and consumed 5000 years before the birth of Christ – Aristotle and Pliny wrote about them; Romans regarded them as a peerless delicacy; Egyptians accorded them semi-sacred status; English kings died of overeating them. There are many strange practices among eel fishers all over the world, and many great fortunes based upon the eel harvest. The Book of Eels, a combination of social comment, biography and natural history, is also a fascinating and witty account of Tom Fort’s obsession with the eel, his journeying to discover the eel in all its habitats, and the people he meets in his pursuit.
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