225 Quotes by Mark Kurlansky

Gen. de Gaulle is only concerned about history, and no jury can dictate the judgment of history." Georges Pompidou

Nature remains focused on survival.

Nature may have even less patience than politicians.

Nature, the ultimate pragmatist, doggedly searches for something that works. But as the cockroach demonstrates, what works best in nature does not always appeal to us.

There is a big difference between living in a society that hunts whales and living in one that views them. Nature is being reduced to precious demonstrations for entertainment and education, something far less natural than hunting. Are we headed for a world where nothing is left of nature but parks?

Man wants to see nature and evolution as separate from human activities. There is the natural world, and there is man. But man also belongs to the natural world.

When the Basque whalers applied to cod the salting techniques they were using on whale, they discovered a particularly good marriage because the cod is virtually without fat, and so if salted and dried well, would rarely spoil. It would outlast whale, which is red meat, and it would outlast herring, a fatty fish that became a popular salted item of the northern countries in the Middle Ages.

The medieval church imposed fast days on which sexual intercourse and the eating of flesh were forbidden, but eating "cold" foods was permitted. because fish came from water, it was deemed cold, as were waterfowl and whale, but meat was considered hot food.

Cod became almost a religious icon - a mythological crusader for Christian observance.