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The Book of Eels

The Book of Eels

Paperback (23 Jul 2020)

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Publisher's 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.

About the Publisher

William Collins

A new imprint launched in February 2013 (formed from bringing together HarperPress and the Collins trade list), William Collins publishes high quality non-fiction encompassing history, biography, science, politics, natural history, reference, business, philosophy and religion. Named after the man who founded the original publishing company in 1819, William Collins draws on the values of integrity, authority and clarity which were so much part of his vision, with a stellar non-fiction list and a very strong heritage. A rich and varied list includes Max Hastings, Simon Schama, David Starkey, John Major, Sir David Attenborough, Sherard Cowper-Coles, Richard Holmes, Richard Davenport-Hines, Juliet Gardner, Paula Byrne and Professor Brian Cox.

Book information

ISBN: 9780007115938
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint: William Collins
Pub date:
DEWEY: 597.43
DEWEY edition: 21
Language: English
Number of pages: 348
Weight: 324g
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Spine width: 22mm