Description:
This is a book about shrimp. It’s about people who love to eat shrimp, fishermen who roam the seas catching them, and aquaculturists who raise them in ponds, selling them more cheaply than fishermen ever could. This book is about shrimp, but it’s also about the past and future and about a conflict as old as humanity itself—the conflict between hunter-gatherers and farmers. This book is about shrimp, but it is also about the vastness and diversity of nature and humanity. You will meet shrimp powerful enough to break aquarium glass. You will travel in time, from abandoned Mayan tombs to the California Gold Rush; in space, from the heart of Cajun country to the English Channel; in environments, from battered trawlers to university laboratories. You will learn things you never imagined— about microbiology and real estate, and about economics and ecosystems. As you meet the people around the world who’ve caught, sold, cooked, and loved shrimp, you might just meet your own ancestors.
- Four thousand amazing species
From the tiger prawn to the rock shrimp to your table - The gold rush...and the shrimp rush?
The amazing history of shrimping in America - In the tank: shrimp courtship rituals
Uncovering the secrets of shrimp sex - Shrimp wars
Shrimpers, turtles, environmentalists, and real estate speculators
Reviews:
“Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold is a deep and expert look not only at an important human food source, but also of the fragile complexity of the ecosystem in which it is created.”
--Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino Research Professor, emeritus, Harvard University and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize
“Jack and Anne Rudloe aren’t just Florida literary treasures, they are national treasures. Their most recent work, Shrimp, is among their best–and that is very good, indeed!”
--Randy Wayne White, author of the Doc Ford series
“Rich in stories of seamen and the sea, Shrimp tells a fascinating story not only of the little creature itself, but of all the trials and tribulations the intrepid shrimper goes through to harvest it up. As scientists and marine biologists, the Rudloes know whereof they speak, and as writers, they have the talent and grace to make it interesting.”
--From the Foreword by Winston Groom, author, Forrest Gump
“Most humans are said to be composed 90% of water, but for those of us who grew up on the Gulf of Mexico, I think that other 10% must be shrimp. The Rudloes leave the Living Dock behind for a voyage to the land of Pink Crustaceans, and I for one am happy to be aboard for that voyage.”
--Jimmy Buffett