The Life of a Lobster

Inside the curious lives of one of the ocean’s most intriguing creatures

Mark Kurlansky is synonymous with narratives about fascinating sea creatures. Now he turns his lens on the lobster – a strange, alien-looking crustacean that swims backwards and can live for well over a hundred years. Yet this unlikely being possesses remarkable cultural cachet. A stalwart of international cuisine – from Paris to Boston to Beijing – it remains a hallmark of luxury. From the still lifes of the Dutch Masters to the Surrealists' lobster-mania, lobsters are a fixture on the art circuit. And with their remarkably long lives and navigational abilities, they continue to confound scientists.

Mark Kurlansky examines the cultural and culinary imprint of this brilliant shellfish from Apicius to the present day. Woven through fifteen historical recipes, The Life of a Lobster offers a gourmand’s claw-to-tail tour of the lobster.