Lobster:A Global History

Researcher and historian Elizabeth Townsend takes us in "Lobster: A Global History" (published under the food history series by the Kalima Translation Project at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre) on a captivating maritime and cultural journey probing one of the most controversial and curious marine creatures in human food history. The book narrates the wondrous story of changing fortunes surrounding this fascinating crustacean, starting from its terrifying abundance on North American coasts in early settler times to the extent of feeding it to servants and prisoners as a cheap, despised meal, up to its transformation through railway networks and luxury restaurants into a lavish symbol of culinary prestige. Through a dramatic and accessible style blending economic anthropology with food history, the author illustrates how social changes and modern marketing contributed to completely rewriting this marine creature's identity.

Because it reveals the astonishing historical paradox of an animal that transformed from a food punishment for the poor into the most precious meal in elite restaurants, simplifying the secrets of market shifts and social classification.

For food history and seafood culinary enthusiasts, cultural and economic anthropology researchers, and anyone passionate about discovering the inverted and unusual stories behind our favorite dishes.