The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy
by Sasha Issenberg
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sasha IssenbergEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-05-03
ISBN: 1592402941
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Gotham
Book Reviews of The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy
Book Review: Follow sushi around the world
Summary: 3 Stars
MY RATING SYSTEM:
* - if you have to chose between torture and reading this book, then you might want to consider reading the book - although it depends on just how severe the torture would be.
** - if you've lost your job and have quite a bit of free time on your hands, and don't have anything else better to do, then you might want to consider reading this book; don't expect to learn much or really be entertained. It will however, help you pass the time until your death.
*** - meh...I'm indifferent. Reading this book will not alter your life in any significant way, yet it is not so horrendously dreadful that your taking the time to read it will be a complete waste of time.
**** - Good book to great book zone here. You should probably read this book if you have some spare time. This book could be interesting, entertaining, or informative.
***** - Outstanding book! Make time to read this book - you'll learn or be entertained or intrigued. The book might even be good enough to provide original or helpful insights into the world that we live in.
REVIEW:
The Sushi Economy provides readers with a broad, yet at times seemingly disparate account of the evolution and current state of the sushi industry, with a particular emphasis on the journey through time and space of the bluefin tuna.
Issenberg's focus throughout the book is on the dynamic nature of the sushi industry, and the role of global economic markets in facilitating the increase in popularity of the cuisine. The author takes the story from the first attempts to ship bluefin from Atlantic Canada to the Japanese fish market, and brings it back to the time when tuna - especially the fatty cuts of meat from the belly area, now known as toro - was far from a desirable food, instead serving as food for cats. From this point in time, the story progresses over the first few chapters through the development of the leading Japanese fish market, techniques for evaluating and valuing bluefin tuna at the markets, to the process of the auctions that facilitate the sale of the fish.
Issenberg provides much detail into the lives of the individuals that he profiles as he tells the stories of the key wholesalers, the buyers, and the other key players in the global tuna trade. At time his descriptions can seem a bit excessive, but they do add much 'colour' if that is what one is looking for in the book. After taking the reader through the evolution of the Japanese fish market and tuna trade, through the remaining chapters of the book, Issenberg covers a number of different stories that demonstrate the global impact sushi - from covering the evolution of sushi in the United States in California, to profiling the rise of celebrity sushi chefs such as Nobu Matsuhisa, to following the investigations of a Spaniard dedicated to tracking the illegal trade in tuna.
The book's 'global market' theme permeates throughout, and Issenberg clearly communicates to the sushi aficionado the dependency of the delicacy on globalisation. Issenberg paints the sushi consumer as the ultimate beneficiary of a globalized economy that facilitates the complex logistics required in order to transport a bluefin across the world and back, through numerous hands - often handling the fish with the inherited knowledge of past generations - and finally to the tastebuds of the customer.
In summary, while I found the book interesting and enjoyed the discussions of the fish markets, how sushi developed and how a fish is caught, transported, valued, bought and sold, and converted into a bite-size morsel - I felt that some of the later chapters of the book that included profiles of apparently prominent individuals in the global sushi economy tended to drag a bit, and generally did not offer the same value to me as a reader as those earlier chapters in the book.
Summary of The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy
From the sea to your plate, the first international tour of sushi's journey in the global marketplaceOne generation ago, sushi's narrow reach ensured that sports fishermen who caught tuna in most of the world sold the meat for pennies as cat food. Today, the fatty cuts of tuna known as toro are among the planet's most coveted luxury foods, worth hundreds of dollars a pound and capable of losing value more quickly than any other product on earth. So how has one of the world's most popular foods gone from being practically unknown in the U.S. to being served in towns all across America, and in such a short span of time? Sushi aficionados and newcomers alike will be surprised to learn the true history, intricate business, and international allure behind this fascinating food.
A riveting combination of culinary biography, behind-the-scenes restaurant detail, and a unique exploration of globalization's dynamics, journalist Sasha Issenberg traces sushi's journey from Japanese street snack to global delicacy. THE SUSHI ECONOMY takes you through the stalls of Tokyo's massive Tsukiji market, where the auctioneers sell millions of dollars of fish each day, and to the birthplace of modern sushi--in Canada. He then follows sushi's evolution in America, exploring how it became LA's favorite food. You're taken behind the sushi bar with the chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose distinctive travels helped to define the flavors of global sushi cuisine, and with a unique sushi chef blazing a path in Texas. Issenberg also delves into the complex economics of the fish trade, following the ups and downs of the hunt for bluefin off New England, the tuna cowboys on the southern coast of Australia who invented the art of tuna ranching, and uncovering the mysterious underworld of pirates, smugglers, and the tuna black market.
Few businesses reveal the complex dynamics of globalization as acutely as the tuna's journey from the sea to the sushi bar. After traversing the pages of THE SUSHI ECONOMY, you'll never see the food on your plate - or the world around you - quite the same way again.
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