The Salt Roads: How Fish Made a Culture

The salt fish industry powered the economy of Shetland for more than two hundred years, and herring and cod from here was a staple food throughout Europe.

This book tells the extraordinary story of Shetland's most enduring export. It ranges from the wild waters of the North Atlantic and the remote ice filled fjords of west Greenland to the Basque country, from the fishing grounds of Iceland to the Jewish shtetls of Poland and from the mountains of Faroe to the flat coastline of the Netherlands.

In addition to the economy, fishing has permeated the culture of Europe and has inspired artists, musicians, film makers and writers. Their work is effortlessly woven into the book, presenting the salt fish trade through a different lens. As well as following the historical thread and exploring how very different cultures were drawn together by the salt fish trade, John Goodlad meets those whose lives revolve around the industry in the twenty-first century and addresses today's pressing themes of sustainability, climate change and food choices.