Tuna: A Love Story

by Richard Ellis
Tuna: A Love Story
book data
32 ratings, 3.25 average rating, 12 reviews (more data...)
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published
July 15th 2008 by Knopf

details
Hardcover, 352 pages

isbn
0307267156    (isbn13: 9780307267153)

description
The author of The Book of Sharks, Imagining Atlantis, and Encyclopedia of the Sea turns his gaze to the tuna - one of the biggest, fastest, and most h…more


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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 82)

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Jsb
Nov 06, 2008
Jsb rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in November, 2008
For millions of years the oceans teemed with large, pelagic predatory fish. These species, most majestically the Bluefin Tuna, roamed the oceans at will - crossing the Atlantic in weeks.

Millions of years of evolution made the Bluefin Tuna the perfect fish. The Bluefin Tuna was warmblooded, could accelerate faster a Porsche, and (if it survived larvahood) live for decades.

Tragically, the king of the seas is no match for the sushi craze. Japanese, who never ate Bluefin...more
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Max Maxwell
Jan 31, 2009
Max Maxwell rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in March, 2009
recommended to Max by: SEED magazine
recommends it for: People who can turn anger into productivity
To most people, tuna isn't a fish, but rather a food item that comes in a can, disconnected from anything it might've been in life, to be mixed with celery and mayonnaise, or served on a plate with wasabi, without requirement of further contemplation. To Richard Ellis (and other biologists like him), though, the tuna is a masterpiece of evolution, the most perfectly adapted creature on earth, a wonder to behold. And it turns out that this wonder is in serious (immanent, even) danger of being wip...more
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Bhall3
Mar 21, 2009
Bhall3 rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in March, 2009
This is a very engaging book on the plight of the tuna. I had the opportunity to hear Mr Ellis speak the other day and he was adamant about not eating tuna at all any more..not that he doesn't love to eat it, but due to the dangerously high mercury content of the fish.
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Jim
Dec 20, 2009
Jim rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2009
I was shocked to learn how overfished the Bluefin tuna is, and the very real danger to the world's future fish supply. However, the book is full of mind-numbing statistics, which makes it a difficult book for me to appreciate.
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Ed Erwin
Dec 07, 2008
Ed Erwin rated it: 1 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2008
I think there is a very good story buried in here somewhere. But this was poorly organized and needed to be seriously edited down. He repeats himself a lot.
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Maral
Dec 22, 2008
Maral rated it: 1 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2008
You'd be better off reading a general fish biology book and a life history account of the various tuna species than reading this book.
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Avi
Jul 13, 2009
Avi rated it: 3 of 5 stars

everything you will ever need to know about tuna, if youre interested.
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Michael
Oct 25, 2009
Michael rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in October, 2009
So far, I love this book. I think Ells could use a better editor (too much repetition), but he has an irresistible argument. More Fish, Less Sushi.
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Emily
Sep 05, 2008
Emily marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read
@ Weber.
I heard an interview on NPR with the author. He was soooooo totally excited about tuna that he got me totally enthused too!

Did you know that in 40 degree water a tuna can raise it's own body temp to 80 degrees? That is remarkable! When I was little my mom always made me wear my coat. I don't know why, but wearing a coat when it was 20 degrees outside was SO super embarrassing. I guess tuna children don't have to have that same fight with their tuna mothers.
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Caroline
Aug 11, 2008
Caroline rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in August, 2008
Non-fiction but read like an engaging PBS special. Pretty disheartening to learn about how this blue fin tuna is almost extinct because of human's unwillingness to learn how to share and care for the world. When did the morals we learned in Preschool become obsolete?

If you have to eat sushi, learn about what you are eating and where it is coming from. Make informed decisions. Don't be a Goofus when it comes to the environment and the world. Be a Gallant!

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Christopher Intagliata
Oct 22, 2008
Christopher Intagliata rated it: 4 of 5 stars

another episode of the strange stories behind our food. Bluefin tuna farms, tokyo fish markets, tuna cowboys...it's all here. Did a segment with Ellis on Science Friday back in September.
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Renee
Oct 08, 2008
Renee marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read
Just heard a half hour interview with the author. This seems like a book for anyone who like the ocean, fish, sushi, etc. Can't wait to pick it up.
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Elisalluna Luna
Feb 19, 2010
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Terry
Feb 06, 2010
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Feb 06, 2010
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Jan 20, 2010
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Jennifer Lohn
Jan 03, 2010
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Dec 13, 2009
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Dec 10, 2009
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Marianne
Nov 30, 2009
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