Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Continent of Islands | 1992 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 2 | A Chosen Few | 1994 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 3 | Cod | 1997 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 4 | The Last Fish Tale | 1998 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 5 | The Basque History of the World | 1999 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 6 | Choice Cuts | 2002 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 7 | Salt | 2002 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 8 | 1968 | 2003 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 9 | Nonviolence | 2006 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 10 | The Eastern Stars | 2010 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 11 | What? Are These the 20 Most Important Questions in Human History or Is This a Game of 20 Questions? | 2011 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 12 | Birdseye | 2012 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 13 | Ready for a Brand New Beat | 2013 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 14 | International Night | 2014 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 15 | Frozen in Time | 2014 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 16 | Paper | 2016 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 17 | Havana | 2017 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 18 | Milk! | 2018 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 19 | Bugs In Danger | 2019 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 20 | Salmon | 2020 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 21 | The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing | 2021 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 22 | The Importance of Not Being Ernest | 2022 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 23 | Big Lies: From Socrates to Social Media | 2022 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 24 | The Core of an Onion | 2023 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
| 25 | The Boston Way | 2025 | Mark Kurlansky | Buy |
Mark Kurlansky’s non-fiction output is one of the most varied in contemporary narrative history. Starting with A Continent of Islands (1992), about the Caribbean, he has published more than two dozen non-fiction titles covering food, history, culture, and science. His method typically takes a single subject and traces its impact across centuries.
His best-known works include Cod (1997), Salt (2002), 1968 (2003), and Paper (2016). He has also written about Havana, milk, salmon, fly fishing, frozen food pioneer Clarence Birdseye, and the history of lying. His more recent titles include The Core of an Onion (2023) and The Boston Way (2025). His books regularly appear on bestseller lists and have been translated into dozens of languages.