November 2                          

Culture and Cuisine
5:30 p.m. Reception, 6:00 p.m. Talk
Dilworth Room

Sasha Issenberg 

One 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. In The Sushi Economy, Sasha Issenberg follows the fish through markets, cargo terminals and restaurants as he traces sushi's path from Japanese street snack to global delicacy - and the changes in the global economy that have made it possible.

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly described The Sushi Economy as "a cultural, historical and economic journey through the raw-fish trade that reads less like economics and more like an entertaining culinary travelogue...his smart, lively voice makes the most arcane information fascinating."  Kirkus Reviews celebrated The Sushi Economy as "superior literary journalism" and its author as "a worthy successor to John McPhee."

Sasha Issenberg is a national political reporter in the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe.  He has been a staff writer at Philadelphia and a contributing editor at George.  His work has also appeared in Slate, Portfolio, Conde Nast Traveler, Inc. and The Washington Monthly.