Birdseye was briefly a student at amherst college, dropping out some time around 1908 the exact date is uncertain due to financial difficulties. Unlike kurlanskys book on cod, here he focuses on the man behind the fillet. While working as a fur trapper in labrador, canada, clarence birdseye enc. The adventures of a curious man kurlansky, mark on. Clarence birdseye was the sixth of nine children of clarence frank birdseye, a lawyer in an insurance firm, and ada jane underwood. Clarence frank birdseye ii december 9, 1886 october 7, 1956 was an american inventor. After working as a government naturalist, birdseye went to labrador as a fur trader in 1912 and again in 1916. His parents were ada jane underwood and clarence frank birdseye i. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. In the early 1900s, during his travels through what is now northern canada, he saw the inuit use ice, wind, and temperature to instantly freeze justcaught fish. The adventures of a curious man, was published by doubleday.
Mark kurlansky recounts the life and times of clarence birdseye, who transformed the american diet and took the food industry from local to. Today is the birthday 1886 of clarence frank birdseye, u. He was a small, mild inventor and businessman who died in 1956 and. Clarence birdseye was born in brooklyn, new york, the sixth of nine children of clarence frank birdseye sr, and ada jane underwood. Clarence birdseye, american businessman and inventor best known for developing a process for freezing foods in small packages suitable for retailing. His first years were spent in brooklyn, new york, where his family owned a townhouse in cobble hill. Clarence birdseye american businessman and inventor. Kurlanskys engaging portrait of clarence birdseye 1886 1956 adventurer, inventor, entrepreneur, naturalist and omnivore is important not only because birdseye changed what we eat, how farmers grow crops, and how we cook our food, but for what birdseye reveals about. Birdseye was an inventor and visionary who lived a life of adventure. For as kurlansky tells it, when clarence birdseye figured out how to pack and freeze haddock. He subsequently moved west for the united states agriculture. Kurlansky has written the first booklength biography of clarence birdseye. Clarence bob birdseye was singlehandedly responsible for a major early breakthrough in the development of the methods and technology that made freezing a viable way of preserving food. Clarence birdseye and his fantastic frozen food machine.
Clarence birdseye was born on december 9, 1886 in brooklyn, new york. Clarence birdseyes outrageous idea about frozen food mark kurlansky. People had been freezing foods well before clarence birdseye, so why write a book about this one person. The first biography of clarence birdseye, the inventor of fastfreezing, a process that revolutionized the way we eat. In 2012 the first booklength biography of birdseye, mark kurlanskys birdseye. Birds eye is one of the most important brand names in the history of the frozen food industry. And birdseyes remarkable life uniquely prepared him to lead the. He attended montclair high school in new jersey and was briefly a student at amherst college but dropped out after two years. While working as a fur trapper in labrador, canada, clarence birdseye encountered an ageold.
349 130 55 46 226 1483 1303 51 1147 495 1050 691 72 1207 704 456 1407 1274 153 1513 1537 1503 653 1547 1177 448 626 521 612 188 252 1082 1263 1117 548 1434 513 1242