Mark Kurlansky is the author of "The Basque History of the World;" the "New York Times" bestseller "Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World; A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry;" and "A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny." During the past twenty years he has spent a great deal of time in the Caribbean, including seven years as the "Chicago Tribune's" Caribbean correspondent, and has written numerous works of short fiction and journalism about the region. He lives in New York City.