The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

â€œPart treatise, part miscellany, unfailingly entertaining.â€
â€“The New York Times

â€œA small pearl of a book . . . a great tale of the growth of a modern city as seen through the rise and fall of the lowly oyster.â€
â€“Rocky Mountain News

Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitantsâ€“the oyster.
For centuries New York was famous for this particular shellfish, which until the early 1900s played such a dominant a role in the cityâ€™s life that the abundant bivalves were Gothamâ€™s most celebrated export, a staple food for all classes, and a natural filtration system for the cityâ€™s congested waterways.

Filled with cultural, historical, and culinary insightâ€“along with historic recipes, maps, drawings, and photosâ€“this dynamic narrative sweeps readers from the seventeenth-century founding of New York to the death of its oyster beds and the rise of Americaâ€™s environmentalist movement, from the oyster cellars of the rough-and-tumble Five Points slums to Manhattanâ€™s Gilded Age dining chambers. With The Big Oyster, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious.

â€œSuffused with [Kurlanskyâ€™s] pleasure in exploring the city across ground that hasnâ€™t already been covered with other writersâ€™ footprints.â€
â€“Los Angeles Times Book Review

â€œFascinating stuff . . . [Kurlansky] has a keen eye for odd facts and natural detail.â€
â€“The Wall Street Journal

â€œKurlansky packs his breezy book with terrific anecdotes.â€
â€“Entertainment Weekly

â€œMagnificent . . . a towering accomplishment.â€
â€“Associated Press

Country	USA
Brand	Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer	Random House Trade Paperbacks
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780345476395
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	2007-01-09
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9780345476395

The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

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