The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

ISBN: 0345476395

Author: Kurlansky, Mark

Condition: New

?Part treatise, part miscellany, unfailingly entertaining.?-The New York Times?A 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.?-Rocky Mountain NewsAward-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants-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 city?s life that the abundant bivalves were Gotham?s most celebrated export, a staple food for all classes, and a natural filtration system for the city?s congested waterways.Filled with cultural, historical, and culinary insight-along with historic recipes, maps, drawings, and photos-this dynamic narrative sweeps readers from the seventeenth-century founding of New York to the death of its oyster beds and the rise of America?s environmentalist movement, from the oyster cellars of the rough-and-tumble Five Points slums to Manhattan?s Gilded Age dining chambers. With The Big Oyster, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious.?Suffused with [Kurlansky?s] pleasure in exploring the city across ground that hasn?t already been covered with other writers? footprints.?-Los Angeles Times Book Review?Fascinating stuff . . . [Kurlansky] has a keen eye for odd facts and natural detail.?-The Wall Street Journal?Kurlansky packs his breezy book with terrific anecdotes.?-Entertainment Weekly?Magnificent . . . a towering accomplishment.?-Associated Press