The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

335 Pages·2006·2.566 MB·English

by  Mark Kurlansky

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p r a i s e f o r
The Big Oyster
“[A] well and sharply told history of a shellfish and its impact on the
evolution of a great city ...[Mark] Kurlansky gets the ache of the
bivalve’s tale just right.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Kurlansky is a genial and enthusiastic guide. . . . The Big Oyster
proves that it is possible for a skilled researcher to tell the history
of New York—its wealth, excitement, greed, destructiveness and
filth—through the history of a single creature.”
—The New York Times
“A lively,witty,and occasionally racy yarn.” —Chicago Tribune
“Afascinating history of the mollusk’s role in [New York City’s] de-
velopment.” —People
“[Kurlansky] continues to do what he does best with The Big Oyster,
teaching you history while making you think you’re just enjoying a
good read.” —GQ
“Kurlansky is a splendid writer,the master of culinary history.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Mark Kurlansky has done it again.The Big Oysteris a zesty love song
to a bivalve and a city—intelligent, informative, and impossible to
put down.”
—NATHANIELPHILBRICK,National Book Award–winning
author of In the Heart ofthe Sea
“Kurlansky’s oyster-steeped approach [is] fun and accessible.”
—ClevelandPlain Dealer
“[Kurlansky’s] tangents are more interesting than most writers’main
points,and his dry,understated style is perfect for the material;he’ll
take a shot,and it’s so subtle that you’ll find yourself laughing two
pages later....[The Big Oyster] offers genuine insight into the world
through an accessible doorway. . . . A wonderfully curatorial and
quirky biography of the city.” —Associated Press
“Kurlansky’s real gift is that,in uncovering biological quirks and for-
gotten social customs,he makes the ordinary extraordinary.”
—Booklist
“Highly original ...Kurlansky has produced a tasty mixture of his-
tory and analysis,larded with illustrations.The result will appeal to
a wide range of appetites.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Acompelling,highly readable treat,whether you partake of Ostrei-
dae or not.” —Kirkus Reviews(starred review)
“A chatty, free-wheeling history of New York City told from the
humble perspective of the once copious, eagerly consumed, now
decimated eastern oyster. Kurlansky’s history digresses all over the
place,and sparkles.” —Publishers Weekly(starred review)
“In his portrait of the once-famous oyster beds of New York Harbor,
Kurlansky beautifully illustrates food’s ability to connect us deeply to
our particular place in the world and shows how our nourishment is
so vitally tied to the health of the natural world.”—ALICEWATERS
a l s o b y m a r k k u r l a n s k y
Nonviolence:Twenty-Five Lessons from the History ofa Dangerous Idea
1968:The Year That Rocked the World
Salt:A World History
The Basque History ofthe World
Cod:A Biography ofthe Fish That Changed the World
A Chosen Few:The Resurrection ofEuropean Jewry
A Continent ofIslands:Searching for the Caribbean Destiny
Choice Cuts:A Savory Selection ofFood Writing from
Around the World and Throughout History (anthology)
Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue:A Novel ofPastry,Guilt,and Music
The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories (fiction)
The Story ofSalt (for children)
The Cod’s Tale (for children)
The Girl Who Swam to Euskadi (for children)
t h e b i g o y s t e r

The Big
Oyster
History on theHalf Shell
U
H
MARK KURLANSKY
HY
random house trade paperbacks
new york
2007Random House Trade Paperback Edition
Copyright © 2006by Mark Kurlansky
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House Trade Paperbacks,
an imprint ofThe Random House Publishing Group,
a division of Random House,Inc.,New York.
RANDOMHOUSETRADEPAPERBACKSand colophon
are trademarks of Random House,Inc.
Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Ballantine Books,
an imprint ofThe Random House Publishing Group,
a division of Random House,Inc.,in 2006.
eISBN: 978-1-58836-591-0
library of congress
cataloging-in-publication data
Kurlansky,Mark.
The big oyster :History on the half shell / Mark Kurlansky.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Cookery (Oysters) 2. Oysters—New York (State)—New York. I. Title.
TX754.O98K87 2006
641.6'94—dc22 2005049853
www.atrandom.com
Frontispiece,title page,and part title pages art:
Harper’s Weekly,1882.
Book design by Barbara M.Bachman
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