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The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell
Contributor(s): Kurlansky, Mark (Author)
ISBN: 0345476395     ISBN-13: 9780345476395
Publisher: Random House Trade
OUR PRICE:   $16.20  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: January 2007
Qty:
Annotation: "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 News"
Award-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
"
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic (dc, De, Md, Nj, Ny, Pa)
- History | Social History
- Cooking | Specific Ingredients - Seafood
Dewey: 641.694
Lexile Measure: 1300
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 5.1" W x 7.9" (0.55 lbs) 336 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Mid-Atlantic
- Cultural Region - Northeast U.S.
- Geographic Orientation - New York
- Locality - New York, N.Y.
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
"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 News

Award-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