Overview

From the bestselling author of Salt and Cod comes a fascinating history of New York and the oyster - its influence on four centuries of cultural, economic, and culinary trends - with recipes throughout When Peter Minuit bought Manhattan for $24 in 1626 he showed his shrewdness by also buying the oyster beds off tiny, nearby Oyster Island, renamed Ellis Island in 1770. From the Minuit purchase until pollution finally destroyed the beds in the 1920s, New York was a city known for its oysters, especially in the late 1800s, when Europe and America enjoyed a decades-long oyster craze. In a dubious endorsement, William Makepeace Thackeray said that eating a New York oyster was like eating a baby. Travellers to New York were also keen to experience the famous New York oyster houses. While some were known for their elegance, due to a longstanding belief in the aphrodisiac quality of oysters, they were often associated with prostitution. In 1842, when the novelist Charles Dickens arrived in New York, he could not conceal his eagerness to find and experience the fabled oyster cellars of New York City's slums. The Big Oyster is the story of a city and of an international trade.Filled with cultural, social and culinary insight - as well as recipes, maps, drawings and photographs - this is history at its most engrossing, entertaining and delicious.

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9780099477594

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Kurlansky's great ability is to chose a single element as a prism through which to view the development or degeneration of culture; in this book he takes his readers from the 16th century to the present day, encompassing biology, commerce, the politics of race, history, literature, and, of course, gourmandise -- Erica Wagner The Times A diligent researcher and a terrific storyteller...quirky, engrossing narrative -- Jackie McGlone Herald A unique perspective -- Killian Fox Observer Fascinating... Kurlansky's portrait of that vanished age is absolutely engrossing -- Philip Hoare Sunday Telegraph Packed with interest Independent

Packed with interest * Independent * Fascinating... Kurlansky's portrait of that vanished age is absolutely engrossing -- Philip Hoare * Sunday Telegraph * A unique perspective -- Killian Fox * Observer * A diligent researcher and a terrific storyteller...quirky, engrossing narrative -- Jackie McGlone * Herald * Kurlansky's great ability is to chose a single element as a prism through which to view the development or degeneration of culture; in this book he takes his readers from the 16th century to the present day, encompassing biology, commerce, the politics of race, history, literature, and, of course, gourmandise -- Erica Wagner * The Times *

Advance praise for The Big Oyster <br> 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. <br>- Alice Waters <br> Mark Kurlansky has done it again. The Big Oyster is a zesty love song to a bivalve and a city- intelligent, informative, and impossible to put down. <br>- Nathaniel Philbrick, National Book Award-- winning author of In the Heart of the Sea <p>Praise for Mark Kurlansky <br>1968: The Year That Rocked the World <br> Memorable, essential, and in its own way wondrous. <br>- The Boston Globe <p>Salt: A World History <br> Bright writing and, most gratifyingly, an enveloping narrative. <br>- San Francisco Chronicle <br>Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World <br> This eminently readable book is a new tool for scanning world history. <br>- The New York Times Book Review <p> From the Hardcover edition.

Kurlansky's great ability is to chose a single element as a prism through which to view the development or degeneration of culture; in this book he takes his readers from the 16th century to the present day, encompassing biology, commerce, the politics of race, history, literature, and, of course, gourmandise -- Erica Wagner * The Times * A diligent researcher and a terrific storyteller...quirky, engrossing narrative -- Jackie McGlone * Herald * A unique perspective -- Killian Fox * Observer * Fascinating... Kurlansky's portrait of that vanished age is absolutely engrossing -- Philip Hoare * Sunday Telegraph * Packed with interest * Independent *

Author Information

Mark Kurlansky is the author of Cod- a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World (winner of the Glenfiddich Award for the Best Food Book in 1997), The Basque History of the World, Salt- A World History and Choice Cuts- A Miscellany of Food Writing. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

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