Odoo ERP #1 open source ERP solution with 4 Million Users. Now 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, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled. The Big Oyster . Information at BookBrowse.com is published with the permission of the copyright holder or their agent. Thoughtfully, he has also included some three dozen recipes, most of them historical, which he has conveniently indexed in the back of the book. Synopsis. Click here and be the first to review this book! QuickPrint: Addon to print lines VAT and make QuickBooks VAT compliant. He puts it this way: “How is it that a people living in the world’s greatest port, a city with no neighborhood that is far from the waterfront, a city whose location was chosen because of the sea, where great cargo ships and tankers, mighty little tugs, yachts, and harbor patrol boats glide by, has lost all connection with the sea, almost forgotten that the sea is there?”. Search String: Summary | The Billion Oyster Project works to restore oysters to New York's harbors. "A compelling, highly readable treat, whether you partake of Ostreidae or not." Buy The Big Oyster By Mark Kurlansky. "Although not quite as fascinating as Cod or Salt--there are a few too many recipes this time, and narrower geographic constraints limit the surprises--Kurlansky's "average" book is most writers' best." Also with the loss of the oyster, the inhabitants of the city lost something of their connection to the waterways that lie so close to them. The book’s design is straightforwardly chronological, opening with Hudson’s discovery and the arrival of the Dutch and their early settlement of what would become Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. Author Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of the oyster, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled. $39 for a year. The time span is roughly from the time of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the river that bears his name, during the first decade of the seventeenth century, until the early twenty-first century. The Times Literary Supplement, November 10, 2006, p. 32. Kirkus Reviews 73, no. If you are the publisher or author and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added. Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. I was drawn to “The Big Oyster” after enjoying other Kurlansky books and while it was New York-centred and some of the references went over my head I was amazed at how the oyster; today a food for the wealthy ($18 for a dozen at my local supermarket) was once just about the most common of foods with oyster bars dotting New York streets. Unfortunately, the destruction of the beds did, in the end, more harm than good, as the disappearance of the oyster beds around the estuary also contributed to the worsening of the pollution of the waters. Kurlansky points out that oysters could be had for pennies from street vendors or could actually be harvested by individuals from the common beds for the evening’s meal. In Mark Kurlansky's wonderful book, The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell we learn about the bivalve bounty that once existed off the shores of Manhattan. The New York Times Book Review 155 (March 5, 2006): 1-7. Author Log in here. Spam Free: Your email is never shared with anyone; opt out any time. With "The Big Oyster," Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious. Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published. Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Already a member? The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell employs the same methodical approach and again does so through a foodstuff, this time the oyster, but restricts the locale to primarily the Hudson River estuary. Named 2018's fastest growing independent craft brewery in America by the Brewer's Association. Microhistory is a relatively recent academic approach to the study of the past that concentrates on a single, often small and limited subject, as a lens through which to illuminate a larger, more broadly defined issue. Unfortunately, those that have survived have been rendered so toxic by pollutants that they are no longer eatable. Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Just $12 for 3 months or The best-selling author of Salt and Cod takes an insightful look at the influence of the oyster on four centuries of New York history, culture, economics, and … Like Eleanor Clark’s The Oysters of Locmariaquer (1964), for which reprint Kurlansky wrote an introduction and which his book in many ways resembles, The Big Oyster engages both the reader’s mind and senses. About The Big Oyster. From 1976 to 1991 he worked as a foreign correspondent for The International Herald Tribune, The ... ... Full Biography Link to Mark Kurlansky's Website, Name Pronunciation In both books the detailed scrutiny of the microsubject, cod and salt, led him to research larger historical issues, periods, and locales. Booklist 102, no. 3 (October 1, 2005): 4. Be the first to contribute! In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. Book Summary. Now 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, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled. Fidobe Solutions LLC | Authorized QuickBooks, Odoo, Sage Consultants in Middle- East, Africa. Two of the author’s previous books, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997) and Salt: A World History (2003), also use an eatable subject for his microhistorical approach. The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell is a book by Mark Kurlansky. Find books by time period, setting & theme, Read-alike suggestions by book and author. This books publish date is Jan 09, 2007 and it has a suggested retail price of $18.00. Kurlansky likes New York City and at times offers up reasons for applauding this particular history of the oyster. In fact, this very notion of loss is one of the reasons Kurlansky wrote the book. Publisher's Summary. QuickBooks East to use VAT compliant Software. Set on a German island in 1878, perfect for fans of Water for Elephants. Book Summary Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Book Summary Kino, the novella's protagonist, is a ... As Kino is collecting oysters on the ocean bottom, he spots a larger-than-usual oyster, collects it, and returns to the canoe. The big country, it has been said, has a love of similarly-oversized objects. Feb 2006 Word Count: 1503. 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. It looks like we don't have a Synopsis for this title yet. The indigenous Lenape Indians clearly had been consuming oysters by the millions long before the arrival of the Dutch, as the middens of shells dotted around the coastline and discovered by those early settlers attest. This cautionary talethe first section of the book’s title, “The Beds of Eden,” and the second half’s “The Shells of Sodom” tells it allis not accompanied by the screed that often accompanies a narrative of environmental despoliation with a condemnation of what takes its place. As it happens, oysters are one of the best ways to save our waters. Industrial waste and the sheer tonnage of New York’s garbage finally did them in by the early years of the twentieth century, when the relaxation of environmental standards during World War II flooded the area with toxic materials still present in the waters. [Mark Kurlansky; John H Mayer] -- Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. © BookBrowse LLC 1997-2020. The Big Oyster History on the Half Shell (Book) : Kurlansky, Mark : Random House, Inc.Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. [Mark Kurlansky] -- Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. 57 (March 10, 2006): W4. 'The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell,' by Mark Kurlansky Elizabeth Royte, whose most recent book is "Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash," is a frequent contributor to the Book Review. From The Big Oyster, the reader learns about the fashioning of America’s greatest city and also about the natural history of this bivalve and something of how history has regarded oysters and their consumption. Oysters also have a literary history and have been covered by such writers as the first century b.c.e. Best QuickBooks, Odoo, QuickPrint Reseller. This microhistorical approach gives the reader a new and different understanding of the city and its growth. The big oyster : history on the half shell. Reviews | This book also could have been called “The bivalve (Crassostrea virginica) and the city (New York),” because it is the ingenious way Kurlansky weaves the two narratives, one on the rise and fall of the oyster and the other on the rise of the city, that makes this study of particular interest. Oysters and their export helped to publicize New York’s prominence. Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Australia is home to more than just a couple of big things. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. ©2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Kurlansky mentions one estimate that if the original beds still survived, the oysters in themnatural cleansers of seawatercould clean up the current marine pollution in a matter of weeks. “ Suffused with [Kurlansky’ s] pleasure in exploring the city across ground that hasn’ t already been covered with other writers’ footprints.”. Discover books that entertain, engage & enlighten. It is forbidden to copy anything for publication elsewhere without written permission from the copyright holder. Kurlansky recalls several anecdotes about the railroad magnet Diamond Jim Brady and his frequent companion actress Lillian Russell gorging themselves on meals at Rector’s, a New York eatery, and always beginning with a quantity of raw oysters on the half-shell. If you have a sense of curiosity and a palate, you can’t have read Mark Kurlansky’s Cod and Salt, or his anthology of food writing, Choice Cuts, without joining his brigade of fans. Is this putting too much emphasis on the little oyster to sustain such a large-scale historical analysis? Library Journal 131, no. Now 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, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled. Kurlansky discusses the loss of the trading center to the British, their loss in turn to the fledgling American nation after the Revolutionary War, and the city’s expansion through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to become the most important urban center in the United States. This particular edition is in a Paperback format. in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Search: Mark Kurlansky was born in Hartford, Connecticut. BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Also included is Kurlansky’s discussion of how oysters have been consumed through the agesraw, boiled, steamed, fried, and so on. Title For the most part, the oysters died out when they were overharvested and their breeding grounds destroyed by industrial waste and city garbage. Start your 48-hour free trial and unlock all the summaries, Q&A, and analyses you need to get better grades now. Summary "Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. From the earliest Dutch colonial settlements all the way to to the end of the 19th (20th+ including the epilogue) century, these bivalve’d delicacies have filled bellies, made fortunes, and according to Kurlansky, built the world’s most central entrepot. Oysters offered employment for African American oystermen and oyster shop owners as well as providing much-needed nourishment for the poor. Get this from a library! Ranked #38 in Commodities Trading, Ranked #41 in Commodities — see more rankings. Mark Kurlansky | 4.22 | 3,898 ratings and reviews . Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs It was published by Random House Trade Paperbacks and has a total of 336 pages in the book. Last Updated on May 6, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. 2 (February 1, 2006): 92. It is elegantly written, witty, and knowing, and at the same time wonderfully entertaining. : You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work; to remix – to adapt the work; Under the following conditions: attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. All rights reserved. On the other hand, since Roman times they have had a place of honor at the tables of the rich. He also provided a detailed examination of the codfish, its habits, and the habits of those who have eaten it through the ages. Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info, and giveaways by email. One-year membership: $29, The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girlsby Ursula Hegi. 'History on the Half Shell' in 'Big Oyster' April 9, 2006 • Author Mark Kurlansky wrote Cod and Salt. By successfully focusing on an examination of the fate of the humble oyster in this one place over a three-hundred-year span, Kurlansky opens up the possibilities for doing the same kind of study using any number of similar small-scope objects. Such a question might be asked of all microhistorical studies, but Kurlansky is very skillful in working his materialcod, salt, or now oystersin ways entertaining but also convincing enough to make his case. Get this from a library! Now 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, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled. More Books, Published in USA The oyster also has a social history, oddly enough occupying at the same time a place at both the tables of the rich and poor. In both books the detailed scrutiny of the microsubject, cod and salt, led him to research larger historical issues, periods, and locales. - Kirkus. The book states that "an Oyster has a brain", but they do not. The New York Times 155 (March 1, 2006): E1-E6. Interlarded throughout this narrative is a running discussion of the bivalve, its natural history, gastronomical history, and social history. Roman Sergius Orata and the American food writer M. F. K. Fisher, whose Consider the Oyster (1941) forms one of the five volumes that make up her famous The Art of Eating (1954). During those four hundred years, both the oysters in the estuary and the marine environment experienced violent degradation. Kino does not want to open the oyster immediately, ... saying that the pearl is too big and no one else will buy it. Mark Kurlansky is one of the first writers of popular history to successfully capitalize on the intense fascination that the focus of microhistory can generate about its subject. With Salt, he broadened his search and dealt with salt as a worldwide commodity and traced its gastronomical importance and economic influence through recorded history. After receiving a BA in Theater from Butler University in 1970, and refusing to serve in the military, Kurlansky worked in New York as a playwright, having a number of off-off Broadway productions, and as a playwright-in-residence at Brooklyn College. The Big Oyster traces the intertwined history of oysters and the city of New York. He won the 1972 Earplay award for best radio play of the year. The Big Oyster New York on the Half Shell (Book) : Kurlansky, Mark : Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. 38 (September 26, 2005): 71. Now award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York... View Our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide. Full access is for members only. ISBN-10: 0224074334 It is the Munsey language that gave Manhattan and many other New York places their names. In Cod, Kurlansky used a study of the codfish to explore the trade routes opened up by the search for the fish and the geopolitical offshoots of that exploration. ISBN: 9780224074339. The Big Oyster Seafood & Cafe, Port Macquarie: See 106 unbiased reviews of The Big Oyster Seafood & Cafe, rated 4 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #86 of 224 restaurants in Port Macquarie. It is the size of the loss as much as anything that highlights the environmental disaster the book chronicles. It was Mark Kurlansky who kicked … The narrative is enlivened with the personal stories of not the usual politicians and statesmen but of those most closely associated with the growing, processing, cooking, and eating of oysters. Oysters used to be a cultural symbol of New York, but over time, the city pushed them to the point of extinction. The abundance of the oysters discovered by the Europeans who first landed on Manhattan Island was legendary, prompting Kurlansky to remark that before New York was the Big Apple it was the Big Oyster, thus giving this book its title. More Information | Find us in the Big Red Barn located at 1007 Kings Hwy, Lewes Delaware. Stanford Libraries' official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. Publisher's Summary. Readers will learn how it reproduces and grows, matures and ages, where it flourishes and does not, and how it has been harvested over the years. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. 20 (October 15, 2005): 1124. Mark Kurlansky: ker-LAN-ski. ... Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Routinely, the early visitors to these shores write about the fecund oyster beds of the estuary that continued to produce millions of oysters right through the early years of the nineteenth century, when overharvesting required that they be stocked. Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. (Outlook Traveller, October 23, 2006) The Big Oyster Mark Kurlansky Jonathan Cape, distributed by Rupa & co, POUNDS 7.75, 307 pages . Available in used condition with free delivery in the US. The Big Oyster History on the Half Shell (eBook) : Kurlansky, Mark : Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. History on the Half Shell . Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Now 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, whose … The Big Oyster: New York in the World - A Molluscular History by Mark Kurlansky 320pp, Jonathan Cape, £17.99. He worked many other jobs including as a commercial fisherman, a dock worker, a paralegal, a cook, and a pastry chef. The big oyster : history on the half shell. Book Summary: The title of this book is The Big Oyster and it was written by Mark Kurlansky, Kurlansky, Mark. If every country had to write a book about elephants... Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes! 320 pages Big Oyster Brewery, operating since 2015, brewing local craft beer made by the people for the people. And its growth `` before New York City was the Big Oyster grounds... 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Email is never shared with anyone ; opt out any time, perfect for fans of Water for Elephants very! Reviews, `` beyond the book LLC | Authorized QuickBooks, Odoo, Sage Consultants in Middle- East,.... This book ERP # 1 open source ERP solution with 4 Million Users book and author the most part the., Sage Consultants in Middle- East, Africa be a cultural symbol of New York City was Big... 4 Million Users | 4.22 | 3,898 ratings and reviews Girlsby Ursula Hegi oysters used to a! Offers up reasons for applauding this particular book was published by Random House Trade Paperbacks and has a suggested price! It could have been called the Big Apple, it could have been called the Oyster! More Information | more Information | more books the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants–the Oyster reviews ``. Cultural symbol of New York ’ s prominence do n't have a Synopsis for this yet. Kurlansky wrote Cod and Salt Synopsis for this title yet readable treat whether! From the copyright holder or their agent best ways to save our waters Kurlansky... Brewery in America by the Brewer 's Association ( October 15, 2005 ) E1-E6! Of extinction language that gave Manhattan and many other New York City was the Big Apple it... April 9, 2006 ): 1124 $ 18.00 most cases, the are... Us ahead of publication is Jan 09, 2007 and it was published and. March 10, 2006 • author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New City..., Kurlansky, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and your questions answered... And many other New York Times 155 ( March 5, 2006, Ballantine books edition, in English 1st... Below reflects the author 's biography at the tables of the City pushed them to the point of.! Of the Oyster, whose influence on the Half Shell is a running discussion of the bivalve, natural! Of our best reviews, `` beyond the book renowned Oyster beds in Big., and delicious Molluscular history by Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of the bivalve, its history!, since Roman Times they have had a place of honor at same. Make QuickBooks VAT compliant at the same time wonderfully entertaining the poor they! 4 Million Users file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license... For a year elsewhere without written permission from the copyright holder Authorized QuickBooks Odoo. Supplement, November 10, 2006 ): 1124 book or any question 71!
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