description: With Cod and Salt, author Mark Kurlansky proved that even the most ubiquitous foodstuff can serve as a subject for choice nonfiction. With this book, he takes a step toward prime delicacies.At first glance, this history of oysters in New York City seems fixed on a topic too slender for book-length treatment, but Kurlansky's richly anecdotal narrative convinces otherwise. Oysters and the city were once almost synonymous; the huge oyster beds on the Hudson contained half of the world's supplies. The Big Oyster is part diverting history and part cautionary The exhaustion of New York's oyster beds was a needless environmental crime. Exquisite savor.
language: English
title: The Big Oyster
titlecomplete: The Big Oyster
genres: History, Science, Nature, American History, Food Writing, Microhistory, New York, Food and Drink, Food, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 4612
publisher: Books on Tape