The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

Mark Kurlansky blends two great histories: New York City and NYC's Oysters. In addition to in-depth research on both the city and oysters, maps show the New York City area, verbatim diaries, journal writings, book excerpts, and authentic oyster advertisements of the day. Even recipes for "oyster pie" and oyster soup and numerous other oyster dishes from those times are included. You will learn the evolutionary strengths and the anatomy of oysters. This Kurlansky's style brings the city residents, the eaters of oysters, workers who gathered them, and the restaurants and food stands that sold them. The reader can go back in the past and relive New York back in the days when the Dutch controlled it. The laws, taverns, population, and rural aspect of then-Manhattan come to life. And you learn than oysters are not only durable but pretty intelligent, considering that they are, well, bivalves. With the popularity of oysters and the harvesting came the necessary rules of who and when they could be harvested, and territorial areas were legally assigned by the local governments then. New York and New Jersey had to co-operate on who could harvest where as certain areas were disputable. *The Bronx borough was named after a Swedish-born sea captain named Bronck. *The Battle of Brooklyn was the largest land battle of the Revolutionary War. *In 1773 there were 396 Taverns in Manhattan *In 1750 NYC was the leading American city for oyster and alcohol consumption. *Gangs such as the "Swamp Angels, Dead Rabbits, and Daybreak Boys" fought lethal and violent battles against one another, and gang fights could involve 1,000 gang members in the fights. *The 1863 anti-draft riot involved 50-70,000 rioters with killings, torture, gangs, and burning. *Oysters can live without water for days, and even longer if sprinkled with oatmeal for food. *The word "cookies" comes from the Dutch word "koeckjes" As for lifestyle, Manhattan was not as austere as the Puritan areas to the north, thanks to the first controllers, the Dutch. Captain Kidd lived in Manhattan was a celebrity there. He went up to Boston where he was arrested, sent to England, and hanged. "Boston, was never New York." Not only were oysters ubiquitous in the vast waterways of the entire New York region, but they were very affordable, provided protein and food for the poor. All classes frequently ate the oysters. The book ends at present day, and many of the oyster beds (and numerous fish species) have succumbed to the toxic chemicals and pollutants. Environmental groups in the latter 20th Century did take action against the most blatent offending companies polluting and even cited some of the oldest environmental laws on the book dating to the 17 and 1800s. A quick, upbeat, writing style supplanted with lots of research and stats. This informative, well written and enjoyable read by Mark Kulansky motivates me to read his other works.

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. Kurlansnky writes, "By 1880, New York was the undisputed capital of history's greatest oyster boom in its golden age, which lasted until at least 1910. The oyster beds of the New York area were producing 700 million oysters a year." The first blow to oyster production was sewage. "The reality is that millions of people produce far too much sewage to co-exist with millions of oysters...A million times worse than pollution happened. The silt and sludge alone would have been enough to kill oysters, which would sink in it and suffocate. But the industrial wastes consisted of heavy metals, including seven thousand pounds of zinc, copper, lead chromium, and nickel that entered the city sewer system every day...Between the 1940's and the 1970's, General Electric dumped hundreds of thousand of pounds of polycholorinated biphenyls, PCBs, into the Hudson..Concentrations of six heavy metals were found in the 1980's in the central muddy portion of the bay (Raritan). They had entered the water from the many factories built on the Raritan Rover during World War II. With the sentiment "anything for the war effort," these industries were allowed to freely dump into the river, and the practice continued after the war. In 1978, Raritan Bay was found to have the highest concentration of hydrocarbons. Fish in the bay were found to be laced with PCBs. The fish were often misshapen by a pollution-caused disease known as "fin-erosion disease." The Big Oyster. World War II was the most destructive war in the history of mankind claiming the lives of around 60 to 70 million casualties worldwide; another casualty was the oyster beds of New York. America's Military Industrial Complex may have knocked off Hitler and Tojo, liberated the Nazi and Japanese concentration camps, but it also has the death of billions of oysters on its hands as well. In order to construct Freedom's Forge ( Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II )and win World War II the tasty bivalves of New York had to walk the plank. This book is filled with tasty insight into the history of oysters around the New York area and much more. I loved it. If you liked The Big Oyster you will also enjoy America Invades: How We've Invaded or been Militarily Involved with almost Every Country on Earth by Kelly / Laycock and Italy Invades

"O oysters" said the carpenter,"you've had a pleasant run! Shall we be trotting home again?"But answer came there none-And this was scarcely odd,because They'd eaten every one.'Such was Tweedledum and Tweedledees discourse to Alice in Carrolls' well known work.They'd eaten every one, ah yes; a common lament of oyster lovers everywhere because the once abundant stock in New York waters are essentially gone forever.The Big Oyster, a work of enormity with regard to the tiny creatures history, and a good one at that, is fantastic.The greatness and economic well being,the essence of affordable sustenance for both the poor and the rich of early New York and also the world began with the bottom dwelling,succulent mollusc called by science, 'Crassostrea Virginica' the most popular variety it seems.Kurlansky has put together a comprehensive and at times a jumpy but focused history of a sometimes gritty New York as a city and its environs in relation to oysters as a leading core of its burgeoning greatness.From the first encounter by Henry Hudson to the local Delaware indians,the first New Yorkers by rights, thrived on them as evidenced by the enormous piles of shells found called middens, to the developing cultures that dominated for a time only to be replaced by yet another country and culture.These aspects right up to the revolutionary war and beyond is clearly examined and dissected.Millions,probably billions of oysters were there for the taking and we made sure we took and took and took some more, depleting a natural depository which spanned hundreds of thousands of years to develop.It seems that New York harbor and the surrounding waters were paradise for them to live,breed and provide us with an abundant, almost unlimited cheap resource.The downfall was man and his pollution,greed and population growth which unfortunately did away with this perfect food harvested in New York waters we now view as a delicacy.Everything you need to know about the oyster from its anatomy,harvesting preparation with an abundance of recipies I'd never try,shucking, promotion and distribution world wide and locally, as well as an enlightening,colorful and comprehensive history of New York is presented here.You will finish this book far more informed than you began and quite possibly know darn near everything there is to know about early New York and the Oyster that made it famous.You will be drooling for sure.I had recurring dreams of two dozen on the half shell which would not abate until I got them,wolfed them down with the pleasure only a fellow oyster eater would know after a prolonged absence from our little friends.I did have one little exception which was amusingly disturbing. Kurlansky states that George Washington's thirty four year old son Philip was placed in charge by him, to redistribute New Yorks' property following the end of the revolutionary war.George did no such thing and by that time both of Washington's adopted children were dead.He never even had a relative called Philip.What happened to the fact checking prior to publishing? Good lord, for a writer of history this could end a career as a reliable source. It can only lead to suspicion of all your other works and their accuracy. I don't have time to check other items as I hear there are other discrepancies as well.Please be carefull in the future Mark.However,aside from the above, I will still recommend this book for its novelty.It's a joy to read from an oyster lovers perspective. As a New Yorker, our city's history is also refreshingly enlightening.My home town of Staten Island is clearly represented and I can only hope that the abundance that once was will one day return to its sandy ground former glory.As a New Yorker reviewing this sometimes gritty and hardscrabble history, I'm not ashamed to say,pushed my thoughts toward the Oyster Bar and Grill for its variety and notoriety. But, to truly enjoy my treat closer to home I make a beeline to Lobster House Joe's where I can relax with a couple dozen on ice with horseradish and an ice cold beer.Nothing can match it.After reading The Big Oyster the compatriotism is quite evident and allows me to savor them even further.The book is quite thorough and worthy of purchase. If you live in New York, buy it to learn your city's history. If you like oysters, buy it to widen your knowledge. If your both, lucky you.This is just what you need after a long day at work.Keep the history alive and keep eating but not too much!To make extinct our local favorite, Bluepoints, would be too much to bear. Oysters rule!!!

First off, I am a chef...so my five-star rating might be taken with a grain of sea salt. Also, I am a chef from New York City...who still opens a couple of hundred oysters a week. I learned bunches from Mark's book. I was able to justify a long held stance about storing oysters in the face of superstition from my twenty-something rock-star staff. I owned a restaurant in Telluride, Colorado back in the 70's. We dug around in the basement and found menus from the 1890's that featured fresh New York City oysters.....long before refrigeration. The book reveals how this worked, and consequently saved me a few hundred dollars every week. Five stars indeed1 Meanwhile, Mark gives an in-depth sociological, geographic and gastronomical account of how the oyster affected life in New York and America. In many ways the oyster is the canary in the coal mine of our inland waterways. If the oyster is happy with the water....you are probably OK with the water. No oyster.....don't even think about jumping in. Oysters kept New York City harbor water clean for millenia....until overwhelmed by chemical pollution. Just this morning I picked up Mother Jones, and read an article about the largest oil spill in American history: in Newtown Creek between Queens and Brooklyn. Having read Mark's book....I already knew the history of Newtown Creek...once the source of millions of oysters and the support of an entire social structure. Oysters had started a comeback there in 1997. Ooops. Back to the drawing board. Buy the book. Learn something.

Kurlansky chronicles the rise and fall of the New England/New York oyster industry. At one time oysters were so bountiful they sold in New York for mere pennies apiece. They were often in fact the food of the poor. The author includes numerous recipes, both historical and contemporary, for preparing oysters. For a long time oystermen maintained the supply by reseeding the beds. Oysters are fast growers and could be harvested in 4 years or less. By the mid 20th century, however, over harvesting and pollution had destroyed most of the oyster beds. Emphasis is on the oysters of the Atlantic seaboard, although the introductory chapters do discuss the .Mediterranean oysters and the Roman appreciation of them. On the other hand nothing is said about the French oysters from the eastern Atlantic, nor is there a mention of West Coast oysters (the San Francisco Bay industry followed a similar, if accelerated, trajectory to that of New York). Nor is anything said about oysters in New Orleans and their place in that city's cuisine. A wider scope, comparing oysters and their uses from various geographic oyster fisheries would be informative and instructive.

Interesting history. Well written and strangely entertaining.

Mark Kurlansky scores another 10 out of 10. He deftly weaves together biology, commerce and history to make a fascinating read. Could not put the book down and loaned it to my coworkers to enjoy.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I drove my co-workers crazy with numerous quotes from the book. As a New Jersey native (you know the wetern suburb of NYC) I really found the history amazing, we did not learn these things in school. I remember many many many years ago wandering in various parts of the neighborhood and digging/unearthing oyster shells... Collecting the unbroken smashed up ones and bringing my bounty home. Always wondering how sea shells, got there? Well, perhaps now, finally, after 50 years I have an idea. What I found most delightful about this writer, is his way to meander, at just the right pace; so as not to bore me, loose me, but guide me from one step to the other without a stark transition and a feeling of disruption in the calm, relaxation this book provided.