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Cod audiobook cover art

  • Cod

  • A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
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Talk about a fish story! New York Times and Harper's columnist Mark Kurlansky offers "history filtered through the gills of the fish trade." David McCullough, the historian behind John Adams, says Kurlansky's "charming tale" of a "seemingly improbable idea" will change the way people think of the fish and the history.

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Milk! audiobook cover art

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Paper audiobook cover art

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  • Paging Through History
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Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability.

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  • Salt

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So much of our human body is made up of salt that we'd be dead without it. The fine balance of nature, the trade of salt as a currency of many nations and empires, the theme of a popular Shakespearean play... Salt is best selling author Mark Kurlansky's story of the only rock we eat.

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Havana audiobook cover art

  • Havana

  • A Subtropical Delirium
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Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky presents an insider's view of Havana: the elegant, tattered city he has come to know over more than 30 years. Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes throughout, Havana celebrates the city's singular music, literature, baseball and food; its five centuries of outstanding neglected architecture; and its extraordinary blend of cultures.

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The Basque History of the World audiobook cover art

  • The Basque History of the World

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Publisher's Summary

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 influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled.

For centuries New York was famous for its oysters, which until the early 1900s played such a dominant a role in the city's economy, gastronomy, and ecology that the abundant bivalves were Gotham's most celebrated export, a staple food for the wealthy, the poor, and tourists alike, and the primary natural defense against pollution 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 island hunting ground of the Lenape Indians to the death of the 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.

Kurlansky brings characters vividly to life while recounting dramatic incidents that changed the course of New York history. Here are the stories behind Peter Stuyvesant's peg leg and Robert Fulton's "Folly"; the oyster merchant and pioneering African American leader Thomas Downing; the birth of the business lunch at Delmonico's; early feminist Fanny Fern, one of the highest-paid newspaper writers in the city; even "Diamond" Jim Brady, who we discover was not the gourmand of popular legend.
©2006 Mark Kurlansky (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic Reviews

"Kurlansky's history digresses all over the place, and sparkles." (Publishers Weekly)
"Kurlansky's real gift is that, in uncovering biological quirks and forgotten social customs, he makes the ordinary extraordinary." (Booklist)

What members say

Average Customer Ratings

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Audible.com Reviews
Amazon Reviews
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Ok, but not as good as his "Salt", or "Cod".

A different take on the history of NewYork city. I found ot informative and interesting.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Ruth
  • Chestertown, MD, United States
  • 05-17-11

If you are in to history...

this is a very interesting book. I enjoyed it immensely. It got a little slow toward the end, but it was really good.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great read...

mixed the scientific with romance of nature. Spoiler alert...get tissuse read for the ending. Great performance by reader

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

time line confuses

read and listen hard to follow timeline on audio and some wonderful photos are in the print version . not to be missed

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of Kerlansy's best

What made the experience of listening to The Big Oyster the most enjoyable?

The side stories were very enjoyable and you can tell in the writing that Kurlansky not only finds Oysters and New York city history interesting but he really dug in to unearth their shared experience.

What did you like best about this story?

The subject matter

Any additional comments?

I would only add that the narration could have been a bit more conversational. It is great overall but there are some small spots where it feels like your being read a textbook.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating Tale

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I already have, to other people that like to eat oysters. I had no idea about the history of oysters in New York, or how vital they were to the water there. It's strange to imagine it now, New York being the dirty disgusting place that it is. That contrast is what is so fascinating to me; that people all around the world once dreamed of eating oysters in New York, when now doing so would make you extremely ill.

The discussion on the ethics of eating oysters was also interesting, as it was never really something I had considered before. I have to say it hasn't stopped me wanting to eat oysters, but it's interesting nonetheless.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful