The Big Oyster

History on the Half Shell

By: Mark Kurlansky

Narrated by: John H. Mayer

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

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 listeners 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. 

With The Big Oyster, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious. 

©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) 

“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.” (Alice Waters)

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.

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.

History Excellence

Great understanding of the history in New England and New York and beyond of the great bivalve the oyster!

history of the oyster in America

I was slow to start it but could not wait to finish oh, it's an exact history of the oyster in America specifically to New York Harbor

Great read...

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

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

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.

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.