�Part treatise, part miscellany, unfailingly entertaining.��The New York Times �A small pearl of a book . . . a great tale of the growth of a modern city as seen through the rise and fall of the lowly oyster.��Rocky Mountain NewsAward-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants�the oyster.For centuries New York was famous for this particular shellfish, which until the early 1900s played such a dominant a role in the city�s life that the abundant bivalves were Gotham�s most celebrated export, a staple food for all classes, and a natural filtration system 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 seventeenth-century founding of New York to the death of its 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. With The Big Oyster, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious.�Suffused with [Kurlansky�s] pleasure in exploring the city across ground that hasn�t already been covered with other writers� footprints.��Los Angeles Times Book Review�Fascinating stuff . . . [Kurlansky] has a keen eye for odd facts and natural detail.��The Wall Street Journal�Kurlansky packs his breezy book with terrific anecdotes.� �Entertainment Weekly�Magnificent . . . a towering accomplishment.��Associated Press