Reading this history of the oysters in NYC was inspired by a course I took on the Food History of NYC. The 1st food we focused on was oysters, eaten by the Native people and the Europeans alike. The quantities of oysters in the local bodies of water and in the population's stomachs throughout the 19th century was astounding. And meanwhile the oysters were pumping and purifying the waters in which they lived. But using our rivers, etc, as garbage dumps and sewers poisoned our great natural resources. Overwhelming pollution brought this immense oyster feast to a screeching halt early in the 20th century. There has been some recovery since, especially of the Hudson. But The Big Oyster is a tragic and cautionary tale for sure!

Very good book about the rise and fall of the New York City oysters. Such a shame about the pollution. I'm not a fan of oysters, myself, but always interested in learning, and there is a lot of history in this book. Clever chapter titles, too.

Me, explaining what I’m reading to my husband: “well, it’s not so much a history of the oyster, as it is a history of New York City through the lens of oysters.”


I now know lots of things about both NYC and oysters. Can’t complain.

Mark never disappoints. An extremely intriguing read for foodies or people interested in New York history.

I read this book because oysters are high in glycine betaine and zinc, which are needed to support the BHMT enzymatic pathway involved in transforming homocysteine to methionine, and so important to methylation of DNA. Hypomethylation appears to be involved in autism/ADHD, cancer, and probably a slew of other things that I just haven't looked into. DNA methylation--or the lack thereof--affects a lot in the body. Anyway, the most interesting topic to me was the autism/ADHD angle. I suspect that proper nutritional support of the BHMT enzyme pathway (via zinc and glycine betaine) will turn out to be just as important as proper nutritional support of the methionine synthase pathway (via folate and B12), which until recently has been considered the major pathway to transform homocysteine to methionine. Both folate and B12 have been investigated for some time for their unclear but apparent connection to protection from autism. That led me to think that zinc and glycine betaine are also protective against autism (and ADHD, which looks pretty similar in brain scans). So after I learned that zinc and glycine betaine are both very high in oysters, it seemed like a good idea to read this book to see whether large-scale oyster consumption was good for society-wide intelligence and cooperation. I couldn't have asked for more supportive evidence for my little theory than Kurlansky's report of New York City's thriving while feasting on oysters. True, the early inhabitants, the Lenape Indians, didn't build skyscrapers, but they didn't have a good source of carbohydrates/protein like the Europeans with their wheat (the Dutch outright refused to sell wheat flour to the Native Americans). For centuries after colonization, everyone, rich and poor, black and white, was eating oysters constantly in New York, until they realized by the early 1900s that they were getting cholera and typhoid from eating raw oysters from their nearby polluted waters. So New York City slowly started closing all the oyster beds, closing the last one in 1927. Two years later, NYC's stock exchange in a week of craziness set off an economic depression that eventually affected the entire world.
If Kurlansky ever reads this review, I hope he considers researching the nutritional/neurological benefits of oysters and doing an updated version of this book including more information about them.

Not as encyclopedic as advertised, and definitely the literate foodie/gourmand has more to profit by than the historian, but an enjoyable read nevertheless that makes one pang for lost oyster cellars, the Washington Market, and all-night ferries. Kurlansky cites him a few times, but I suggest anyone really interested in knowing about the Black Staten Island oystering community, the oystering legacy of the South Shore of Strong Island, and the withering of New York Harbor fisheries of every stripe should consult with the best: Joseph Mitchell.

Yeah right. How is a book on the history of oysters going to be interesting? But it's not only interesting -- it's fascinating and wonderful.

Kurlansky is a great food writer (Salt and Cod are among his titles) but he has a brilliant sense of culture and NYC history as well. Oysters were a primary economy to New York; particularly in Five Points. Before the NY waters became so polluted (and remember that oysters are bottom-feeders) people came from all over the world -- notably Cas. Dickens -- just to get them fresh.

Science, history, and culinary delights (and horrors -- raw oysters are still alive when you eat them) await, not to mention good humor and writing.

Who knew oysters could tell such an amazing story about New York City? Kurlansky takes us on this wild ride through Manhattan's history, back when oysters were basically the hot dogs of their day - cheap street food that everyone from the poorest workers to the fanciest restaurant-goers couldn't get enough of. The crazy part is learning how New York Harbor used to be packed with massive oyster beds - we're talking about billions of oysters! I was fascinated by how the author weaves together the story of these little shellfish with the city's rise from Dutch colony to urban giant, showing how pollution and over-harvesting eventually killed off this incredible natural resource. If you love food history or just want to understand how New York became New York, this book serves up a perfect blend of fascinating facts, historical recipes, and stories about the people who made their living from these briny treats. It's kind of heartbreaking to realize how we went from having the world's richest oyster beds to basically killing them all off, but still a very cool book!

I just gave up on finishing this book. And I hate not finishing a book. I so wanted to keep reading. But I found myself looking around the subway for something more interesting to entertain me every time I picked it up. This is definitely not a page turner, like some of the other reviews suggest. Maybe if you're a history buff, but otherwise, no. It's interesting and there are tons of little tidbits about New York City and how this metropolis came to be what it is today (both due and not due to the early oyster trade), which is why I decided to read it in the first place.

All the first 100 pages really did for me was take me back to my 10th grade U.S. History class. I'm interested in New York's history but not in so much depth. I would have liked to finish for the sole purpose of furthering my education on NYC history, but there was just not enough substance to keep me interesting. Right now I have a list of other books that I'd rather read.

I've heard his earlier books are better reads.

It was an enjoyable book, but I did enjoy some of his others such as COD and Salt better. The Big Oyster" is a play on "The Big Apple," and the book's actually a history of New York City - from the viewpoint of the humble oyster, and those who gathered them, ate them, sold them, farmed them, poisoned them, and tried to restore them.

I knew that oysters were a popular food from way back, but I had no idea of the scale on which they were harvested and devoured at the peak of their popularity. The book is an interweaving of the oyster and the growth of New York City was interesting.

There are tidbits of information here such as that famed French food writer Brillat-Savarin lived in New York decades before he gained his fame, living in exile.

Among the many bits of information that were new to me was the story of Thomas Downing, a black man who became a leading businessman in New York in the early 1800's, and began it all by gathering oysters. His oyster cellar was a favorite haunt of businessmen and politicians, and behind the scenes he not only maintained his business on a high standard but accrued a fortune. He even bailed out the New York Herald with a sizable loan at one point.

I learned that all East Coast oysters (and now a good many of the Pacific-coast ones, too) are the same species, Crassostrea virginica. The varietal names such as Bluepoint generally refer to the location the oysters came from.

My third book I think by this author. I really like his topics and how he writes and I'm looking forward to more of his books.

Does your ability to converse with others rely heavily on your ability to recite interesting facts? Then "shaboy" Mark Kurlansky has your back. This Hemingway-looking topical historian whips the mundane into the majestic like a chef whips nasty old egg yolks and dairy into delicious flan. In The Big Oyster, we take a look at New York City through the eyes of the (not so) "solitary oyster". This is a book fit for the haughtiest gourmand, the sincerest environmentalist, the most earnest historian, or any resident/visitor of the greatest city on earth.