---
product_id: 281588056
title: "The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell"
price: "482 DH"
currency: MAD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.ma/products/281588056-the-big-oyster-history-on-the-half-shell
store_origin: MA
region: Morocco
---

# The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

**Price:** 482 DH
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell
- **How much does it cost?** 482 DH with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ma](https://www.desertcart.ma/products/281588056-the-big-oyster-history-on-the-half-shell)

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- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

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## Description

Buy The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Kurlansky, Mark online on desertcart.ae at best prices. ✓ Fast and free shipping ✓ free returns ✓ cash on delivery available on eligible purchase.

Review: 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.
Review: Fascinating! And topical, as New Jersey is trying to rebuild the historical oyster populations for environmental and economic reasons. The author, with an enviable, dry wit, brings the settling of New York to life, does a great job showing how oysters were essential to the economy, shares some old recipes, etc, but the reason I loved the book is it left me yearning for what used to be, and knowing why it is so important that we get involved with rewilding the bay floor. I loved this book.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #423,348 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #208 in Fish & Seafood Cooking #1,396 in Cooking Education & Reference #2,546 in History of the Americas |
| Customer reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (310) |
| Dimensions  | 13.06 x 1.8 x 20.12 cm |
| Edition  | Illustrated |
| ISBN-10  | 0345476395 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0345476395 |
| Item weight  | 1.05 Kilograms |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 336 pages |
| Publication date  | 9 January 2007 |
| Publisher  | Random House Trade Paperbacks |

## Images

![The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/914VjsPxmXL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by K***N on 6 September 2011*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by C***H on 24 May 2018*

Fascinating! And topical, as New Jersey is trying to rebuild the historical oyster populations for environmental and economic reasons. The author, with an enviable, dry wit, brings the settling of New York to life, does a great job showing how oysters were essential to the economy, shares some old recipes, etc, but the reason I loved the book is it left me yearning for what used to be, and knowing why it is so important that we get involved with rewilding the bay floor. I loved this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by S***A on 19 January 2016*

I listened to it and liked it so much that I bought it for my Mom. She is quite fascinated too - and she is pretty discerning. A+. Amazing history that is still being discovered in underground NYC.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell
- Salt: A World History
- Cod

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*Product available on Desertcart Morocco*
*Store origin: MA*
*Last updated: 2026-01-22*