A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America (Hardcover)

by Rowan Jacobsen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Jacobsen, managing editor of the magazine The Art of Eating, presents the ultimate macropedia for oysters, covering not just geography, but also philosophy, consumerism, epicurean splendor and the proper way to grow a pearl. The first of the guide's three sections, Mastering Oysters, covers such cocktail party talking points as A Dozen Oysters You Should Know and The Aphrodisiac Angle, and presents a primer on how and why oysters taste as they do. Chapter two accounts for half the book's page count and is a travelogue across the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, a movable feast up and down the east and west coasts of North America. Jacobsen ends his research with Everything You Wanted to Know About Oysters but Were Afraid to Ask. (The title exemplifies one of the very few times that his writing goes stale). Here he lists the best ways to ship, store and shuck, and explains why it is perfectly all right to eat oysters in months that do not have an r in them. He also serves up 20 or so recipes, including Coconut Oyster Stew with ginger and lemongrass and Baked Oysters in Tarragon Butter, simple to make but complex in flavor. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“A wide-ranging, thorough, breezily written guide to oysters as cuisine…Jacobsen leads with his fearless palate every time- he’s a down-to-earth companion you listen to, even if you don’t always agree with him.”-Boston Globe

 

“The most remarkable single-subject books to come along in a while…Jacobsen covers oysters in exhaustive detail, but with writing so engaging and sprightly that reading about the briny darlings is almost as compulsive as eating them…this book will improve your oyster eating immeasurably…There may be no more pleasurable food than a raw oyster, there almost certainly is no better guide.”—Los Angeles Times, Russ Parsons

 

"the ultimate macropedia for oysters"—Publisher's Weekly, starred review

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; 1st edition (September 4, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 1596913258 ISBN-13: 978-1596913257 Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #254,228 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #87 in  Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Seafood

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	86% buy the item featured on this page: A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America 5.0 out of 5 stars (8) $16.47
	4% buy The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell 4.0 out of 5 stars (25) $10.17
	4% buy Sex, Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover's World Tour 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $16.50
	3% buy Consider the Oyster: A Shucker's Field Guide 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $13.57

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews 5 star:  (8) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastically thorough book about oysters, December 11, 2007 By  Harry Popsicle "goozman" - See all my reviews I love oysters. I don't know why, but I just do. Every now and then I get strong cravings and I just have to have them. I also have a lot of books about oysters because of it. "Consider the oyster" a great book, and others. But they are all mainly cook books with very little detail about the oyster, where it comes from and it's history. This book is incredibly well written, witty at times and very informative. You can learn how oysters are farmed and their various techniques. Things I didn't even find on wiki. I learned how they get to harden those shells. I purchased some Carlsbad Blondes, and those shells would just snap in half. Terrible oysters. I know why because of the book. I'm not sure how the author did it, but it seems he has had the incredible opportunity to sample a great many oysters. I can see his tax return $1000 spent as "research" for his book. What a great way to do research. Upon one of the authors great descriptions, I ordered three dozen Hama Hama's. They were fantastic. The author picks five or six farms and gives incredible detail about the location, the owner/farmer and his/her history and the oysters themselves. This is a book to own now, because it is relavent now with the current oyster farmers listed. It is a chance to learn about the worlds best and to learn how to sample them. The only thing I would have loved to see in the book, would be a travel guide on how to visit the various farms the author so nicely listed. That's one of the things I plan on doing is to travel up and down the coast visiting oysters farms along the way. I would have loved this book to have a guide like that. There is a section on "what kind of oyster" person are you? But I didn't find that very useful or informative. A very minor drawback for an incredibly informative book on oysters. Every connosieur(sp?) should have a copy. A book for oyster lovers by an oyster lover. 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Slurp o licious, September 10, 2007 By  Angelo J. Piccozzi "Oyster Farmer" (Shelter Island, ny) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Jacobsen has turned the art of eating oysters to a higher level. You can't wait to finish the book so you can start trying out his great recommendations. Whether you're an oyster novice, blindly feeling your way around the oysters beds, or, a seasoned connoisseur, this book is a must read. Great work Rowan!! 13 of 14 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Geograpy of Oysters, September 17, 2007 By  Thomas Christopher Greene (Montpelier, VT) - See all my reviews This book was one I bought as a potential reference book, however once i picked it up I just kept reading it. This is far from a dry review of oysters it is funny and insightful. My oyster vocabulary has blossomed. Three friends have requested that I stop talking about oysters and buy them a copy for their birthdays. It tells about the oysters and then how to get them delivered to your door for dinner. I love this book.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome fun book Must read!! Growing up on an island in Washington State and visiting relatives on Hoods Canal who had oysters outside their front door, I grew up loving oysters raw, in stew, bread and pan... Read more Published 1 month ago by MotherLodeBeth 5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious Reading Rowan Jacobsen writes about oysters in beautifully descriptive language, with offbeat humor thrown in. Read more Published 4 months ago by Gayle 5.0 out of 5 stars A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America I love this book. I bought three for friends. I had no idea there were so many different speices of oysters. And so close to home, many of them. Read more Published 5 months ago by Marquita Hammeken 5.0 out of 5 stars Love Oysters but a Little Perplexed by Them? The Answers Are Here. "A Geography of Oysters" is the guide that I've been looking for. I love raw oysters, but they have a mind-boggling number of names and farming methods that I never could sort... Read more Published 13 months ago by mirasreviews 5.0 out of 5 stars "Eating an oyster is like kissing the sea on the lips... It is salty, sultry and seductive and it is always cause for a celebration." Rowan Jacobsen knows his oysters, and this wonderful one-subject book can make you an... Read more Published 15 months ago by Robert C. Ross Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; 1st edition (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596913258
• ISBN-13: 978-1596913257
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #254,228 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #87 in

  Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Seafood

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastically thorough book about oysters, December 11, 2007

By	Harry Popsicle "goozman" - See all my reviews

I love oysters. I don't know why, but I just do. Every now and then I get strong cravings and I just have to have them. I also have a lot of books about oysters because of it. "Consider the oyster" a great book, and others. But they are all mainly cook books with very little detail about the oyster, where it comes from and it's history.

This book is incredibly well written, witty at times and very informative. You can learn how oysters are farmed and their various techniques. Things I didn't even find on wiki. I learned how they get to harden those shells. I purchased some Carlsbad Blondes, and those shells would just snap in half. Terrible oysters. I know why because of the book.

I'm not sure how the author did it, but it seems he has had the incredible opportunity to sample a great many oysters. I can see his tax return $1000 spent as "research" for his book. What a great way to do research. Upon one of the authors great descriptions, I ordered three dozen Hama Hama's. They were fantastic.

The author picks five or six farms and gives incredible detail about the location, the owner/farmer and his/her history and the oysters themselves. This is a book to own now, because it is relavent now with the current oyster farmers listed. It is a chance to learn about the worlds best and to learn how to sample them.

The only thing I would have loved to see in the book, would be a travel guide on how to visit the various farms the author so nicely listed. That's one of the things I plan on doing is to travel up and down the coast visiting oysters farms along the way. I would have loved this book to have a guide like that.

There is a section on "what kind of oyster" person are you? But I didn't find that very useful or informative. A very minor drawback for an incredibly informative book on oysters. Every connosieur(sp?) should have a copy. A book for oyster lovers by an oyster lover.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slurp o licious, September 10, 2007

By	Angelo J. Piccozzi "Oyster Farmer" (Shelter Island, ny) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jacobsen has turned the art of eating oysters to a higher level.

You can't wait to finish the book so you can start trying out his great recommendations. Whether you're an oyster novice, blindly feeling your way around the oysters beds, or, a seasoned connoisseur, this book is a must read. Great work Rowan!!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Geograpy of Oysters, September 17, 2007

By	Thomas Christopher Greene (Montpelier, VT) - See all my reviews

This book was one I bought as a potential reference book, however once i picked it up I just kept reading it. This is far from a dry review of oysters it is funny and insightful. My oyster vocabulary has blossomed.

Three friends have requested that I stop talking about oysters and buy them a copy for their birthdays.

It tells about the oysters and then how to get them delivered to your door for dinner. I love this book.