Chesapeake Oysters, Kate Livie
Chesapeake Oysters, Kate Livie
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

Chesapeake Oysters
The Bay's Foundation and Future

Author: Kate Livie

Narrator: Bianca Bryan

Unabridged: 6 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/25/2025


Synopsis

Chesapeake oysters are part of the legacy of the area, history on the half-shell. Hear of their beginning (foot-long bivalves!) through cultivation today.

The eastern oyster, the humble bivalve and delicious treat, are the living bones of the Chesapeake, as well as the ecological and historical lifeblood of the region. When colonists first sailed these impossibly abundant shores, they described massive shoals of foot-long oysters but the bottomless appetite of the Gilded Age and great fleets of skipjacks took their toll. Disease, environmental pressures and overconsumption decimated the population by the end of the twentieth century. While Virginia turned to bottom-leasing, passionate debate continues in Maryland among scientists and oystermen whether aquaculture or wild harvesting is the better way forward. Today, boutique oyster farming in the Bay is sustainably meeting the culinary demand of a new generation of connoisseurs. With careful research and interviews with experts, author Kate Livie presents this dynamic story and a glimpse of what the future may hold.

Reviews

Goodreads review by J.P. on October 01, 2017

Review to follow..........more

Goodreads review by Jeffrey on June 03, 2023

This was a fabulous little volume that explained a lot about oysters, their history, the challenges that the industry has faced in the Chesapeake Bay area, to how they have become valued worldwide. For somebody who is not well versed in bivalves, there was a lot of eye opening stuff here regarding t......more

Goodreads review by Nathan on May 02, 2020

pretty fun to read for a random subject as learning about the oyster industry. If you enjoy eating oysters or live around the tristate chesapeake area I highly recommond this book. Apparently early America depended on this plentiful and useful resource for a couple reasons that could be argued was p......more

Goodreads review by Bud on April 08, 2022

Living in Delaware, I found this an interesting read. Unfamiliar with the place of the oyster in history, culture, and commerce, the book was informative and quite fascinating. Nevertheless, I am still not eating them.......more