It is time get the hottest book on the oyster market: The Living Shore: Rediscovering a Lost World
by Rowan Jacobsen.Jacobsen is the James Beard Award-winning author of A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America
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His newest book, The Living Shore explains how the decimation of oysters and other shellfish is a loss for everyone who depends on the health of the seas. Shellfish are the lynchpins of coastal ecosystems, the coral reefs of the temperate world. By filtering water, stabilizing shorelines, and providing complex habitat, they make estuaries the most productive environments on earth. Yet few healthy oyster reefs remain, and the race is on to protect the last ones.
What begins as a quest to find rare oysters becomes an exploration of our ancient connection to that “living shore.” New archaeology from British Columbia to South Africa reveals how the coast has supported our development and well-being, from our modern origins 164,000 years ago to our colonization of North America. There are reasons we feel such a profound connection to the shore. When we became estranged from that world, we also lost touch with a fundamental part of being human.
But all is not lost. The Living Shore profiles the extraordinary efforts underway to reestablish native shellfish populations and reverse the decline of the seas, and shows the promise-as the scientists on the expedition discover-of the return of a world so vital to our physical and spiritual sustenance.
Once you read The Living Shore please post your comments below.
Interested in Meeting the Author?
Jacobsen has several appearances scheduled, click here for a listing. I had the opportunity to meet him at last years B&G Oysters Event and I can tell you he's first class: friendly, approachable, and inspiring.
You can learn more about the author on his website.
Information from this posting was obtained, with permission, from www.rowanjacobsen.com
