Entertaining text and fascinating photos draw you into the world of the aquaculturists, scientists, and connoisseurs who shaped the oyster-farming industry.

A newly updated compendium on how oysters shaped the environment, cultures, and economies of the Northwest. Heaven on the Half Shell offers a thoroughly researched and richly illustrated history of the Pacific Northwest's beloved bivalve, the oyster. Starting with the earliest evidence of sea gardens and clam beds from 11,500 years ago, this book covers the history of oyster cultivation through contemporary aquaculture in coastal Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, northern California, and southeastern Alaska. Generations of oyster farmers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, have weathered many challenges to continue the harvest. Their vivid individual accounts are braided together with significant history, such as the major contributions of Japanese immigrants prior to World War II and the 1994 Rafeedie decision that affirmed shellfish harvesting rights held by Northwest tribes in the US. The book also sheds light on the innovations that made oysters an enduringly popular food, from the creation of so-called sexless oysters that could be consumed year-round to breakthroughs in contemporary oyster cuisine. Now fully updated and expanded--and chock-full of "oysterabilia"--this classic text offers new insights on emerging challenges to the oyster farmer's life as well as increased coverage of the roles of women and contemporary Indigenous communities in building this cultural tradition, past and present. Newcomers and aficionados alike will also be delighted by the carefully selected recipes, both historic and contemporary, from the region's top chefs. As the old saying goes, when the tide is out, the table is set.

Simon Wagstaff narrowly escapes the Deluge that destroys Earth when he happens upon an abandoned spaceship. A man without a planet, he gains immortality from an elixir drunk during an interlude with a cat-like alien queen. Now Simon must chart a 3,000-year course to the most distant corners of the multiverse, to seek out the answers to the questions no one can seem to answer.

Herring are vital to the productivity and health of marine systems, and socio-ecologically Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) is one of the most important fish species in the Northern Hemisphere. Human dependence on herring has evolved for millennia through interactions with key spawning areas—but humans have also significantly impacted the species’ distribution and abundance. Combining ethnological, historical, archaeological, and political perspectives with comparative reference to other North Pacific cultures, Herring and People of the North Pacific traces fishery development in Southeast Alaska from precontact Indigenous relationships with herring to postcontact focus on herring products. Revealing new findings about current herring stocks as well as the fish’s significance to the conservation of intraspecies biodiversity, the book explores the role of traditional local knowledge, in combination with archeological, historical, and biological data, in both understanding marine ecology and restoring herring to their former abundance.

Powerful Pacific storms strike the region. Otherworldly lenticular clouds often cap Mount Rainier. Rain shadows create sunny skies while torrential rain falls a few miles away. The Pineapple Express brings tropical moisture and warmth during Northwest winters. The Pacific Northwest produces some of the most distinctive and variable weather in North America, which is described with colorful and evocative language in this book. Atmospheric scientist and blogger Cliff Mass, known for his ability to make complex science readily accessible to all, shares eyewitness accounts, historical episodes, and the latest meteorological knowledge. This updated, extensively illustrated, and expanded new edition features: • A new chapter on the history of wildfires and their impact on air quality • Analysis of recent floods and storms, including the Oso landslide of 2014, the 2016 “Ides of October” windstorm, and the tornado that damaged 250 homes in Port Orchard on the Kitsap Peninsula in 2018 • Fresh insight on local weather phenomena such as “The Blob” • Updates on the latest technological advances used in forecasting • A new chapter on the meteorology of British Columbia Highly readable and packed with useful scientific information, this indispensable guide is a go-to resource for outdoor enthusiasts, boaters, gardeners, and anyone who wants to understand and appreciate the complex and fascinating meteorology of the region.

Having “discovered” the flavors of barbacoa, bibimbap, bánh mi, sambusas, and pupusas, white middle-class eaters are increasingly venturing into historically segregated neighborhoods in search of “authentic” eateries run by—and for—immigrants and people of color. This interest in “ethnic” food and places, fueled by media attention and capitalized on by developers, contributes to gentrification, and the very people who produced these vibrant foodscapes are increasingly excluded from them. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, geographer Pascale Joassart-Marcelli traces the transformation of three urban San Diego neighborhoods whose foodscapes are shifting from serving the needs of longtime minoritized residents who face limited food access to pleasing the tastes of wealthier and whiter newcomers. The $16 Taco illustrates how food can both emplace and displace immigrants, shedding light on the larger process of gentrification and the emotional, cultural, economic, and physical displacement it produces. It also highlights the contested food geographies of immigrants and people of color by documenting their contributions to the cultural food economy and everyday struggles to reclaim ethnic foodscapes and lead flourishing and hunger-free lives. Joassart-Marcelli offers valuable lessons for cities where food-related development projects transform neighborhoods at the expense of the communities they claim to celebrate.

Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Now award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants–the oyster, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled. For centuries New York was famous for its oysters, which until the early 1900s played such a dominant a role in the city’s economy, gastronomy, and ecology that the abundant bivalves were Gotham’s most celebrated export, a staple food for the wealthy, the poor, and tourists alike, and the primary natural defense against pollution for the city’s congested waterways. Filled with cultural, historical, and culinary insight–along with historic recipes, maps, drawings, and photos–this dynamic narrative sweeps readers from the island hunting ground of the Lenape Indians to the death of the oyster beds and the rise of America’s environmentalist movement, from the oyster cellars of the rough-and-tumble Five Points slums to Manhattan’s Gilded Age dining chambers. Kurlansky brings characters vividly to life while recounting dramatic incidents that changed the course of New York history. Here are the stories behind Peter Stuyvesant’s peg leg and Robert Fulton’s “Folly”; the oyster merchant and pioneering African American leader Thomas Downing; the birth of the business lunch at Delmonico’s; early feminist Fanny Fern, one of the highest-paid newspaper writers in the city; even “Diamond” Jim Brady, who we discover was not the gourmand of popular legend. With The Big Oyster, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious.