1911 LITTLE GIRL OYSTER SHUCKERS PORT ROYAL SC PHOTO

OYSTERS ARE SEXY. LET’S AGREE ON THAT RIGHT AWAY.But there’s much more to the oyster than simply its legendary power as an aphrodisiac. And that’s what you’ll find inside this charming field guide to oysters by oyster purveyor and champion shucker Patrick McMurray. Rich in history and lore, CONSIDER THE OYSTER weaves together anecdotes from the author’s experiences as a restaurateur and competitive shucker with practical information on everything from opening oysters with finesse (and a minimum of personal injury!) to planning an oyster party, finding the best oyster bars and ordering hard-to-get bivalves on the Internet.You’ll also meet the people who grow and export oysters — from the coast of Ireland to the shores of Cape Cod and everywhere in between — and you’ll find yourself longing to taste some of the more than fifty varieties that McMurray details with loving enthusiasm. Wellfleets, Malpeques, Irish Flats, Fines de Claires, Royal Courtesans... They’re all here, just waiting to be discovered and savored as never before.

OYSTERS ARE SEXY. LET’S AGREE ON THAT RIGHT AWAY.But there’s much more to the oyster than simply its legendary power as an aphrodisiac. And that’s what you’ll find inside this charming field guide to oysters by oyster purveyor and champion shucker Patrick McMurray. Rich in history and lore, CONSIDER THE OYSTER weaves together anecdotes from the author’s experiences as a restaurateur and competitive shucker with practical information on everything from opening oysters with finesse (and a minimum of personal injury!) to planning an oyster party, finding the best oyster bars and ordering hard-to-get bivalves on the Internet.You’ll also meet the people who grow and export oysters — from the coast of Ireland to the shores of Cape Cod and everywhere in between — and you’ll find yourself longing to taste some of the more than fifty varieties that McMurray details with loving enthusiasm. Wellfleets, Malpeques, Irish Flats, Fines de Claires, Royal Courtesans... They’re all here, just waiting to be discovered and savored as never before.

November 1861. The South was winning the Civil War. Fort Sumter had fallen to the Confederates. The Federal army was routed at Manassas. The blockade of Southern ports was a farce; commerce and weapons flowed almost as freely as before the war. There were stirrings of interest from foreign powers in recognizing the Confederacy and brokering a forced peace accord. The Federals needed to turn the tide. The largest fleet ever assembled by the United States set its sights on the South Carolina coast for this much-needed victory. On November 7, 1861, this mighty weapon of war engaged two undermanned and outgunned forts in Hilton Head in a clash called the Battle of Port Royal. Join historian Michael Coker as he tells the story of this largely forgotten battle, a pivotal turning point in the war that defined our nation.Other books in the Civil War Sesquicentennial Series include:The Battle of Antietam ♦ The Battle of Franklin ♦ The Chancellorsville Campaign ♦ The Battle of South Mountain ♦ Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign ♦ Charleston Under Siege ♦ Andersonville Civil War Prison ♦ The Civil War at Perryville ♦ The Battle of Okolona ♦ Fort Davidson and the Battle of Pilot Knobb ♦ The Two Civil War Battles of Newtonia ♦ The Confederacy's Secret Weapon ♦ Lee in the Lowcountry ♦ Defending South Carolina's Coast ♦ Facing Sherman in South Carolina ♦ The Battle of Brandy Station ♦ The Battle of Cedar Creek ♦ The Battle of Fredericksburg ♦ The Battle of Piedmont ♦ The Battle of New Market Heights ♦ Big Bethel ♦ The Battle of Mine Creek ♦ West Virginia in the Civil War ♦ Civil War Atlanta ♦ The Battle of Westport ♦ The Union is Dissolved ♦ The Battle of Fort Donelson