Who Ate The First Oyster?

Who Ate The First Oyster? The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History- Cody Cassidy
Penguin Books
Release Date: May 5, 2020

Rating:
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Synopsis: Who invented the wheel? Who told the first joke? Who drank the first beer? Who was the murderer in the first murder mystery, who was the first surgeon, who sparked the first fire--and most critically, who was the first to brave the slimy, pale oyster?

In this book, writer Cody Cassidy digs deep into the latest research to uncover the untold stories of some of these incredible innovators (or participants in lucky accidents). With a sharp sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of our ancient ancestors, Who Ate the First Oyster? profiles the perpetrators of the greatest firsts and catastrophes of prehistory, using the lives of individuals to provide a glimpse into ancient cultures, show how and why these critical developments occurred, and educate us on a period of time that until recently we've known almost nothing about.

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It's a question we've all pondered at some point:  Who first decided to . . . ?  In Cody Cassidy's new book Who Ate the First Oyster? Cassidy's research helps give us a better understanding of some of the most important firsts in human history- and why they are so important.  From eating the first oyster to drinking the first beer, riding the first horse, or first getting smallpox, each chapter covers a different period in human evolution and the "first" that propelled us onward.  Even more important, and interesting (to me anyway), he personalizes the discoveries and inventions by bringing the anonymous people responsible for these "firsts" back into the limelight they so richly deserve.

Cassidy's writing style is casual and full of humor, yet the reader has no doubt that this is an author who has done his research and isn't just making everything up.  While the actual person Cassidy credits the "first" to isn't necessarily a historic figure, they are the general figure.  For example, 'Oyster Girl' may or may not have been what the person who ate the first oyster was actually called, but Cassidy describes what her life would have been like based on archaeological evidence, why the chance is good it was a woman, why eating oysters hadn't been done before, and why we should care.  The science is presented to the reader in an understandable manner, making it accessible to anyone instead of Ph.Ds only.  Each chapter was both entertaining and informative and I found myself wishing I'd be able to remember more of the factoids than I inevitable would- but also thinking this was a book I would enjoy re-reading to remember more with each pass.  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review