Who Ate the First Oyster?: The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History

Description

Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations. 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 to 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.

Cody Cassidy is the co-author of the popular science book And Then You're Dead, which was translated into more than ten languages, and a former bookstore clerk in Buenos Aires. While writing Who Ate the First Oyster? he attempted to shave with chipped obsidian like the inventor of the world's first razor, retraced the final steps of an ancient murder victim through the Pyrenees and the Alps, brewed beer by spoiling gruel, and fired a replica of an ancient bow and arrow, among other experiments. He lives in San Francisco.

A fun and enlightening quick trip through all the clever, stupid, dangerous, and gross human firsts that we've all wondered about. * Zach and Kelly Weinersmith, New York Times bestselling authors of Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything * In this fascinating and entertaining book, Cody Cassidy has done what might seem impossible: illustrating the identity, life, and death of some of the most momentous-and entirely anonymous-figures in human (and prehuman) history. * Ryan North, author of How To Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler * A breezy read through millennia of human development. * Kirkus Reviews * illuminating and entertaining... Enthralled readers will develop a new appreciation for the ancient past. * Publishers Weekly * Cassidy embarks on a wide-ranging, far-flung journey of curiosity that easily engages the reader. Chapters are brimming with history that may surprise readers as well as compel them to further investigate. * Booklist * WHO told the first joke? Or drank the first beer? Author Cody Cassidy has the answers to those questions and more in his new Who Ate The First Oyster? book. He has dug deep to uncover the untold stories of some of our ancestors' innovations and discoveries. * Daily Star * Despite its fun approach, the chapters are full of history and brings to life people time has forgotten. It's also a fascinating insight into how things we take for granted developed. * Good to Know * Cody Cassidy spent more than three years scouring libraries, debating with experts and travelling the world on a quest to solve the mysteries behind some of humanity's most significant innovations. * The Red Bulletin * Delves into the past and the circumstances of some of our greatest discoveries * The Times *