Recently I read a book that profiled Rachel Carson and gave a short biography about both her personal and professional life. Rather than read Silent Spring, I chose this book since I thought a broad view of the ocean connected nicely with some other books I have read recently.
The more you read the more you see connections and things fitting together, which I have found to be an unexpected benefit.
The Sea Around Us is extremely well-written and beautifully describes the ocean from various perspectives. It is not merely about the fish swimming around inside it but it contains the history of it, the tides, the waves, the currents and the mysterious depths. There is a ton of research in this book, and it is broadly educational in a way that my school textbooks weren’t. The writer has a way of describing what is important not with statistics (although they are included occasionally) but instead with the heart and the imagination.
While it is a pleasure to read the fact remains that this book was published back in 1951 – meaning that the science and the discoveries contained within are roughly 70 years out of date. Whenever I read that “scientists still don’t know…” it meant that by know they probably have a much better idea. Off I’d go to the internet and find out what the state of research is. This happened so often that it became a bit burdensome.
The book is also somewhat North American-centric, and although the oceans make up most of the earth it seems that the writer is focused on an American reader. The condition of the world’s oceans are of interest to everyone on the planet – it would have been nice to have a more worldly view.
These negative points were the only things preventing a full enjoyment of the book – it is a little hard to recommend it to someone as it is fairly long and in-depth. There is probably a more up-to-date work out there more worthy of a reader’s time. However the excellent writing and unique tone made the read worthwhile for me.
Next I am reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shafer.
