About this title: Here is the strange story of the seas - how they were born, how life emerged from them, and the marine world within them. Rachel Carson's writing teems with images - the newly-formed Earth cooling beneath an endlessly overcast sky; volcanic action throwing up huge masses on the ocean floor to create immense mountains and desolate canyons; giant squid battling sperm-whales hundreds of fathoms below the surface. A new chapter by Jeffrey Levinton, brings the science of "The Sea Around Us" up to date. Levinton incorporates the most recent thinking on continental drift, coral reefs, the spread of ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: 1st paperback printing
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: New American Library, [New York]
Date Published: 1954
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Protective plastic cover peeling, cover and spine creased, rubbed corners. 169 p. 18 cm. Includes Illustrations. "A Mentor book. " Bibliography: p. [167]-169. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford U. P
Date Published: 1951
Description: Good in poor dust jacket. Signed by previous owner. Nice hard cover, lightly read, wear/tear/aging to dust jacket, light aging to pages, stk #2535p8. 230p., ill., 22 cm. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford U. P
Date Published: 1951
Description: Fair. No dust jacket. Nice hard cover, lightly read, shelf wear to cover, light aging to pages, stk #2575b9. 230p., ill., 22 cm. read more
"This is an older book so, to be expected, some of the science is outdated. For example, though she doesn't say so explicitly, she seems to think that the Pacific islands were populated from South America (ala Kon-Tiki) although it has been pretty well established that they were populated from West to East. However, the writing is lyrical and there are some things to learn about the oceans which are unchangeable. On an alarming note, she writes about the vast Pacific Ocean garbage dump which, if it was bad circa the early 50's, it's sad to imagine what it must be like now."
"A kindred spirit who also grew up in Pittsburgh and managed to escape to live her dream of being by the sea. Her natural history opus that brought the mysteries of the ocean to millions of non-scientists. Fun to read a science journal cira-1950 and hear Carson mention a new "theory" of plate tectonics."
"This book launched Rachel Carson's career as a popular science literature writer. If you have never read any of her ocean books, start with this one. Her writing is unique in that she describes science facts almost poetically, weaving story after story of the wonder and mystery of the oceans. She involves the reader by asking questions and then exploring possible answers, all the while revealing new facts to the reader. Delving into marine biology, ecology (a term that she originally coined, along with the word ecosystem), oceanography and history, her topics include the beginning of the world and the first oceans, sea life in the abysmal depths, tides and the effect of long-period tides on climate, phosphorescent sea life, islands and submarine mountain ranges, early ocean exploration, and even the search for the lost continent of Atlantis. She often refers to different geological eras, and includes a convenient chart of these. She also tells much history of human interaction with the oceans. This book is almost 60 years old and represents the pinnacle of ocean knowledge in 1950. From that perspective, an amazing amount is still true and relevant, and even prophetic, today.
Update: I just perused the 1989 edition, and found both the new Introduction and the Afterward added valuable current perspectives. The Introduction by environmental writer Ann Zwinger describes the culture and times in which The Sea Around Us and other of Carson's works were written. The Afterword, by Jeffrey Levinton, expands on Carson's topics, updating them with more current research and understanding of the problems that humans have created in the oceans."
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