The Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss [Hardcover]

Richard Ellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 1996

From the author of Monsters of the Sea and The Book of Whales comes an exhilarating armchair expedition to the last frontier on earth--the bottom of the sea. Ellis first surveys the history of deep-sea exploration, then plunges into the Atlantic's great repository of strange and wondrous fauna, 102 drawings. 32 photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Author of the acclaimed Monsters of the Deep and The Book of Whales, Ellis turns his attention here to the bottom of the sea?to the Atlantic floor. He reviews the history of deep-sea exploration from the 19th-century British Challenger expedition to William Beebe's bathysphere to modern submersibles, charting the various advances in technology. Ellis takes us on an imaginary submarine voyage across the bottom of the Atlantic, into its canyons and past the remains of the Titanic. Then he describes the strange and wonderful fauna of the depths, from luminescent sea cucumbers to giant squid (scientists have seen only parts of the animal, never an entire one) to cookie-cutter sharks and whales. Both text and the many white-on-black drawings by Ellis provide an illuminating introduction to Earth's last frontier. Illustrations.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ellis (Monsters of the Sea, LJ 11/1/94) has written another fascinating account of the exploration of the last frontier on Earth: the bottom of the sea. Using fiction, such as Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, he describes our fascination with and imagining of the unknown ocean. He traces the history of Atlantic exploration from explorers' early voyages to the development of ever more sophisticated submarines and submersibles. Ellis is entertaining, as when he describes the ramming of Alvin by a swordfish. But descriptions of tragedy, such as the sinking of Sea-Link, provide a realistic balance to the continuing progress of exploration and seemingly unhampered development of vehicles that could go deeper for longer periods of time. The chapters on creatures of the deep are clear, accurate, and well written. Highly recommended for all general science collections.?Mary J. Nickum, Bozeman, Mont.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 395 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (October 8, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679433244
• ISBN-13: 978-0679433248
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,462,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The text needed an editor, but how about those pictures, December 4, 1999

By 

Hubcap (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss (Paperback)

Richard Ellis likes writing about the oceans. He's quite good at it. Unfortunately, Deep Atlantic reads like a cross between a series of magazine articles and a wildlife guide. It's interesting in its own way, but the book is hamstrung by poor editing. The topics are organized into chapters, true, but there's very little attempt to link the chapters into a coherent whole. Too many chapters degenerate into a dull listing of creatures: "and then there's this squid, which is like that other squid, but different from the next squid..." I'd give the text two stars at best. The book is saved by the wonderful drawings - over 100 - also done by Mr. Ellis. In fact, Deep Atlantic probably would have been better as a coffee-table book, with large drawings accompanied by bite-sized bits of prose describing the weird and wonderful creatures of the deep. But who'd buy a coffee-table book about sea cucumbers and creepy fanged fish? Apart from me, that is...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Good Stuff From Ellis, June 20, 2001

By 

neilathotep (San Mateo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss (Paperback)

I've enjoyed everything I've read by Ellis, and this is no exception. Like his other books, this one too seems to suffer from some mediocre editing, but the content more than makes up for it. The book is basically split into two sections, one describing the oceonography of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as a history of human exploration of the murky depths. The second section, which i found to be the more interesting of the two, is a broad survey of the animal life found in the deep areas of the Atlantic Ocean (and hence the title). I wish he was able to go into more detail about some of the bizarre and amazing animals that he discusses, and I wish that he could have included even more of his wonderful drawings, but despite those reservations, I still thought the book was great.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great yet somewhat confusing book., November 22, 2000

By 

Anthony J. Fennell (Charleston, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss (Paperback)

After spending time doing my own studies on the subject it was very nice to read a book by someone so respected in the field and get some new and wonderful info. This book is filled front to back with countless accounts and drawings of deep-sea beasts. However, his use of examples and the way in which he quotes some of his sources can easily draw you away from what the current topic is and blur the overall vision of the book. I would strongly suggest this book to anyone who is in the least bit intrested by this subject.