Customer Reviews

The Edge of the Sea

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just finished this and I can't wait to read the rest of the author's work. Carson has a gift for describing the world around her and a command of the language that few seem to appreciate today. This is basically a natural history book written as if it where a novel. In "Edge of the Sea" she describes seashores, the environment and how it defines the animals and plants that a visitor will see. She concentrates on America's East Coast. The text left me with a longing to be there. Where modern writers would use pictures, Carson uses words. This book would be good (4 stars) for anyone who enjoys written imagery. If you already love the sea then it deserves 5.

Having never heard of Rachel Carson except in relation to "Silent Spring", I was pleasantly surprised on first reading her writing in this book by the masterly and near-poetic elegance of her prose. Written in the 1950s, before nature documentaries allowed most of us to see the wonders of marine life with our own eyes, Carson's ability to introduce those wonders to us through evocatively-written description alone (with occasional illustrations) remains truly amazing. The problem is that a generation raised on visual stimuli would probably find it quite difficult to sustain enough patience to go through the whole book, since it does make substantial demands on one's sense of imagination. I found myself struggling by the time I had finished two chapters - even though each chapter is generally about a different kind of seashore (rock, sand, or coral reef), trying to visualise one fascinating organism after another just got rather tedious and confusing. My recommendation to other readers would be to maximise your enjoyment of this book by reading it at the seaside, or in conjunction with a relevant documentary on the Discovery Channel.

I have the 1955 edition of this book and it is on a small list of books that I read at least every 2 years. I live along the Maine Coast and I am an avid aquarium keeper. I began reading this time about a week before the big BP oil disaster in The Gulf Of Mexico and I wish that every person everywhere could read this book today. Some of the science is obviously a bit out of date - we've learned a lot in the past half century, but the beauty of Rachel's writings continues to thrill. When I see the images of oil drenched sea birds on TV, my heart also breaks for the hundreds of species whose micro world is known only to those who have taken the time to explore the magical mysteries that lie at the edge of the sea.

Finished "The Sea Around Us", so wonderful, and went right on to "The Edge of the Sea". It is completely amazing and wondrous to learn about the variety of life living in the area of the tidal zone, between land and sea. Also, it is a terrific guide book.

Carson takes a more detailed look at life on the edge of the sea. Having been near one of the areas she mentnioned helped make the subject matter more personal. However, she didn't drag me into this book like I was when I read some of her other works. I felt it to be a little dull in places, even though the the information was interesting throughout the book. Certainly worth reading if you're looking for an introduction to life on the edge of the ocean.

boring book...this coming from someone that read the Old Testament.
i wrote a 10 page paper on it if anyone is interested, comment this review.
the paper i wrote was better than the book, i'd be willing to bet.

I thought this book was very mature and detailed. She is an excellent writer and I am doing a report on her! She was a wonderful person. And I enjoyed this very much.