A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer [Hardcover]

David C. Powell (Author), Sylvia A. Earle (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0520223667 | ISBN-13: 978-0520223660 | Edition: 1

This engaging memoir presents one man's lifelong love of the ocean and gives a highly personal, behind-the-scenes look at California's magnificent and innovative aquariums. David Powell, for many years curator of the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, tells the story of his life as a pioneering aquarist. From handling great white sharks to transporting delicate fish on bumpy airplanes to night diving for fish in the Indian Ocean, A Fascination for Fish describes many of the mind-boggling challenges that make modern aquariums possible and offers an intriguing glimpse beneath the ocean's surface.
Powell's career in diving and aquarium development goes back to the beginning of modern methods in both areas. From the early techniques he devised to get fish into aquariums alive and healthy to his later exploratory dive to a depth of eleven hundred feet in a two-person submarine, Powell's action-packed narrative inspires laughter, wonder, and philosophical reflection. A Fascination for Fish also includes many stories about Powell's diving adventures on the California coast, in the Sea of Cortez, and in many remote and exotic locations around the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Beginning with the pioneering "do-it-yourself" days of scuba diving in the late 1940s, Powell guides us through his career at several of the best aquariums in California, ending with his distinguished tenure as director of Live Exhibit Development at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Along the way, we meet many fascinating characters, both human and piscine. Sylvia Earle, who provided the preface, compares the author to Ed Ricketts of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row fame, an especially apt comparison when he is telling tales of adventurous collecting trips to Baja, CA. Powell's breezy, anecdotal writing style is easy to read and informative without being ponderous, and readers will appreciate his giving the scientific names of all the animals mentioned. This book does for aquariums what John Sedgwick's Peaceable Kingdom: A Year in the Life of America's Oldest Zoo (LJ 1/88. o.p.) did for zoos. Highly recommended for libraries of all levels with an interest in marine biology, aquariums, marine animal husbandry, scuba diving, or careers. Margaret Rioux, MBL/WHOI Lib., Woods Hole, MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Powell, the former director of live exhibit development at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, has always loved the sea. He also loves the creatures that live in the oceans, and his autobiography reveals a man who has spent his life finding ways for people who live on the land to come face-to-face with the creatures who live under the sea. Powell was truly a pioneer, diving in the mid-1950s in "dry suits" made by a car manufacturer, devising new ways of moving sea creatures from their homes to aquariums, and championing marine conservation before most people had even heard of the idea. He's an engaging writer, sweeping us up in his enthusiasm for his subject, showing us the alien undersea world in a way we've never seen it before. We learn plenty from him, and yet it never feels as if he's trying to teach us anything. An excellent autobiography and an impassioned plea for the preservation of marine life. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (April 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520223667
• ISBN-13: 978-0520223660
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,456,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fish Stories -- Fascinating!, April 18, 2001

By 

R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer (Hardcover)

If among the things you have to confess you know nothing about are designing, stocking, and running a public aquarium, you can change that and have a darned good time filling in these particular voids. David C. Powell, who knows more about running aquariums than just about anyone, has written a memoir, _A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer_ (University of California Press) that tells about his unusual career and has more than its share of pleasing anecdotes.

Powell took the first fish he caught as a kid and slept with it under his pillow. He maintained the lobster tank at a fancy Malibu restaurant. When he read Cousteau's first book, _The Silent World_, he knew he had to start diving. As he kept specimens in his home aquarium, he joined the Marine Aquarium Society of Los Angeles. A fellow member told him of a job opening as an aquarist at Marineland of the Pacific; it was just what he wanted to do, and from there he worked at various aquariums, directing the live exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium until retiring four years ago. He now seems to be the most frequently consulted consultant whenever towns or nations want to set up aquariums.

Powell writes with admiration and affection about the creatures he has to capture and then keep in as home-like an environment as possible, including the wonderfully named sarcastic fringehead, the "thumbsplitter" mantis shrimp with its faster-than-the-eye claw, and many more. He tells about the process of capturing samples in many different ways, but diving and capturing fish is the easy part. Transporting them is hard. There are different gadgets and containers that have to be used, including the truck transport named the "Tunabago." It is planning the displays of the fish that obviously has given Powell the most satisfaction in his career. His description, for instance, of the responsibilities of putting up the largest window in the world, a gigantic acrylic pane fifty-five by fifteen feet, thirteen inches thick, and weighing thirty-eight tons, is completely engrossing.

Powell's book, a mixture of autobiography, oceanography, ichthyology, museology, and funny stories, is a delight. In seemingly effortless style, he conveys the excitement even in the minor aspects of his career. He gives a final essay on the importance of aquariums (disdained by Cousteau as "fish prisons") in bringing people closer to nature and in promoting the conservation that could keep the oceans healthy. His book is a worthy summary of a lifetime's effort in that cause.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book about a pioneering aquarist and his work, May 3, 2001

By 

"discusfish" (Grahamstown, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer (Hardcover)

This was a truly excellent read - if you are interested in how they make those impressive aquarium displays, how they catch the livestock, overcome the challenges of adapting them to aquarium life and lots of stories along the way, this is the book for you from the man widely acknowledged as being "it" when it comes to designing pioneering public aquaria.

Highly recommended for anyone out there fascinated by fish and the marvellous public aquariums around the world. Enjoy it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascination for fish, April 23, 2001

By 

Carl Gage (Sierra Madre, California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer (Hardcover)

David C. Powell provides the reader with an excellent insight into the life experiences of a dedicated biologist. His detailed descriptions and insights of all the efforts that went into sharing his exciting discoveries is a joy to read. For anyone who visits aquariums this is a must read book. It provides rare, behind the scenes, information about the enormous effort and dedication involved in providing public aquarium exhibits. Dave's style has the flavor of Ricketts and Stienbeck all in one.