Under the Sea-Wind (Penguin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Rachel Carson (Author), Linda Lear (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: April 3, 2007

For the centennial of the birth of Silent Spring author Rachel Carson, a new edition of her groundbreaking paean to the sea

Celebrating the mystery and beauty of birds and sea creatures in their natural habitat, Under the Sea-Wind-Rachel Carson's first book and her personal favorite-is the early masterwork of one of America's greatest nature writers. Evoking the special mystery and beauty of the shore and the open sea-its limitless vistas and twilight depths-Carson's astonishingly intimate, unforgettable portrait captures the delicate negotiations of an ingeniously calibrated ecology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Rachel Carson was one of the reasons why I became so conscious of the environment and so involved with environmental issues. . . . Her picture hangs on my office wall among those of political leaders, presidents, and prime ministers. It has been there for years-and it belongs there. Carson has had as much or more an effect on me than any of them, and perhaps all of them together. (Al Gore)

About the Author

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) is widely acknowledged to be America's greatest nature writer and one of the first environmentalists. Her three other books are the prophetic Silent Spring (1962), The Edge of the Sea (1956), and The Sea Around Us (1951).
Linda Lear is an environmental historian and biographer, and author of the prizewinning Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature and of Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143104969
• ISBN-13: 978-0143104964
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Marine Life
  • #24 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Marine Biology
  • #41 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems

More About the Author

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) spent most of her professional life as a marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By the late 1950s, she had written three lyrical, popular books about the sea, including the bestselling The Sea Around Us, and had become the most respected science writer in America. She completed Silent Spring against formidable personal odds, and with it shaped a powerful social movement that has altered the course of history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FRom Honolulu to Palmyra Atoll and Back in a Flicka Sloop[, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Sea Wind (Classic, Nature, Penguin) (Paperback)

What a treasure found! Luckily I purchased Under the Sea Wind, prior to sailing my small boat to an equally small atoll. This book gives the reader an appreciation and understanding of life around the sea. More importantly, it increased my situational awarenes to gleen some of the Ocean's less obvious life. Upon making landfall at Palmyra Atoll, I was more able to see the life occuring before me. This book would be of value to any cruising sailor, hiker, or motorhome wanderer. This book makes an excellent gift to the homebound and undermotivated friends. It is superbly written by one of the finest writers of this century and children love it's flowing pace of words. Perhaps the best advice is to read this fine work, next to that buy a copy for a friend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What an unusual nature book, February 20, 2010

By 

Howie (North by Northwest) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Under the Sea-Wind (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a very unusual nature book. Most nature books are based on first-hand experience and observations (e.g. see Henry David Thoreau, Edward Abbey, Robert Finch's books). While Rachel Carson certainly studied and observed the animals she describes in this book, she did not dive under the sea, thus a lot of the narrative is based on imagination (educated imagination, no doubt). The personification of the animals -- to give them human names and describe their feelings -- is also very unique in nature books. Nonetheless, these do not detract from the scientific accuracies of Carson's descriptions. As an literary book, these in fact make the book very much more readable. Reading it is like watching a Discovery channel documentary.

I deduct one star not because of the book itself, but because of this Penguin edition. I believe there is another edition of the book with illustrations by Bob Hines, I think those illustrations are fantastic. This book contains the illustrations by Howard Frech, the same as the first edition. These illustrations are fine, but there are very few of them (I am not sure if the Penguin edition even includes all of the original Frech works). The edition with Bob Hines' illustrations are infinitely more fun to read, why did Penguin not use those? Actually, why not use both??

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars another fine book by Rachel Carson!, December 10, 2006

By 

P. W. Duggan (Winnetka, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Under the Sea Wind (Classic, Nature, Penguin) (Paperback)

I found this book to be a little different from the other ones I have read by Carson. She uses characters in a story setting that reflects actual natural history and animal behavior, making it an enjoyable read and not another dry marine biology book (pun not intended).