Water Baby: The Story of Alvin [Hardcover]

Victoria A. Kaharl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 1990

Although "Alvin", a small, deep-diving submarine, was launched in the face of doubts about its value, safety and cost-effectiveness, it has been involved in some of the most important marine missions of recent times. "Alvin" and its crew found and retrieved a lost H-bomb, became the first to reach the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, discovered exotic new forms of life in the warm springs of the Galapagos Rift, and sailed through the hyperthermal vents of the East Pacific Rise, where fluid deposits are hot enough to melt lead. This study of the creation of "Alvin" charts these and many other dives, including the most famous of them all, the location in 1985 of the wreck of the "Titanic".

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The location of the Titanic and the discovery of marine plants surviving at unheard-of ocean depths were among the many underwater wonders espied by scientists aboard the submarine Alvin in the early 1970s. Kaharl, a science writer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, at which Alvin is based, conveys the excitement of these discoveries. Readers will also learn of the initial skepticism of many scientists and administrators toward the idea of a research submersible, of the politics of obtaining funding for its operation, of rivalry among scientists, the technical problems of safely operating a vessel and equipment of great complexity, and the difficulties encountered by female oceanographers before 1980. Of interest to the general public as well as to young adults, the book could nevertheless have been improved through tighter editing and the inclusion of suggestions for further reading.
- Judith B. Barnett, Pell Marine Science Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Narragansett
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

About the Author:
Victoria A. Kaharl is Science Writer in Residence at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1ST edition (October 18, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195061918
• ISBN-13: 978-0195061918
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #885,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Water Baby: The Story of Alvin, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Water Baby: The Story of Alvin (Hardcover)

This is the "biography" of Alvin, the first manned submersible vehicle developed for scientific research. The book tells the story of Alvin's adventures, from the sub's conception in the minds of a visionary scientist, through the uphill battles for funding and the daunting technical problems in its design and building, to its many triumphs as a premier tool in pioneering advances in our knowledge of the seas. As a science writer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Kaharl had access to the people that made Alvin a reality, as well the sub itself. This isn't the neat, clear, lofty "science" portrayed in TV programs; this is the nitty-gritty world of real science and real fieldwork, full of dangers, surprises, and seat-of-the-pants decisions.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great find, September 11, 2011

By 

Steve in Memphis "Steve in Memphis" (Memphis Tennessee) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Water Baby: The Story of Alvin (Hardcover)

I was happy to stumble upon this book while browsing on Amazon. It is a thicker book than I anticipated. If you are interested in Alvin or oceanography, get a copy of this if you can.