The Sea Around Us (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: equatorial current, swimming snails, long snowfall, Gulf Stream, North America, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sometimes I like to sit under the stars, close my eyes and drift away in thoughts of serenity. The beach is my favorite place to reconnect with myself and with my surroundings. I've never tried to figure out why being near the ocean is so soothing and revitalizing. I just know that I am drawn to it in times of stress and change. It comforts me with its vastness and strength. Mother Ocean is where life itself began. Rachel Carson elucidates the creativity and majesty of the ocean's power. She takes us from the first emergence of life through its turbulent transitions, and awakens us to the life-giving and life-sustaining qualites of the sea and our relationship with water. Once you dive into these pages, there's no turning back. You will become completely engulfed by Rachel's magical voice as she tells the ocean's story. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by SH --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"A majestic edition, incorporating attractive photographs, a preface, foreword, introduction, and an excellent afterword by Brian J. Skinner. The pages are broad and smooth and heavy; turning them, you feel you are in the presence of greatness.... The prose is true and fluid and above all evocative, and delivers all the passion and wonder it did a half-century ago.... This book should be read first and foremost because it has permanent artistic value, because it is literature. And I mean literature in the best sense: popular, beautiful, deeply moving.... Carson's legacy is proof that science books matter, that good prose can change the world."--Anthony Doerr, The Boston Sunday Globe
"Her book remains fresh, in part because of her ability to convey scientific insight in vivid poetic language--but, perhaps more important, because what she has to say is still so relevant today."--Scientific American
"Magnificent--beautifully done, a real work of art. I'm enjoying reading Carson's book for the third time. Carl Safina's brief note summed it best--we read to remember her. What a wonderful writer."--Glenn Vanstrum, author of Saltwater Wilderness
"Perfect reading can be found in wonderfully oversized books.... In this new commemorative edition, readers who have never experienced Carson's sparkling prose or deep insight will have the opportunity to do so, with the added attraction of superlative color photos of everything from breaching whales to phosphorescent shrimp. There's also a new introduction by Robert Ballard, an afterward by Brian J. Skinner."--Dave Wood's Book Report

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195147014
• ISBN-13: 978-0195147018
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #424,381 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars still relevant after 50 years, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sea Around Us (Paperback)

Rachel Carson, a scientist by trade, writes beautifully about the ocean in this book; it was worthy of the National Book Award, which it won in 1951. Carson takes the time to describe generally what was known about the sea at the time of her writing, and is prophetic in her comments about human impact to the world's oceans. While providing the reader with a general scientific discussion of the sea, she also gives us some magical moments: questions about the lost continent of Atlantis, mysteries about the nature of the deepest ocean bottoms, descriptions of lumninescent creatures surfacing in the remotest areas of open ocean. This book is simultaneously great science and great literature, and is essential reading for anyone interested in marine biology or geology, even decades since its original publication.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who Says Science & Literature Can't Co-exist Under 1 Cover?, March 27, 2001

By	J. GENIO (Earth) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sea Around Us (Paperback)

Wow!!! It is amazing that this book is over 50 years old. As a high school student, I had to read this book for Ecology. Rachel Carson's book is an eye-opener. It was some 50 years ago. And, it still is. "The Sea Around Us" is truly a classic. Carson gives us all an insight on what would happen if we mistreat the natural environment -- especially the oceans around us. Sadly, today, some of these prophecies are becoming a reality. I agree with a fellow reviewer. This book should be mandatory reading for all students. Maybe if more people read this book, we would all respect nature just a little better.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for anyone who loves the beach, June 27, 2000

By	Patricia Lavins (Vero Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Around Us (Paperback)

It is difficult to believe that this book is over 50 years old. The recommendations are still valid and elusive today. Only when the general public accepts the need to protect the environment will things change. That is why this book should be required reading for all students.