Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans (Paperback)

~ (Author) "If the ultimate historians, geologists, were to show the full history of Earth vertically on a scale as long as the depth of the deepest..." (more)
Key Phrases: marine protected area, ocean exploration, marine conservation, Persian Gulf, United States, Deep Rover (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What have we learned since 1951, when Rachel Carson's charming The Sea Around Us was published, winning so many hearts and the National Book Award? The sea below us, as pioneering marine biologist Sylvia Earle and others have demonstrated, churns with far more life than Carson ever dreamed. Sea Change is an enthusiastic celebration of that diversity and abundance. It's also a profoundly sobering account of the shortsighted human assault on ocean life. The "silent tide," as one reviewer wrote, may lie just offshore. Only a sea change in human habits and economies will save the oceans.

Like Carson, Earle carved a place for herself in the public imagination despite resistance from those in her male-dominated field. Her tales of underwater adventure--including many record-breaking dives among the 6,000 hours she has spent underwater--are punctuated by stories about her increasing prominence as an advocate for the oceans. She's seen it all, it seems: a year diving with whales in Hawaii, visits to Prince William Sound and the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of colossal oil spills, etc. Her breezy prose won't win her the National Book Award, but few others wear Rachel Carson's mantle as gracefully. That is reason enough to read Sea Change. --Pete Holloran

From Publishers Weekly

Marine biologist Earle discusses her own adventures and the history of ocean exploration, as well as current threats to the health of the oceans.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st Ballantine Books Ed edition (May 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449910652
• ISBN-13: 978-0449910658
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #227,858 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The history and science of oceanography, January 24, 2003

By A Customer

Much of this book is written in the first person, which in places makes it very appealing, but in other places is distracting. My other gripe is that she jumps around a bit in her life time - so one chapter she talks about being the only woman on an expedition, and then she is the 1990's leader of NOAA and then we are back to her childhood haunts and back again.

That being said, it is a good read, full of facts and history. She worked in the sciences back when women were uncommon in the field. Back when there was no scuba gear and Jacques Cousteau was in to spear fishing, not conservation. Interesting stories, indeed! So, if you want an account of oceanography, past and present, its extreme limits and cool equipment from a personal point of view, pick this one up.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story about the Oceans and the environment, February 6, 2001

By	George Bernwanger (Nanjing, China) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sylvia really opened my eyes to the fragile nature of our environment and to the beauty and vastness of the oceans. I highly recommend this book for anyone with the slightest interest in our environment and nature. This book will make you interested in learning and doing more for the environment.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A message of The Oceans, December 9, 2002

By	"[e-mail]" (St Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This book was full of information and facts that I didnt know and found interesting as well as a list of Marine Sanctuaries etc. Sylvia Earle has paved the way for many I really found some of her passages to be inspiring. I will now think everytime I eat shrimp! I would suggest this book to anyone interested in Marine Biology or the Ocean and its conservation.