A Living Bay: The Underwater World of Monterey Bay (Paperback)

by Lovell Langstroth (Author), Libby Langstroth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"More than 200 photographs illustrate the diversity of the bay's flora and fauna in vivid detail."--"Outdoor Photographer

Product Description
Monterey Bay, on the central California coast, is unique in its spectacular underwater immensity. Here species found far to the north and south overlap in their respective ranges, offering a floral and faunal diversity without parallel in the North Pacific. With more than 200 magnificent color photographs and an informed, accessible text, this book provides a dazzling picture of the rich underwater world of Monterey Bay.
A Living Baydescribes the complex biological interactions among many of the marine plants and animals of Monterey Bay, including its seaweeds, seagrasses, invertebrates, marine mammals, fish, and birds. We learn how these organisms reproduce, prey, and defend themselves. The introduction presents basic biological concepts, while successive chapters tour the various habitats of the bay. From its beaches to the bottom of its submarine canyon--even deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona--the tiniest details come to life in the stunning photographs and explanatory text.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 315 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (October 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520221494
• ISBN-13: 978-0520221499
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #360,259 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #100 in

  Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Marine Biology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful combination of marine bio and great photos, October 20, 2000

By	D. Dickinson (Sammamish, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book provides many many photographs of marine organisms found in Monterey Bay (California coast). The photographs are clear, well-reproduced, and organisms are identified by common and Latin name. This alone would be a good reason to buy the book. However, the authors went beyond excellent photography into detailed marine biology. For every organism, they provide fascinating details from the biology of the organism, often supplemented with additional photographs illustrating the phenomenon being described. I have taught chemistry, biology, and marine biology at the high school level, as well as being a SCUBA diver; I found this book to be full of new and fascinating information, well presented and carefully documented, with scientific sources cited (but not obnoxiously). I loaned this book to two high school students, one fascinated with marine biology, one not so fascinated, and they were both enthralled: "that book is so cool!" "did you know anemones fight?" One of the best books on the ocean environment I've ever seen; clearly a labor of love on the part of the authors.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Accomplishment!, January 25, 2001

By	Clinton Bauder "[e-mail]" (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I'm an avid Monterey Area scuba diver who was on the verge of thinking I knew something about Monterey marine life. That was before I read this book. Despite my many hundreds of dives and many hours of time spent studying the things I'd seen this book opened my eyes to all sorts of things I'd never noticed before. Anybody interested in west coast marine life simply must have this book.

One of it's best features is the novel organization. It's broken up into habitat areas rather than by Phylum/Genus/Species etc. This really helps the reader understand the relationships between the various organisms. Also the photographs are truly exceptional.

Overall a real gem.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary! The beach will never look the same to you., December 18, 2000

By	Michael Williams "mike-on-peakview" (Boulder, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An exceptional book. Those tar spots on the beach, those yucky lumps of rotting kelp, those minor shellfish will all become fascinating interacting worlds for you. Beautiful photos that excite and succinct explanations that educate in a package that could well be an excellent coffee table book. We should all hope that this is what all nature books would become. I recommend this book to anyone interested in ocean life (not just Monterey Bay).

I am giving this book out as gifts to friends and relatives.