Great Waters: An Atlantic Passage - Softcover

Cramer, Deborah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 039332334X ISBN 13: 9780393323344

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002

Synopsis

"[L]yrical, analytical..a wonderful account that reveals an eclectic, comprehensive intelligence...a powerful and provocative synthesis; first-rate science journalism."―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A remarkable scientific meditation on and spiritual exploration of one of our least appreciated natural resources―the Atlantic Ocean. Not since Rachel Carson has a writer been able to give voice so compellingly to the ocean―its mythic history and its precarious future. In the course of an ocean voyage, Deborah Cramer weaves the details of the history and science of the Atlantic into a brilliant tapestry that documents our many-faceted reliance on the sea, our betrayal of that bond, the changing landscape of the ocean floor, and the threatened life of its inhabitants. Bringing together the scientific research of physical oceanographers, geologists, biologists, and chemists from both sides of the Atlantic, Cramer presents a devastating report of the environmental damage inflicted on these waters. From the decks of her sailing vessel she describes with vivid passion the intricate and fragile web of marine life, the visible disappearance of schools of fish plundered by the competitive fishing industry, and the changing rhythms of the Atlantic from the rough, chilly Gulf of Maine to the calm, weedy currents of the Sargasso Sea.

"If you've ever walked the shores of this great ocean...wondering what lay beyond―this fine book will let you know."―Bill McKibben, author of Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously "Cramer...has written powerfully of the threats to its continuing productivity."―William K. Reilly, Chairman, World Wildlife Fund "[A] vital and eloquent narrative, biblical in scope...an eye-opener."―Peter Davison, author of Breathing Room "[H]ugely satisfying....Not since Rachel Carson has there been such an intimate portrait of a whole sea."―Jennifer Ackerman, author of Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity "A beautifully written portrait of an essential treasure."―Paul R. Epstein, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School 20 black and white line drawings; maps

About this title

About the Author

Deborah Cramer writes about science and the environment. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

From Publishers Weekly

Plumbing the depth of one of the world's two great oceans on a scientific voyage from Woods Hole, Mass., to Barbados, Cramer moves from the subatomic structure of water molecules and the organic chemistry of microbiology to the remnants of immense geological epochs, highlighting the critical interdependence of all life on earth with the sea. In addition to illuminating the connection between ocean currents and continental climate, Cramer capably explains the sometimes perplexing effect of the ocean on geology, including the Atlantic Ocean's tidal influence on atmospheric dehydration and hence, Saharan Africa's continual desiccation. We also learn about some of the lesser-known aquatic creatures that dwell at the surface of the sea as well as in its abysmal depths. Cramer is at her best combining the esoteric data of hydrology with her personal musings on the mysteries of life, achieving originality and poetic grace in her reflections on the oceans and heavens during shipboard night watches. However, she too frequently lapses into pop-culture cliches regarding human depredation on the planet, and is weakest when she descends to overwrought New Age platitudes on Western culture's disdain for nature. Fortunately, her oceanic subject is vast enough to weather these petty shoals of ecology banalities. Illus., maps.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 039332334X
• ISBN 13: 9780393323344
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 446