Product Description

In this scientific meditation on and spiritual exploration of one of our least appreciated natural resources - the Atlantic Ocean - Deborah Cram er weaves the details of the history and science of the Atlantic into a 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 report of the environmental damage inflicted on these waters. From the decks of her sailing vessel she describes 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #967474 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Customer Reviews

Great waters, Great book
Any one wishing to learn more about the natural history of the Atlantic need look no further than this well written account of how this great ocean came into being. Cramer takes you from how the Atlantic formed through the multitude of incredible life forms that have inhabited the Atlantic over the last few hundred million years of its existence. This isn't a doom and gloom book; but gives a cautionary warning of how we are slowly poisoning the worlds oceans and why many organisms are now in dire straights due to our out of sight out of mind attitude. Sooner or later we are going to have to face the fact that the oceans are not cesspits for the human species to dump all its garbage in. Read and enjoy and also take note.

immersive, moving
Comparisons with Rachel Carson ('The Sea Around Us') etc. are wholly valid in this instance: a revelatory, cautionary journey, the writer makes visible the whole range of connections between life, water, the dynamism of tide, currents and atmosphere. One finishes the book with a very real sense of both the interdependency and fragility of this great ocean. Highly reccomended.