Great Waters: An Atlantic Passage |  | Author: Deborah Cramer
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 312070
Media: Paperback
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 039332334X
Dewey Decimal Number: 551.4613
EAN: 9780393323344
ASIN: 039332334X
Publication Date: July 17, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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. 20 line b/w drawings, maps.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
An Elegant Update of the "Sea Around Us" and More December 16, 2003
David B Richman (Mesilla Park, NM USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In "Great Waters: An Atlantic Passage" Deborah Cramer not only takes the reader along on an ocean trip from Woods Hole, Massachusetts to Barbados, she explains the ecology and history of the Atlantic in the process. In doing so, she brings Rachael Carson's classic "The Sea Around Us" up to date and gives the reader a solid grounding in ocean biology and physical oceanography. After reading "The Empty Ocean" I was delighted to find this book, one that takes a broader look at a smaller area- Atlantic, as Cramer likes to characterize the great ocean.Unfortunately both recent books give the same, often bleak, picture of what is happening to the oceans as humans over-fish the once huge fisheries and dump more garbage, human and animal waste, toxic chemicals and remains of machines into what is becoming a global "land fill." We have also refused to take serious steps to reduce global warming at the same time evidence for our complicity in carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere is mounting. Unfortunately for us Atlantic and the others oceans of the planet are starting to return the favor both in lower fish catches and altering ocean circulation that may well cost us way beyond the value of the fish we extracted. Yet there is some glimmer of hope. Humans may yet wake up, if a bit late, to the damage they are doing. There are still nearly pristine beaches and walking alone along a beach with sea birds crying is still possible over much of the planet. I hope it always remains possible. Read this book, if you are not already convinced of our lack of foresight, you will be!
Eloquent and provocative July 5, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Why should we care about the oceans of the earth? This meticulously researched book poses a convincing argument: the physical and chemical cycles and life webs of the sea are under siege from humans, with consequences to reefs, plankton and whales, as well as to our weather, health and livelihood. The threat goes way beyond global warming. Cramer effectively illuminates the problems and consequences while showing how we are all accountable for protecting the great waters -- whether we live in coastal communities or in cities far inland that dump pollutants into waterways that eventually enter the sea.
A Great Book!! November 28, 2001
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful book. A great read with incredible facts and a lyrical view. Deborah Cramer brings real journalism to the story of the Atlantic.
Poetic Science May 7, 2002
Bruce A. Noll (Albuquerque, NM United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Ms. Cramer has achomplished the incredible here--a historic, scientific and poetic tribute to one of our great masses of water.
This book, while inspiring and "novelesque" in scope, also presents
the alarming ecological state of our planet's seas . . . yet not without springs of hope. I love what Cramer has done for all of us.
Good for anyone who gets excited about the sea and/or science!
The Ocean Revealed! November 29, 2001
This is an incredible book! It manages to take the last 30 years of ocean science and craft it into a compelling, readable, and eloquent story of the Atlantic and our dependence on it. The science is first rate and up to date; there have been few examples of natural history and environment writing so well done....
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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