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The Oceans by Ellen J Prager with Sylvia A Earle
The Oceans by Ellen J Prager with Sylvia A Earle
The first thing I like to do with a book is scan the biographical information on the authors, usually found on the back or inside the cover. The review copy of The Oceans was a publisher's proof, so that bit was missing. Hardly necessary for someone as legendary as Sylvia Earle, and a quick websearch soon established that Ellen Prager is also an established oceanographer, with the US Geological Survey.
The Oceans covers enormous scientific ground, the geological and biological history of three-quarters of the world no less (and a fair impact on the remaining quarter), with added snippets on the history of oceanography as a science. Prager and Earle don't just present geological and biological history as facts, but also summarise the chains of evidence that have enabled scientists to reconstruct this history.
I found the book fairly easy to read and the fully formatted published copy will no doubt be easier still. For someone with a scientific background it is, if anything, a little over-explained in places. Perhaps the target audience includes school students. Still, better over-explained than leaving the readership lost in technicalities.
The Oceans doesn't contain anything that will turn a reader into a better diver or help plan dives - it addresses the marine environment on too large a scale for that. But it does provide a comprehensive background on why the oceans exist as they are today, and how development by man is irreparably changing the marine environment. Stimulating reading for every armchair scientist between dives. |
The Oceans by Ellen J Prager with Sylvia A Earle, McGraw Hill, 01628 502500. Hardback, 334pp, £15.99
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