An Atlantic Passage
“I urge everyone to read it, act on its message,
and pass on its teachings.”
— Nobel prize winner Al Gore
A remarkable scientific meditation and spiritual exploration of the Atlantic Ocean. Not since Rachel Carson’s classic The Sea Around Us, more than fifty years ago, has a writer given voice so compellingly to the sea. Sailing through the rough, chilly Gulf of Maine, the rushing Gulf Stream, and the calm seaweed-laced Sargasso Sea, Deborah Cramer weaves a rich tapestry that portrays the intricate and fragile web of marine life, human-induced change in the rhythms of the sea, and our many-faceted reliance on the waters that nurture and sustain us.
Reviews
“…I will recommend it to anyone who proposes to be an informed citizen of planet Earth.”
— Science
“If you read only one book about the ocean, this should be it.”
— The London Times
“…a masterful work of inspired writing and science.”
— The Boston Globe
“…an excellent synthesis of the last half century of oceanographic research…a humane and humble evolution of what we know about the waters of the world, and one that is ever aware of how much we have left to learn.”
— Washington Post Book World
“…[Cramer] shines, narrating in language that plies the verge between science and poetry…a lament that rings with all the sonorous truth, all the warning persistence, of a buoy bell.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“For the general reader, Cramer’s chapter, “The Birth of Atlantic,” is the best exposition on the subject I’ve ever read.”
— John M. Teal, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
“…a wonderful account that reveals an eclectic, comprehensive intelligence…a powerful and provocative synthesis; first-rate science journalism.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)