All in all, this is a book to recommend unqualifiedly to one’s friends, whether scientifically trained or not. Here is a discussion of the influence of the ocean upon weather and climate, a consideration of the wealth of mineral matter potentially available in oceanic waters, and a thumbnail sketch of the earlier history of navigation. The last three chapters deal specifically with man’s relationship to the sea. Many interesting incidents of exploration and discovery, all too easily forgotten in the archives of the scientist and historian, highlight her pages.

Miss Carson does full justice to this aspect of its activity and is to be especially commended for the pains she has taken to explain how the record of the past has been deciphered, as well as to announce the results of the research that has been accomplished. To the geologist, the sea is “restless” not merely because of waves, currents, and tides, but because of the profound changes during its long history of continental transgression and withdrawal. The myriad forms of life in the surface waters, the seasonal changes in the activity of plants and animals, the strange and fantastic creatures that inhabit the sunless depths, and the hidden canyons and mountains of the sea floor are described with almost breathless interest. Thereafter, she is on much firmer ground, or should one say her ship sails more confidently on its well-charted course. She gives, however, only one of several plausible hypotheses, that the Pacific Ocean basin is the scar left by tidal disruption to form the moon. The origin of ocean basins, the major structural and topographic feature of the earth, is still a mystery and Miss Carson treats it as such. Many specialists dealing with the problems of the ocean have made themselves available for advice and information, and she has faithfully transmitted their ideas in her own distinctive manner.

The picture she presents is well-rounded and as complete as could be expected in a work of this kind. Her studies of the sea, however, include all aspects of oceanography and related phases of geology, meteorology, and climatology. Fish and Wildlife Service and was trained as a biologist at Johns Hopkins and Woods Hole.

Rachel carson the sea