Under the Sea-Wind (Penguin Classics)

What a wonderful book! Rachel Carson delights us with a tale of the creatures that live at the edge of the sea. The interaction of all the birds, animals and sea life is fascinating. There is so much going on every minute of every day - so much more than a casual observer of the seaside would ever notice. Ms. Carson makes us aware of the dependence all creatures have upon one another and how human interference can have a negative impact on nature. Her writing is beautiful, poetic, and moves us to care about the environment.

Reading Rachel Carson's first book, "Under the Sea Wind" (1941), is like reading poetry. Not so much a science book, even though the science therein is accurate, but more of an intimate look into the lives of the fish, birds and mammals that live in and around the sea. The text follows a continual narrative, spotlighting various animals as they go about their lives in a challenging environment. Carson's narrative shows that each animal is part a a larger picture, one that shows the endless interplay between species and how life and the environment form a complex Biosphere that has existed for eons. Her beautiful passages describing the weather give the reader a feeling of really being there in the wind, rain and snow. Watch an aerial duel between an Osprey and a Bald Eagle as they fight for possession of a just caught fish. Follow a school of Mullet as they navigate the sea currents to their breeding grounds. But it's not only fish and birds that struggle for life, man, too, plays a part in the modern sea. Whole communities of fishermen and their families depend on the ocean for food and material gain. You'll be with them as they cast their nets over the water to catch mullets by the thousands. For me Carson's writing style was reminiscent of the nature stories written by Canadian poet Charles G D Roberts (*). While Roberts's stories were inspired by his life growing up in a hunting and farming community in the back-woods of Canada, Carson's "Under the Sea Wind" is based on her lifetime of observation and knowledge of the natural world. To help the reader follow the various animal characters through their lives the author gave each one a "name", that name might be part of the animals "scientific name" or taken from Native American (Inuit) lore. With moving prose Carson follows an Atlantic mackerel from egg to adult, tracing its movement down the coast from the spawning grounds, just south of Rhode Island, where it hatched. In this way she paints a picture of life in the sea; the ceaseless dance of predator and prey, the changing flow of currents, the never ending march of the seasons. Carson's knowledge, of the sea and its many creatures, the sky and the countless birds that follow the rugged coastline from winter to summer, is nothing less than astounding. "Under the Sea Wind" is book 1 of Rachel Carson's "Sea Trilogy" (**) and all three books are considered to be one of the most "Definitive works of American nature writing" to come along in decades. This edition closes with a short biography of Carson complete with archival photos from her life. The reader should keep in mind that this book was written in the early part of the 20th Century and while the science was up to date in 1941 moderne research and observations may have altered some of Carson's conclusions on animal behavior but on the whole the science remains valid to this day. For me this timeless story was one that I have carried with me for most of my life and it only gets better with each rereading. I had no technical or formatting problems with this Kindle edition but I did notice an unfortunate "publisher omission". The lovely illustrations by nature artists Howard Frech who's sketches and line-drawings graced the first edition and some later editions, are all missing. Too bad that Open Road Media did not take that extra step to give the reader a truly memorable reading experience. That being said, I still highly recommend this book to nature lovers everywhere. Last Ranger (*) see my review of Robert's "Hoof and Claw". (**) Book 2: The Sea Around Us (1951) and Book 3: Edge of the Sea (1955).

Beautifully written, lyrical and personal. Carson paints a touching and broad-ranging story of many sea creatures - birds, fish, crabs, eels, tracing many of the stories from the viewpoint of the creature itself from birth through to eventual death. A delight to read, easy and informative. Highly recommended.

I bought this book for an environmental literature class I was taking at IU. I wasn't expecting much but it turned out to be one of my favorite reads that semester. The book is enjoyable and follows the lives and stories of several animals of varying species as they interact with the sea. Now I could go into great detail of the plot and everything else involved but I don't care for reviews like that. Instead know that after the class was done, it was one of 3 books that I kept from the 8 or so that I bought for this class. It sits on my bookshelf at home in proud display because I really think more people should read it. Is it the best book ever written? No. Is it worth reading? Absolutely. Carson tackles some heavy issues in nature and how we as humans are hurting the environment. This is not a "hippie" book, but it does show humans in a negative light a couple times because the fact is to a lot of these animals we are their worst enemies and the thing they need to fear most. Overall, get this book. Its a great read and very enjoyable and makes you see nature in a different light than we are used to.

I had never heard of marine zoologist Rachel Carson. I bought her book 'On The Edge Of The Sea' in a 2nd hand bookshop in a bunch of other random Natural History because I liked the cover. After OTEOTS I read 'The Sea Around Us', and most recently 'Under the Sea Wind', the subject of this review. As with both her other books, Ms Carson's intelligence and heart leave glittering wakes through this overview of mid-twentieth century research on the sea, particularly its animal life. This is such a juicy book. Each creature she gives us, from whale to worm, is treated with a personal glee that endears them to us. She makes small stories of each of their singular lives. I now care personally about annelid worms. Who knew? Drawing back from the individual she then illuminates the ways in which each life is dependent on the whole, and the whole on each life. She writes like an angel about the world of the mundane; simply, in gorgeously structured, shiny prose and all the while informed by her own massive research. Her love for her subjects leads the way, and refreshes itself at every turn. Her sense of detail is immersive, and her sensibility of the marvel of forms is catching. There is something other than her brilliance that struck me about the above three books. Because Rachel Carson was writing in the years just before the spread of environmentalism, they are touchingly non-political in tone; no warnings, no fretting. They were followed by her last book, the enormously influential 'Silent Spring', a warning text that documents the ways in which the sea was suffering from human activity. Her love for the sea and its shores, so beautifully written in her first three books, is transformed into political awareness and activism. It's a good and lovely thing to witness. This author died in 1964 so we only have four books to fall in love with. Shame.

The quality of the writing and information is awesome!

Beautiful, well written prose. The illustrations add to the pleasure

Tier in, am und über das Meer werden von Rachel Carson begleitet. Sie beschreibt die Umwelt die Tiere als ob sie in nächste Nähe dabei war. Gruß aus sonnige Franken!! Carl

Rachael Carson’s first book where she interweaves several life stories of natural creatures so they read like a good book or novel. A wonderful book that I want my grandchildren to read or have read to them., under the sea wind should be in everyone’s library to read over or use as a source almost like a textbook!

The writes about north American shore birds and fish behavior. Though the author writes beautifully, the whole narration is alien to people of our region.

Engrossing!