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Husband very happy with the book. Hasn't had a chance to read yet.We are both looking forward to reading the book
Cousteau was both. This book is a collection of Cousteau's experiences with early scuba.
I grew up loving Cousteau's television programs. What a pleasure to finally read this classic book.
That was probably more instrumental to his success than his bravery, innovativeness, or his ability as a diver. Ultimately, I became a diver because of Cousteau.This is adventure writing at its best.
Cousteau was always a master storyteller. He masterfully captures the awe, the fear, the struggles, and the sense of adventure of the first years of scuba.I love adventure writing, but sometimes great adventurers are not great writers.
If you have an interest in Cousteau or in scuba diving, this book is a must read.
Another epiphany facilitated by the aqualung is a completely new set of fears and a new evaluation of old "monsters." The killers of which Cousteau writes are nitrogen in his blood and clams with shells sharp enough to sever air pipes. Blickenstorfer has done a fine job explaining the contents of this book, particularly as it relates to divers or those interested in diving history. As opposed to a history of blind grabs at ocean creatures, Cousteau's aqualung gives him the capacity to see without touching, and his narrative provides a chance for our knowledge to begin catching up to our know-how. There is no choice in the matter.
Cousteau writes of his exploits kidnapping an endangered monk seal pup in his desire for an aquatic hunting dog (the seal almost dies and is given to a zoo) and bludgeoning most large sea creatures who get close enough. and had to carry it out" (234). Cousteau's underwater observations of trawl-net fishing make clear the change of ideology his "aqualung" opened to humans. Humans have interacted with the ocean for ages, but before divers like Cousteau it was a blind interaction, a grasp at resources based on guesses and historical results. C.
Farm it. Should we simply Keep Out in a quest to guard some portion of the earth against ourselves. Militarize it. Watching the net destroy grasses on the ocean floor, Cousteau reports "Man's method of undersea farming seemed to consist of blighting the acre while reaping a small part of the crop" (48). On the contrary, the octopus, demonized by Victor Hugo as a monster who will suck out a man's innards, shows itself as harmless and shy.
How are we going to think of this new space. As promised in the title, in this book Jacques Cousteau reveals a new world of unanticipated beauty, fittingly described in his charming, French-influenced English phraseology. Those from my generation who have mythologized Cousteau as a heroic conservationist might struggle with Cousteau's narrative. This is not the work of a dolphin-hugger.
This includes wounding a captured porpoise to watch sharks eat it alive, an act which he justifies with "It was cruelty to an animal but we were involved in a serious study [. ]. The human population is increasing so rapidly and land resources are being depleted at such a rate, that we must take sustenance from the great cornucopia" (266).
However, The Silent World, read as a frontier narrative, also has relevance for anyone interested in our current and historical treatment of the ocean. Both those who would agree with this 1950s assumption and those who believe this "cornucopia" has been already overexploited can gain insight from this book as a well-written record of human reactions to the new world under the waves. Cousteau concludes his chapter "Monsters We Have Met" with a jocularity that is persistent in the work: "If none have eaten us, it is perhaps because they have never read the instructions so generously provided in marine demonology" (222).Cousteau's reinterpretation of the ocean brings readers to the fundamental questions of humans and their environment.
Should we sell it as new realty. In his conclusion, Cousteau asserts "Obviously man has to enter the sea.
A total master of public relations and getting the word out, Cousteau managed to grab attention and media coverage wherever he went. H. It's not a textbook, it doesn't cover the history of diving or even much of Cousteau's own research, and it's not an adventure book. Critics went so far as suggesting his media talents exceeded his actual contributions to understanding the seas.At first it's hard to figure out why this slim volume became such a success. They check how colors change.
As a result, the writing at times seems a bit flowery and, well, foreign, and you need to read a sentence or paragraph two or three times to figure out what it actually means. They see just how deep they can go. The Silent World is a totally unique, very compressed tale flowing from Cousteau's mind. If so, good for him as otherwise we may never have had the opportunity to learn from him and enjoy his remarkable insights. Even the name of his ship, the Calypso, is known the world over.
What can be said about Jacques Cousteau and his groundbreaking book that hasn't been said a thousand times. The Silent World is the bible of modern scuba diving.Jacques Cousteau himself died in 1997 at the age of 87, but the legacy of his pioneering work with diving and diving physiology lives on. What nitrogen does and why we need recompression chambers. He describes sea life, how it reacts, where it lives, how it behaves, and what is dangerous and what is not. Yet, The Silent World clearly reveals its author's non-English origin and decidedly "non-English" thinking. He and his close associates and friends Phillipe Tailliez and Frederic Dumas used their "aqualung" to experient liberally in sort of a "Hmmm.
Cousteau's liberal use of metaphors, artistic nuances, poetic concepts and words that have since fallen out of currrent language only serve to make The Silent World even more unusual of a literary treat.Anyone looking for technical explanations, precise history, a logical flow of events, or anything one might expect from a world-famous documentary maker and researcher will not find it in this book. Though Cousteau was French, he wrote The Silent World in English as he had attended American schools in his youth, widely traveled the US, and, of course, extensively lectured in his enchanting French-accented English. It's a small volume, this book, just 160 pages, yet it's absolutely mandatory reading for anyone interested in what Cousteau termed "the silent world" under the surface of the water that covers 71% of our planet. And sea mammals and other sea critters. He reports on atrocities he witnessed underwater, like the needless destruction of corals and cruel killing of fish. He offers his views on treasure hunting (not worth it; if you find real treasure authorities and hordes of lawyers will soon apprehend it). The writing, while precise, often suggests that Cousteau frequently described a word or concept that existed in his native French, but did not directly translate into English. While others conducted their research methodically and ploddingly, Cousteau always just seemed to know what to expect, how to behave, and what to seek and avoid to make it all seem easy.
Sharks remain an enigma to Cousteau as his conclusion is that you simply cannot understand or predict them.So The Silent World relates, in 14 fascinating self-contained chapters, pretty much everything we know about diving today, 60 years after Cousteau began researching as a "manfish," all the principles we know, and it's all neatly and attractively presented in tales that always mix research with adventure. He is undoubtedly the defining figure of modern scuba diving, his books, films, and documentaries known to millions or billions. He describes what fish do and how they react. He debunks myths of sea monsters, seeks answers to geological phenomena such as the Fountain of Vaucluse near Avignon, one that almost cost him and Dumas their lives in a pioneering effort at extreme cave diving. The book casually touches on all the principles of diving physics and physiology, the stuff we learn in our PADI and NAUI classes. Cousteau never preaches or lectures. -- C. It is all well documented and disseminated worldwide, thanks to this French explorer's unique combination of instinctive understanding of the world under the surface and his equally unique knack of spellbinding the world with his words and images.
Maybe Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a showman as much as a researcher. Read half a chapter and you know the man; he's a unique combination of inspired philosophical observer and gifted researcher with uncanny intuition. this is probably what will happen, let's go check it out." approach.Using this, Cousteau describes the difference between "helmet divers" and the newly liberated users of their "aqualung" -- what we now know as air tanks and regulators. He just explores, pushes, interprets, and reports. Blickenstorfer, scubadiverinfo.com
As a diver for long years, I remember the old b&w tv days, when we find happiness with Cousteau's documentary films. Now it's a mirracle to be able to purchase the whole collection in DVD format.
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