Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean

by Jonathan White, Peter Matthiessen (Foreword by)

Overview

In Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean, writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White takes readers across the globe to discover the science and spirit of ocean tides. In the Arctic, White shimmies under the ice with an Inuit elder to hunt for mussels in the dark cavities left behind at low tide; in China, he races the Silver Dragon, a twenty-five-foot tidal bore that crashes eighty miles up the Qiantang River; in France, he interviews the monks that live in the tide-wrapped monastery of Mont Saint-Michel; in Chile and Scotland, he investigates the growth of tidal power generation; and in Panama and Venice, he delves into how the threat of sea level rise is changing human culture—the very old and very new. Tides combines lyrical prose, colorful adventure travel, and provocative scientific inquiry into the elemental, mysterious paradox that keeps our planet’s waters in constant motion. Photographs, scientific figures, line drawings, and sixteen color photos dramatically illustrate this engaging, expert tour of the tides.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595348517
Publisher:	Trinity University Press
Publication date:	06/15/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	360
Sales rank:	370,225
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jonathan White is an active marine conservationist, a sailor, and a surfer. His first book, Talking on the Water: Conversations about Nature and Creativity, is a collection of interviews exploring our relationship with nature and features Gretel Ehrlich, David Brower, Ursula K. Le Guin, Gary Snyder, Peter Matthiessen, and others. White has written for the Christian Science Monitor, The Sun, Orion, Surfer’s Journal, and other publications. He holds an MFA in creative nonfiction and lives with his wife and son on a small island in Washington State.

Table of Contents

Foreword Peter Matthiessen xiii

In Deep: An Introduction i

1 The Perfect Dance: Birds and Big Tides in the Bay of Fundy 13

2 Star of Our Life: A Meditation on Tide History at Mont Saint-Michel 44

3 Silver Dragon: China's Qiantang River Tidal Bore 75

4 The Last Magician: Sir Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution 97

5 Big Waves: Surfing Mavericks and Nineteenth-Century Tide Theories 126

6 Fast Water: How Tidal Currents Slow the Earth and Bend Time 159

7 Big Tides and Resonance: Fundy and Ungava 191

8 Turning the Tide: Grinding Wheat, Powering Homes 219

9 Higher Tides: Sea Level Rise from Kuna Yala to Venice 252

Acknowledgments 286

Image Credits 289

Glossary 290

Notes 294

Sources 309

Index 327

Interviews

"A phenomenal book — probably one of the smartest books about a spirit I've ever read." — The Toronto Star

"A rich story... engaging." — The Wall Street Journal

"A lively exploration of the heritage, culture, practices and politics that shape Mexico's most famous export. Martineau introduces producers using traditional agricultural and distillation methods, shows readers why they're worth preserving, and outlines the challenges facing anyone concerned with the quality and sustainability of tequila, mezcal and other agave spirits." — The Kansas City Star

"Martineau journeys through Mexico interviewing producers of the agave-based spirits tequila and mescal. She's dismayed that international beverage distributors now design and market Mexico's signature alcoholic drinks and that techniques of mass production too often sacrifice integrity and authenticity." — Foreign Affairs

"Martineau argues convincingly that good tequila resembles wine more than it does its fellow liquors. She writes of agave plantations as if they are vineyards, with variations in climate, slope, soil, and moisture resulting in variations in the plants that are, in turn, discernible in the distilled product. She co-opts the precious French word terroir and applies it to her subject with no intended loss of dignity." — The Los Angeles Review of Books

Editorial Reviews

"A phenomenal book — probably one of the smartest books about a spirit I've ever read." — The Toronto Star

"A rich story... engaging." — The Wall Street Journal

"A lively exploration of the heritage, culture, practices and politics that shape Mexico's most famous export. Martineau introduces producers using traditional agricultural and distillation methods, shows readers why they're worth preserving, and outlines the challenges facing anyone concerned with the quality and sustainability of tequila, mezcal and other agave spirits." — The Kansas City Star

"Martineau journeys through Mexico interviewing producers of the agave-based spirits tequila and mescal. She's dismayed that international beverage distributors now design and market Mexico's signature alcoholic drinks and that techniques of mass production too often sacrifice integrity and authenticity." — Foreign Affairs

"Martineau argues convincingly that good tequila resembles wine more than it does its fellow liquors. She writes of agave plantations as if they are vineyards, with variations in climate, slope, soil, and moisture resulting in variations in the plants that are, in turn, discernible in the distilled product. She co-opts the precious French word terroir and applies it to her subject with no intended loss of dignity." — The Los Angeles Review of Books“ Conservationist Jonathan White combines scientific investigation with personal memoir in this solid examination of the nature of tides and waves.”— Publishers Weekly

“Anyone inclined to take the movement of the tides for granted will think twice after reading this wide-ranging study from a conservationist and avid sailor... White’s heightened awareness of the planet’s “cosmic beat” is bound to make readers more sensitive to the mysteries of what might otherwise seem commonplace.”— Kirkus Review

“[Jonathan White's] writing can be gorgeous.... prose that's as beguiling as it is informative.”— The Oregonian

“Tides is a circumnavigation – tides are simultaneously the protagonist and antagonist. Wrecker of havoc and deus exmachina. And perhaps what’s most interesting is White’s narrative surrounding how each part of the world has adapted to their unique tidal variations. Tides aspires to inspire a new appreciation for a global natural process that most ocean enthusiasts take for granted.”— The Internia

“A wonderful bit of writing… wonderfully descriptive… a travelogue and an adventure story.”— Helen Palmer, host of Living on Earth

“Jonathan White is not only an accomplished storyteller, but a rare exemplar of the marriage of technical lucidity with stylistic grace.”— Alan Littell, Ocean Navigator

“A grand mix of science history, ocean lore and literary travel writing.”— Seattle Times

“Fascinating account.”— Epoch Times

“A fascinating work of literary nonfiction, rich with characters, stories and scenes from around the globe. White considers the book to be 'a life’s work,' one that took him more than 10 years to complete. He doesn’t simply examine the mysteries of the tides, he brings readers on his adventure — one filled with wonder and surprises and fed by White’s relentless curiosity.”— Bangor Daily News

“As a surfer and sailor, Jonathan White pays attention to tides. But he didn’t really understand them until he traveled around the world to meet people and see places where the ebb and flow, the rise and fall, shape lives and tell epic stories. His new nonfiction book, Tides, is the result.”— San Diego Union-Tribune

“[Jonathan]…you write like an angel….Lovely, lyrical writing.”— Michael Krasny, host of The Forum on KQED

“The sailor-surfer-conservationist takes us on a global travelogue-scientific expedition.”— Sacramento Bee

“A fascinating read.”— Portland Press Herald

“A captivating examination of all things tidal.” — Anchorage Daily News

"Jonathan White's tidal explorations drew me in with just the right mix of science, history, and storytelling, propelled throughout by the author's infectious curiosity and sense of wonder. Beautifully written, impeccably researched, and filled with unexpected connections and discoveries, Tides is a splendid book;highly recommended." — Thor Hanson, author of Feathers and The Triumph of Seeds

"I loved this book. Jonathan White weaves the science throughout his travel stories so that the reader is not inundated with mathematical and scientific theories. I recommend it to both scientists and nonscientists." — Sally Warner, PhD in physical oceanography, Oregon State University

"One of the most fascinating, engaging, relevant, and impeccably brilliant books I have ever read. It has profoundly changed my sense of the earth, the oceans, the sky, and how they are deeply interwoven with the course of human thought and history." — Richard Nelson, author of The Island Within

"Newton's death mask, bore tide waves on a Chinese river, a grounded sailboat in Alaska, a French monastery, the slowing of the earth's rotation, world-class surfing, alternative energy, and more come together in Jonathan White's wonderful Tides, a book for every lover of the sea and for those who think— mistakenly— that tables and charts contain everything worth knowing about the perpetual rise and fall of the sea."— Bill Streever, author of And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind: A Natural History of Moving Air

"Tides is easy to read, easy to follow, erudite. White beautifully integrates his personal experience into the science, keeping me grounded in the present as a reader and making the tides not just personal but passionately alive. I expect to read it again and again. Pass it on, recommend it, give it as a gift!" — Pam Loew, Turtleback Books

"Jonathan White provides us in this fine, fascinating book with a clear understanding of the infinitely complex and wild nature of our planet's tidal forces in all their mystery and beauty." — Peter Matthiessen, from the foreword

From the Publisher

01/02/2017
Conservationist White (Talking on the Water) combines scientific investigation with personal memoir in this solid examination of the nature of tides and waves. He looks at how tides are affected regularly by the moon and how they in turn affect both humans and sea life. White grew up surfing, diving, sailing, and fishing in coastal waters, and for years navigated the Pacific Northwest archipelago aboard his schooner, Crusader. Setting out to learn more about the tides, he identifies four zones of tidal exposure: the splash zone and the high, middle, and low intertidal zones. Sections about monster swells near Half Moon Bay, Calif., prove especially fascinating. At a spot named Mavericks, 20-foot waves attract surfers from around the world every winter. White also describes the changing tide in Venice, Italy, where residents have for decades dealt with flooding in lower elevations and consider its vicissitudes a normal feature of life. With an eye on the future, White outlines ways in which tidal energy can be “harnessed as a source of heat and light,” citing the importance of a supportive government and the need for strong renewable energy policies—ideals with which many readers will agree. Color photos. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Maintaining a pleasant, engaged pace, Dan Woren narrates this sweeping yet intimate meditation on tides. The author visited the sites of remarkable tidal phenomena around the world to experience them personally and to speak with experts; Woren performs their remarks with lightly applied accents, which some listeners may find off-putting. The pronunciation of technical and foreign words is handled with only a few minor missteps. The printed book contains photographs, maps, and figures, which are not included in the audio presentation. Although these illustrations do contribute to one’s understanding of the astronomical and physical forces that create and shape tides, these concepts are adequately explained by the text, and Woren delivers them with understanding and authority. D.L.Y. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2017 - AudioFile

2016-12-14
Anyone inclined to take the movement of the tides for granted will think twice after reading this wide-ranging study from a conservationist and avid sailor.White (Talking on the Water: Conversations about Nature and Creativity, 1994) chronicles his travels around the globe watching the tides go in and out, often pausing to reflect on the history of the still-incomplete human understanding of their workings. At the site of one of the highest tides in the world, close to the Arctic Circle in Canada, he ventured under the ice left behind by the retreating tide with an Inuit guide to hunt for mussels, finding himself in a "dreamlike state…inside the body of the ocean." In southern Chile, White was awed by the "seesaw" motion where two large oceans, whose tides are out of sync, meet. In England, he assisted at a "tidemill," where the movement of the tide is harnessed to grind grain, and he ponders the future use of "tide energy," which is still in its infancy. While intricate explanations of the mathematics and science behind the workings of the tides may leave some readers baffled, White always returns to the solid ground of personal experience. Graphs and line drawings illustrate the principles, and a series of photographs of places taken at both high and low tide serve as reminders of the dazzling power of this everyday change. If the author sometimes strays from his ostensible subject to focus on surfers riding enormous waves or to interview monks whose monastery is daily separated from the mainland by the tides, he always finds his way back to the dance between the sun, the moon, and the waters of Earth. White's heightened awareness of the planet's "cosmic beat" is bound to make readers more sensitive to the mysteries of what might otherwise seem commonplace.

Kirkus Reviews