"Actually, the figure we so often see quoted — 71 percent the world's surface — understates the oceans' importance. If you consider instead three-dimensional volumes, our land-lubbers' share of the planet shrinks even more toward insignificance: less than 1 percent of the total."
- The Eternal Darkness: A Personal History of Deep-Sea Exploration, by Robert D. Ballard with Will Hively
About the book:
Until a few decades ago, the ocean depths were almost as mysterious and inaccessible as outer space. Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth's surface with an average depth of more than two miles--yet humans had never ventured more than a few hundred feet below the waves. One of the great scientific and archaeological feats of our time has been finally to cast light on the "eternal darkness" of the deep sea. This is the story of that achievement, told by the man who has done more than any other to make it possible: Robert Ballard.
Ballard discovered the wreck of the Titanic. He led the teams that discovered hydrothermal vents and "black smokers"-- cracks in the ocean floor where springs of superheated water support some of the strangest life-forms on the planet ... In this book, he combines science, history, spectacular illustrations, and first-hand stories from his own expeditions in a uniquely personal account of how twentieth-century explorers have pushed back the frontiers of technology to take us into the midst of a world we could once only guess at. — From the publisher
About the editor:
Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is a former United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks. He is most known for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989, and the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in 1998. He discovered the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 in 2002 and visited Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who saved its crew. Ballard leads ocean exploration on E/V Nautilus. — From the publisher.
Find a copy:
- A Place on Earth is available at the city campus at 814.008 TRED.
About Teaser Tuesdays:
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading! Everyone is welcome to play!
How it works:
1. Grab a book from your collection
2. Select 2 sentences that make an interesting teaser (avoid spoilers please!)
3. Post the sentences, along with author and book title in the comments of this post
2 comments:
'That's not fair!' Now it was a whine.
THERE'S NO JUSTICE. THERES JUST ME [Death]
-Mort by Terry Pratchett
Interesting fact!
Here's mine: I love Dan Brown
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