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Sebastian Ritscher

THE SOUND OF THE SEA

Cynthia Barnett

Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans

A compelling history of seashells and the animals that make them, revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans, and ourselves.
Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature's creations since the dawn of humanity. They were money before coins, jewelry before gems, art before canvas. In The Sound of the Sea, acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives of the mollusks that make them. Spiraling out from the great cities of shell that once rose in North America to the warming waters of the Maldives and the slave castles of Ghana, Barnett has created an unforgettable account of the world's most iconic seashells. She begins with their childhood wonder, unwinds surprising histories like the origin of Shell Oil as a family business importing exotic shells, and charts what shells and the soft animals that build them are telling scientists about our warming, acidifying seas. From the eerie calls of early shell trumpets to the evolutionary miracle of spines and spires and the modern science of carbon capture inspired by shell, Barnett circles to her central point of listening to nature's wisdom - and acting on what seashells have to say about taking care of each other and our world. Cynthia Barnett is the author of three previous books, including Rain, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and named a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Award for Literary Science Writing. She lives with her family in Gainesville, Florida, where she is also Environmental Journalist in Residence at the University of Florida.
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Published 2021-07-06 by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. - New York (USA)

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Full of fascinating and important stories, vividly evoked. I was captivated by both the wonders of molluscan life and by the many unexpected ways that shells live at the center of human cultures. A must-read for anyone interested in the riches of the living Earth.

Italian: La Nave di Teseo ; Chinese (simpl.): Commercial Press ; Chinese (compl.): Faces

Environmental author, Cynthia Barnett, joins us to discuss her new book, The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans, which comes out on July 6. The book recounts the science behind how seashells are made and their role in our ecosystem at large. ... Read more...

The Sound of the Sea is one of those rare, knock-out books that has you gasping in surprise on every page. From the prehistoric to the present, seashells have suffused human life, from giving voice to ancient gods to spurring climate solutions today. Thank you, Cynthia Barnett, for honoring the gifts the mollusks have left us, and - like the conch shells that once called the faithful to worship - for giving them the voice to speak for the imperiled ocean.

Writing with clarity and heart, turning science into prose and history into useful knowledge, Cynthia Barnett has given us a book for the ages. The Sound of the Sea is timely and mind-opening, echoing voices from the wondrous world of shell-harbored creatures of the sea. She urges us to give them our ear in ways we never have before, for in this transitional age, their truth is our fate, their wisdom our answer, and their future our hope.

Well-researched, consistently illuminating... An absolutely captivating nature book.

Brian Lehrer, Pamela Paul highlighted the book in an interview with Brian Lehrer last month: "One of those I think is particularly intriguing, at least to me, which is The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans. It's one of those books that hones in on a single object. The way that we've done with Cod and other. It's a micro history. This looks at the seashell and how they are made and the people who collect them and the stories that they tell. That is by Cynthia Barnett. That is coming out in July." Read more...

The Sound of the Sea is as exquisite, many-chambered, and luminous as the shells Cynthia Barnett describes in her wild and hybrid book. It is a travelogue, a finely-argued indictment of colonization and capitalism, a reanimation of scientists lost to the official narrative, and, most ringingly, the story of the way shells and the soft and vulnerable animals within them reflect back both the greatness of human ingenuity and the equally immense and rippling effect of human harm to the natural world. This song of mingled praise and warning left me shell-shocked, wonder-struck, utterly delighted.

The Sound of the Sea" is a glorious history of shells and of those who have loved shells. It is a history of fascination and of shame. It stretches our capacity to absorb new knowledge. It is as complex, multichambered and beautiful as its subject, and if Barnett can awaken our sense of wonder, then perhaps there is hope for jump-starting our collective sense of responsibility toward the oceans and one another. Read more...

Piece on book: Were Cowrie Shells The Original Bitcoin? A Fascinating New Book And Museum Exhibit Reveal The Global Influence Of Mollusks ... Read more...

In the deeply researched tradition of Rachel Carson's sea trilogy, Cynthia Barnett enchantingly weaves poetic musings with deep-seated conservation wisdom and ocean science. An instant classic of nature history - a science-driven work of literature full of seaside grandeur.

Interview: Seashells changed the world. Now they're teaching us about the future of the oceans. ... Read more...

Riveting... [A]n entertaining, colorful tour of a surprisingly dynamic part of nature.

Will have you marveling at nature... Barnett's account remarkably spirals out, appropriately, to become a much larger story about the sea, about global history and about environmental crises and preservation. Read more...

Enthralling... [A] fascinating history of the shellmakers and of the multitude of ways they have interacted with and shaped human beings. Read more...

KQED "Forum," Interview: 'The Sound of the Sea' Probes Beauty and Environmental Importance of Seashells... Read more...

Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk, podcast interview: Naturalist writer Cynthia Barnett is here, out with a new book that is at once history, future, and love letter to seashells and the oceans. Using seashells as an entry point for how she teaches us (in a non-dogmatic way) about the perilous state, but also history and beauty of the seas, Cynthia paints a picture of love and immense respect for the great waters. The conversation moves in many interesting directions-- from mangrove forests to seafood-- as Daniel and Cynthia take listeners on a brief guided tour of her ode to the sea. ... Read more...

This natural and cultural history of seashells by award-winning environmental journalist Barnett brims with both wonder and dread... Part ode to the natural world and part warning call, this deeply researched book reveals that shells really do "hold wisdom from the sea." Read more...

"Science Friday," Interview with Ira Flatow Read more...