Kayaking Off Castro Point

Outing with JP some weeks back now.  A good time.

Annotations: Castro, Charton & Tietjen, & Chase

Castro, Peter, and Michael E. Huber.  Marine Biology.  7th ed.  Boston: McGraw Hill, 2007.

This is the text assigned by Dr. Bibit Traut and Dr. Dean Lauritzen for the Fall 2008 Bio 32: Marine Biology, the class I took during my sabbatical.  These two instructors team-taught the course, and they are lively, worthy lecturers.

I own the first edition of Marine Biology, and I can attest that this 7th edition is a wonderful improvement over a solid original text.  Castro and Huber write clearly, and their textbook offers appropriate illustrations and organization.    As a student somewhat familiar with the subject, but still new to many aspects of this complex field of exploration and discovery, I was very pleased by this text.  

Charlton, Barbara, and John Tietjen.  The Facts on File Dictionary of Marine Science.  New York: Facts on File, 1988.

When I wanted to check specific terms of marine science and I didn't have access to the internet, this is the book that I turned to.  Often, I have needed fuller explanations, but to get the basics quickly, this has been a handy reference.  I was glad I had the book, though I don't know whether I would recommend it.

Chase, Owen.  Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex.  New York: Lyons, 1999.

A classic presentation, especially for anyone interested in whales, whaling, or Melville's Moby Dick.   I picked up this book on all three accounts, but also because the 19th century is yet another fascinating century for study.  (Aren't they all?)  Yes, here we have evidence that a whale really did sink a whaleship.  Chase's account, written in 1821, is readable and gripping, a nice antidote to the poisonous claim that everything written in previous centuries is unnecessarily long-winded and lacking grip.