Annotations: Delgado, Doubilet, and Drumm

As part of Fall 2008's research project, I have produced an annotated bibliography of 129 nonfiction texts, all associated with aquatic subjects. I read far further in water-related fiction and nonfiction in the last eight months, but I decided on the specific bibliography in relation to teaching my courses, English 1A, English 93, and the prospective elective "Literature and the (Aquatic) Environment." Of course, not all 129 books on my list would suit our courses, but I had to read (or reread) to discover such fitness or lack of fitness. I share my findings for each one itself and for the critical model at work.

Here are the next three books in the bibliography:

Delgado, James P. Adventures of a Sea Hunter: In Search of Famous Shipwrecks. Vancouver: Douglass & McIntyre, 2004.

This book is solid and informative, but finding shipwrecks just seems too technical and less fun than in the days of Mel Fisher. (Reminder: see Daley's Treasure.) I need to reread this book; maybe it's more fun than I recall (since I read it on an airplane to Hawaii, restless with anticipation of the diving ahead).

Doubilet, David. Water Light Time. New York: Phaidon, 2006.

Excellent book of photographs, particularly underwater photographs and just-at-the-surface photographs, much less common (and much less sought after, I guess). I put this book next to the 3-D photos when I want to give someone the best sense of being in the water without spraying them with a hose or tossing them off a dock. In other words, visually effective and engaging.

Drumm, Russell. In the Slick of the Cricket: A Shark Odyssey. New York: Penguin, 1997.

If you have ever seen Jaws, well, you've met the main figure of this book through the crusty, obsessive shark-killing character played by Robert Shaw, though the Frank Mundus of Drumm's book is a bit smoother than the film's Quint. Mundus is the star of the show, though Drumm's descriptions are the key to the book's effectiveness. I have been tempted to use this book in English 93 or 96, both for the obvious attraction of any shark-story and for the portrayal of psychology in action. I felt salty after reading this book, though also a bit depressed. In this world, there are too many shark-killers and too many dead sharks, but that's the subject of a different book.