"An absolutely beautiful book, exquisitely written and opening up a whole new world of information about our oceans."
Just stunning! Blue Machine should be placed in the hands of school pupils, politicians, environmentalists, in fact anyone and everyone. Looking at the oceans as a single engine powered by sunlight ensures an eye-opening and fascinating read. Helen Czerski writes with a beautifully nuanced and compelling pen, once I started reading I simply didn’t want to stop. She says that: “Thinking about the ocean isn’t a luxury for the curious any more. It’s a major part of our life-support system and we’d better take it seriously. We’re also learning that even this vast body of water isn’t big enough to shrug off the influence of humankind”. She shows, tells, explains, and captures hearts and minds, she passes her important message by encouraging understanding and a connection. As I explored I fell in love with something I have always viewed with awe and even a little fear. Blue Machine is at once an extraordinary history lesson, story time, and vital warning to humankind. Read it!
| Primary Genre | Nature and the natural world: general interest |
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All of the Earth's ocean, from the equator to the poles, is a single engine powered by sunlight - a blue machine.
Earth is home to a huge story that is rarely told - that of our ocean. Not the fish or the dolphins, but the massive ocean engine itself: what it does, why it works, and the many ways it has influenced animals, weather and human history & culture.
In a book that will recalibrate our view of this defining feature of our planet, physicist Helen Czerski dives deep to illuminate the murky depths of the ocean engine, examining the messengers, passengers and voyagers that live in it, travel over it, and survive because of it. From the ancient Polynesians who navigated the Pacific by reading the waves to permanent residents of the deep such as the Greenland shark that can live for hundreds of years, she explains the vast currents, invisible ocean walls and underwater waterfalls that all have their place in the ocean's complex, interlinked system.
Timely, elegant and passionately argued, Blue Machine presents a fresh perspective on what it means to be a citizen of an ocean planet. The understanding it offers is crucial to our future. Drawing on years of experience at the forefront of marine science, Helen Czerski captures the magnitude and subtlety of Earth's defining feature, showing us the thrilling extent to which we are at the mercy of this great engine.
Blue Machine features in the following genres: Nature and the natural world: general interest, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Non-Fiction Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Popular Science, Oceanography (seas and oceans), Sea life and the seashore: general interest, Atmospheric physics, Geophysics, Ecological science, the Biosphere, Marine biology, Maritime history, Lifestyle, Hobbies and Leisure, Science: general issues, Mathematics and Science, Hydrology and the hydrosphere, Earth sciences, Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning, Wildlife: aquatic creatures: general interest, Wildlife: general interest, Applied physics, Physics, Life sciences: general issues, Biology, life sciences, Hydrobiology, History: specific events and topics, History, History and Archaeology
Blue Machine is available in Paperback, Hardback
Blue Machine was written by Helen Czerski and published by Torva an imprint of Transworld Publishers Ltd
Blue Machine has 464 pages
