Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean
Apr 2019 · University of Chicago Press
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258
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About this ebook
"This bracing history charts the myths, the exploration, and the inhabitants of the all-too-real and wild circumpolar ocean to our south." — The Sydney Morning Herald, Pick of the Week
Unlike the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans with their long maritime histories, little is known about the Southern Ocean. This book takes readers beyond the familiar heroic narratives of polar exploration to explore the nature of this stormy circumpolar ocean and its place in Western and Indigenous histories. Drawing from a vast archive of charts and maps, sea captains' journals, whalers' log books, missionaries' correspondence, voyagers' letters, scientific reports, stories, myths, and her own experiences, Joy McCann embarks on a voyage of discovery across its surfaces and into its depths, revealing its distinctive physical and biological processes as well as the people, species, events, and ideas that have shaped our perceptions of it. The result is both a global story of changing scientific knowledge about oceans and their vulnerability to human actions and a local one, showing how the Southern Ocean has defined and sustained southern environments and people over time.
Beautifully and powerfully written, Wild Sea will raise a broader awareness and appreciation of the natural and cultural history of this little-known ocean and its emerging importance as a barometer of planetary climate change.
"A sensitive portrait of a complex ecosystem, from krill to blue whales, and of the ice, winds, and currents that are critical to the circulation of the world's oceans." — Harper's
"Wilderness seekers will rejoice in this stirring portrait . . . McCann deftly navigates both natural glories and archival complexities." — Nature
Unlike the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans with their long maritime histories, little is known about the Southern Ocean. This book takes readers beyond the familiar heroic narratives of polar exploration to explore the nature of this stormy circumpolar ocean and its place in Western and Indigenous histories. Drawing from a vast archive of charts and maps, sea captains' journals, whalers' log books, missionaries' correspondence, voyagers' letters, scientific reports, stories, myths, and her own experiences, Joy McCann embarks on a voyage of discovery across its surfaces and into its depths, revealing its distinctive physical and biological processes as well as the people, species, events, and ideas that have shaped our perceptions of it. The result is both a global story of changing scientific knowledge about oceans and their vulnerability to human actions and a local one, showing how the Southern Ocean has defined and sustained southern environments and people over time.
Beautifully and powerfully written, Wild Sea will raise a broader awareness and appreciation of the natural and cultural history of this little-known ocean and its emerging importance as a barometer of planetary climate change.
"A sensitive portrait of a complex ecosystem, from krill to blue whales, and of the ice, winds, and currents that are critical to the circulation of the world's oceans." — Harper's
"Wilderness seekers will rejoice in this stirring portrait . . . McCann deftly navigates both natural glories and archival complexities." — Nature
"This bracing history charts the myths, the exploration, and the inhabitants of the all-too-real and wild circumpolar ocean to our south." — The Sydney Morning Herald, Pick of the Week
Unlike the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans with their long maritime histories, little is known abo...
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About the author
Joy McCann is a historian specializing in environmental and cultural history. She is based at the Centre for Environmental History at the Australian National University's School of History and has worked as a public historian, researcher, and curator in the cultural heritage, museum, and library sectors. She is currently writing a history of Australians in Antarctica for the National Library of Australia.
Joy McCann is a historian specializing in environmental and cultural history. She is based at the Centre for Environmental History at the Australian National University's School of History and has worked as a public historian, researcher, and curator in the cultural heritage, museum, and library ...
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