Baker & Taylor
A pioneering oceanographer's assessment of the role of flotsam on world history describes how his volunteer team's efforts to track the ocean's currents revealed surprising discoveries about such subjects as the discovery of America, Japanese trade, and the origins of life; in an account that also makes observations about current environmental threats.

HARPERCOLL

“Ebbesmeyer’s goal is noble and fresh: to show how the flow of ocean debris around the world reveals ‘the music’ of the world’s oceans.”

—New York Times Book Review

 

Through the fascinating stories of flotsam, one of the Earth’s greatest secrets is revealed. In Flotsametrics and the Floating World, maverick scientist Curtis Ebbesmeyer details how his obsession with floating garbage—from rubber ducks to discarded Nike sneakers—helped to revolutionize ocean science. Scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki, host of CBC TV’s “The Nature of Things,” calls Flotsametrics and the Floating World  “Science and storytelling at its very best.” “A very enjoyable, if at times dark, book” (Nature), it is must reading for anyone interested in Oceanography, Environmental Science, and the way our world works.

Book News
In this memoir, Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer, who is joined by author and editor Scigliano, describes his career studying the ocean. The book begins with his early experiences with the water and his education, and continues with his work studying the ocean and its mysteries, including its currents, icebergs, and garbage that turns up on beaches, and how he used objects to track currents, including sneakers spilled into the ocean in 1990. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Baker
& Taylor
Assesses the role of flotsam in world history, and describes how a volunteer team's efforts to track the ocean's currents revealed surprising discoveries about such subjects as the discovery of America, Japanese trade, the origins of life, and climate change.