THE FOREST AND THE SEA

by Marston Bates ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 1960

Here within the compass of one book is what amounts to a basic and intensive college education in all the natural sciences, plus a remarkably detailed and inclusive concept of life. It is not precisely a textbook, but rather nature writing of the best and purest kind, not muddied by philosophy, poetry, dramatic incident or scientific jargon, but presenting a multitude of facts as simply, freshly and completely as if the writer was discovering his material with the reader. This ability to give zest to even the simplest explanations is a basic mark of a born teacher. Bates' delight in his subject extends to practically every phase of natural history from microscopic life to ecology, including the rather special ecology of man. But perhaps the book's unique value is in the organization of the material. In the last century the natural sciences have suffered from being divided into 'ologies'- fields of study with fairly rigid dividing boundaries. Anyone trained in these boundaries will find this a highly exciting book in that it constantly overleaps divisions to include totally separated sciences in a single statement. The section on fresh water alone, for instance, interweaves botany, ichthyology, paleontology, entomology, geology.... while other sections relate, effortlessly, subjects ranging from the composition of sea water to the ethics and problems of human culture. The lack of surface drama may prevent this from being a popular book, but anyone interested in the realities of life on this planet will find it a one-book library.

Pub Date: March 18, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1960

Categories: NONFICTION