Life on the Rocks
Building a Future for Coral Reefs
(Sprache: Englisch)
FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER AND BOOKLIST
The story of the urgent fight to save coral reefs, and why it matters to us all
Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: extraordinarily...
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER AND BOOKLIST
The story of the urgent fight to save coral reefs, and why it matters to us all
Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: extraordinarily...
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FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZENAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER AND BOOKLIST
The story of the urgent fight to save coral reefs, and why it matters to us all
Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: extraordinarily diverse, deeply interconnected, and full of wonders. When they re thriving, these fairy gardens hidden beneath the ocean s surface burst with color and life. They sustain bountiful ecosystems and protect vulnerable coasts. Corals themselves are evolutionary marvels that build elaborate limestone formations from their collective skeletons, broker symbiotic relationships with algae, and manufacture their own fluorescent sunblock. But corals across the planet are in the middle of an unprecedented die-off, beset by warming oceans, pollution, damage by humans, and a devastating pandemic.
Juli Berwald fell in love with coral reefs as a marine biology student, entranced by their beauty and complexity. Alarmed by their peril, she traveled the world to discover how to prevent their loss. She met scientists and activists operating in emergency mode, doing everything they can think of to prevent coral reefs from disappearing forever. She was so amazed by the ingenuity of these last-ditch efforts that she joined in rescue missions, unexpected partnerships, and risky experiments, and helped rebuild reefs with rebar and zip ties.
Life on the Rocks is an inspiring, lucid, meditative ode to the reefs and the undaunted scientists working to save them against almost impossible odds. As she also attempts to help her daughter in her struggle with mental illness, Berwald explores what it means to keep fighting a battle whose outcome is uncertain. She contemplates the inevitable grief of climate change and the beauty of small victories.
Lese-Probe zu „Life on the Rocks “
1Fairy Land of Fact
It was love at first sight, for my part anyway. I'm pretty confident the corals felt nothing more than the waft of a current rolling off my flapping fins as I struggled to control my movements. But from the moment I dipped my eyes beneath the surface of the balmy Red Sea and kicked a few meters out to the reef, I was smitten. I had entered a world in which the sea gods and goddesses had conspired to mastermind a magnificent playground and then outfitted it in extraordinary decor. Awash in color and texture, the reef was beyond Baroque, more complex than Gothic. It was floral, it was animal, and it was mineral too. Each delicate petal and tendril was a revelation; each filigree and lattice an astonishment. It wasn't just my ineptness with a snorkel that literally choked me up. I felt emotional, overwhelmed by the simple recognition that this coral reef existed on the same planet as me.
What really made the reef so resplendent was that there was no sea divinity behind its magnificence. It was, as William Saville-Kent, the Great Barrier Reef's first Western biographer, wrote in 1893, a "fairy land of fact." The fairyland was the accumulated work over the eons of hundreds of thousands of tiny animals most no bigger than the tip of a pencil and the symbiotic algae that lived tattooed in their tissue. These creatures had none of the organs that we recognize as animal-like, no limbs or eyes or even brains with which to concoct this symphony of splendor. And yet, they had extraordinary capabilities. They were architects who designed the intricate structures of the reef. They were manufacturers who created the rock scaffolding of their homes. They were chemists that made their own protective sunscreen and complicated venoms. They were entrepreneurs who traded in the currency of nitrogen and carbon. They were soldiers who defended their territory from encroaching parties by firing
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poison-laden darts with unparalleled speed. They were hunters who used those very same extraordinary weapons to sustain themselves.
What was even more inconceivable was that these tiny beings were so much more than just their individual powers. And it was for the collective that my admiration of corals blossomed into true love. They were generous, sharing their nutrition with their neighbors through stomachs that were physically connected together. They were hospitable, building caves and dens for fish and crabs and octopuses and sponges. They were sensual. In the light of the moon, they spawned as one, releasing eggs and sperm upward in a deluge of synchronized hope for the future.
In the years following that first amorous dive on the reef, I changed my life in very significant ways, as one does for a true love. As often happens with passion, it didn't always go smoothly. But after many missteps, I did go to graduate school to study marine biology. Once there, I signed up for every chance I could to dive on other reefs: the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and on the reefs surrounding Bora Bora, Jamaica, Maui, and the tip of Baja California. When I tucked my head underwater, the rush of love for the coral reef would always wash over me. Again and again, I was enthralled and entranced by the corals, by their creativity and synergy, by their beauty and complexity.
Until I wasn't.
More than a decade ago, I fell off the academic path and slipped into a career as a freelance science writer mostly working on textbooks, although I occasionally wrote for magazines and websites. My grandmother, who was in her midnineties, decided to throw a big party for herself because, as she wisely recognized, "you can't take it with you." She invited our extended family to join her on a Caribbean cruise. While I knew this voyage would be different from sailing on a research vessel, I was eager to see the vast horiz
What was even more inconceivable was that these tiny beings were so much more than just their individual powers. And it was for the collective that my admiration of corals blossomed into true love. They were generous, sharing their nutrition with their neighbors through stomachs that were physically connected together. They were hospitable, building caves and dens for fish and crabs and octopuses and sponges. They were sensual. In the light of the moon, they spawned as one, releasing eggs and sperm upward in a deluge of synchronized hope for the future.
In the years following that first amorous dive on the reef, I changed my life in very significant ways, as one does for a true love. As often happens with passion, it didn't always go smoothly. But after many missteps, I did go to graduate school to study marine biology. Once there, I signed up for every chance I could to dive on other reefs: the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and on the reefs surrounding Bora Bora, Jamaica, Maui, and the tip of Baja California. When I tucked my head underwater, the rush of love for the coral reef would always wash over me. Again and again, I was enthralled and entranced by the corals, by their creativity and synergy, by their beauty and complexity.
Until I wasn't.
More than a decade ago, I fell off the academic path and slipped into a career as a freelance science writer mostly working on textbooks, although I occasionally wrote for magazines and websites. My grandmother, who was in her midnineties, decided to throw a big party for herself because, as she wisely recognized, "you can't take it with you." She invited our extended family to join her on a Caribbean cruise. While I knew this voyage would be different from sailing on a research vessel, I was eager to see the vast horiz
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Autoren-Porträt von Juli Berwald
Juli Berwald received her PhD in ocean science from the University of Southern California. The author of Spineless and a science textbook writer and editor, she has written for a number of publications including The New York Times, Nature, National Geographic, and Slate.
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Juli Berwald
- 2022, 352 Seiten, Maße: 16,5 x 23,7 cm, Gebunden, Englisch
- Verlag: Riverhead Books
- ISBN-10: 0593087305
- ISBN-13: 9780593087305
- Erscheinungsdatum: 05.05.2022
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
Praise for Life on the Rocks:A blast to read, full of fascinating stories, facts, and humor, and is an inspiring portrait of an underwater world that is integral to our global ecology. Shondaland
"A colorful exploration of the tropics struggling coral reefs and what we can do to save these crucial oases of the big blue." Lydia Millet, Oprah Daily
The journalist and scientist s deep dive into these underwater ecosystems reveals their mesmerizing complexity as well as the perils they face today. New York Times
A globe-trotting adventure to fight for the future of coral reefs. Science
[A] beautiful, rigorous, and ultimately hopeful book. Daily Beast
Dazzling. . . . Life on the Rocks shimmers with radiant prose, sending out rays of hope for the future of coral reefs. BookPage
Highly readable. Scientific American
Engrossing. Library Journal
[A]n excellent study of efforts to save the reefs. . . .Solidly researched, sharply observed, and compassionately rendered, the parallel struggles in Life on the Rocks make for science writing that is illuminating on several levels. Booklist (starred review)
Ocean scientist Berwald blends memoir and science writing in this colorful look at the state of coral reefs. . . . making for moving dual story lines about health, healing, and hope. Nature-minded readers will find much to enjoy. Publishers Weekly
An energetic investigation of the plight of coral reefs with sharply drawn profiles and lucid renderings of ocean life. Kirkus
[S]plendid Berwald s great strength lies in revealing a fast-moving, complex global catastrophe through easily understood case studies. New York Review of Books
A courageous and passionate look at the exquisite symbiotic world of coral--and of the human spirit. In entwining deeply personal stories of love and loss and hope on the reefs and in her own family, Berwald offers insight that could not be more relevant to
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our lives. Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Bird Way and The Genius of Birds
Everyone who cares about the health of our planet should read these riveting, vivid, and information-packed pages. I recommend this book to ocean-loving humans everywhere. Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus
Everyone who cares about the health of our planet should read these riveting, vivid, and information-packed pages. I recommend this book to ocean-loving humans everywhere. Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus
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