Fall Book Review
A one page book review on a marine non-fiction novel is due the last day of the FIRST QUARTER. Print and read the rubric below before you read the novel.
NON-FICTION BOOK REVIEW RUBRIC
Non-Fiction Novels ( other non-fiction novels are allowed ONLY with prior permission from Mr. McBride )
#1 Mapping the Deep by Robert Kunzig AHS STUDENT REVIEW Jake Molly
This novel is the best choice for anyone who is interested in learning about the ocean. It moves in cronological order through the major discoveries in oceanography to the current mysteries of the sea. Kunzig is a writer for Discover Magazine and his talent for communication makes this novel easy to read and understand. This is the best non-fiction novel about the ocean I have ever read.
#2 The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
It is usually true that a book is better than the movie made from it and this is no exception. Junger develops the characters of the crew of the Andrea Gail and the reader soon cares what will happen to them. Intersperced throughout the novel are detailed explanations of weather, waves, shipbuilding, commercial fishing, the history of cod fishing and coast guard rescue training. If you are interested in meteorology or fishing this is the novel for you. I could not put this book down but some find the details slow it down for them.
#3 Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey
Casey, like Kunzig and Junger, is a writer first. She starts out to write a feature article about the people who study Great White Sharks on the Farrallon Islands off the coast near San Francisco. Casey becomes immersed in the history of the islands, the unique, rustic life of the researchers, and the enigmatic sharks themselves. If you are interested in sharks or if you want to find out how an active, outdoors oriented person can also be a scientist read this novel.
#4 Swimming to Antarctica by Lynn Cox
I grew up reading in the local paper about a girl my age who broke the mens record for swimming across the Catalina Channel. Lynn Cox went on to swim the English Channel and go to UCSB. This is her story of training and big goals arnd superhuman feats. If you like stories of athletic achievement this might be the novel for you. If you want to find out how one young person can get two superpowers to stop fighting for a moment by swimming between the two this is the novel for you.
#5 In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrik
Nantucket was the capital of the whaling industry in the last century. The history of the town and a thorough description of what life was like for men on the crew of a whaleship makes this novel interesting. The story of the sinking of the Essex by a bull Sperm Whale and the survival crew makes this novel an intriguing and grusome history. If you are particularly interested in old time whaling or you prefer historical novels this is the novel for you.
others in no particular order
Surf Science: An Introduction to Waves for Surfing by Tony Butt and Paul Russel
This is not a coffee table book with amazing photographs of daring surfers. It explains how tides, wind and currents work. It explains how waves interact with the sea floor to create different kinds of waves. I makes sense of the detailed information on bouy data you can get on the internet. If you are intrigued by the physics of waves this is a great book. If you ride waves and you want to learn the hows and whys this is a great book. If you trying to dodge reading novel for this assignment keep looking; this one will be too much work.
The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw
Greenlaw was the swordfish boat captain of the sister ship to the Andrea Gail, which was the topic of The Perfect Storm. She tells about life aboard a commercial fishing boat for a woman in charge. Greenlaw explains in detail the methods and challenges of fishing for a dwindling resource, Atlantic swordfish. Her point of view as a woman in a job dominated by men and her views on commercial fishing are interesting.
Spring Book Review
A one page book review on a marine non-fiction OR fiction novel is due the last day of the THIRD QUARTER. Print and read the rubric below before you read the FICTION BOOK REVIEW RUBRIC novel. If you read another non-fiction novel use the NON-FICTION BOOK REVIEW RUBRIC.