Exploring the depths: Uncovering the mysteries of the sea
On June 11th, 1930, William Beebe and Otis Barton stepped into a two-ton steel ball and descended a quarter of a mile into the depths of the ocean...
… they initiated a period of exploration that would uncover the hidden world of bioluminescent creatures, coral forests, hydrothermal vents, and giant single-celled organisms. From the mythical creatures of Homer's Odyssey to Cagniard de La Tour's "sirène" alarm, to Matthew Webb's legendary 1875 swim across the English Channel, the mysteries of the sea have captivated our imaginations for centuries.
Where Wonders Await Us (NYRB, December 2007)
Tim Flannery
Here Be Monsters (NYRB, December 2013)
Two new books about sea monsters place maps at the heart of scientific marine inquiry
Splash (NYRB, March 2021)
Fantastic beliefs, in the form of false claims and urban legends, have been traveling irresistibly since the eighteenth century. The effect today has been amplified by social media; mermaid sightings rank in popularity alongside those of aliens, angels, and unicorns.
At the Pool (LRB, June 2018)
At the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, Madonna once requested the pool all to herself, and it's easy to see why.
Gerard Byrne (LRB, March 2011)
Gerard Byrne's exhibition at the MK Gallery in Milton Keynes, titled 'Case Study: Loch Ness (Some Possibilities and Problems), 2001-11', draws on a decade of research on the Loch Ness Monster to explore the complex relationship between word and image in our modern age. Combining his own works with new ones, Byrne's wryly humorous exhibition examines the conventions of photographic reportage, the place of landscape images in contemporary art, and the many sightings of Nessie since the early 1930s.
Into the Wrecks (NYRB, July 2021)
What do sunken ships reveal about the history of war at sea?
Life Soup (LRB, April 2022)
Jean-Paul Sartre's experiment with mescaline resulted in intense hallucinations, including an onslaught of octopuses and crabs that followed him for a year. Susanne Wedlich's book, Slime, examines the physical and phenomenological aspects of sliminess, from its innate moral quality to the way it triggers revulsion in us. The concept of slime has a long and varied history, from Lucretius' theory of humans forming from moist soil to Lynn Margulis' theory of symbiogenesis, and even the spiritualist movement of the early 20th century. Wedlich's book further reveals the unexpected discoveries that slime can hold, from the biofilms in Shark Bay, Australia dating back 3.5 billion years, to the spiggin secreted by male sticklebacks to build their nests.
Death of a Champion (NYRB, September 2001)
Charles Sprawson