The Tide: The Science And Stories Behind The Greatest Force On Earth

by Hugh Aldersey-williams

2020-12-31 21:12:10

“Superb. . . . A gently studious Bill Bryson crossed with an upbeat and relaxed WG Sebald.”—James McConnachie, Sunday Times (UK) Half of the world’s population today lives in coastal regions lapped by tidal waters. But... Read more
“Superb. . . . A gently studious Bill Bryson crossed with an upbeat and relaxed WG Sebald.”—James McConnachie, Sunday Times (UK)

Half of the world’s population today lives in coastal regions lapped by tidal waters. But the tide rises and falls according to rules that are a mystery to almost all of us. In The Tide, celebrated science writer Hugh Aldersey-Williams weaves together centuries of scientific thinking with the literature and folklore the tide has inspired to explain the power and workings of this most remarkable force.

Here is the epic story of the long search to understand the tide from Aristotle, to Galileo and Newton, to classic literary portrayals of the tide from Shakespeare to Dickens, Melville to Jules Verne. Throughout, Aldersey-Williams whisks the reader along on his travels: He visits the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, where the tides are the strongest in the world; arctic Norway, home of the raging tidal whirlpool known as the maelstrom; and Venice, to investigate efforts to defend the city against flooding caused by the famed acqua alta.

Less

Book Details

File size8.2 X 5.5 X 1 in
Print pages368
PublisherWW Norton
Publication date October 31, 2017
LanguageEnglish
ISBN9780393354805
Hugh Aldersey-Williams studied natural sciences at Cambridge. He is the author of Periodic Tales, Anatomies, Tide: The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth and Dutch Light....

Compare Prices

Store Availability Book Format Condition Price
Indigo Books & Music In Stock Paperback Paperback Buy CAD 22.95
Indigo Books & MusicIn Stock
Format
Paperback
Condition
Paperback
Buy CAD 22.95
Available Discount
No Discount available

Join us and get access to all
your favourite books

Sign up for free and start exploring thousands of eBooks today.

Sign up for free