The sound of the sea : seashells and the fate of the oceans / Cynthia Barnett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barnett, Cynthia, 1966- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shells.

Shells--History.

Mollusks.

Mollusks--History.

Mollusk remains (Archaeology).

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 417 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, 2021.

Summary:

"A compelling history of seashells and the animals that make them, revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans, and ourselves. Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature's creations since the dawn of humanity. They were money before coins, jewelry before gems, art before canvas. In The Sound of the Sea, acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives of the mollusks that make them. Spiraling out from the great cities of shell that once rose in North America to the warming waters of the Maldives and the slave castles of Ghana, Barnett has created an unforgettable account of the world's most iconic seashells. She begins with their childhood wonder, unwinds surprising histories like the origin of Shell Oil as a family business importing exotic shells, and charts what shells and the soft animals that build them are telling scientists about our warming, acidifying seas. From the eerie calls of early shell trumpets to the evolutionary miracle of spines and spires and the modern science of carbon capture inspired by shell, Barnett circles to her central point of listening to nature's wisdom-and acting on what seashells have to say about taking care of each other and our world"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I MIRACLE

One. First Shells (Marine fossils, Quadrireticulum allisoniae)

Two. Everything From Shells (The Chambered Nautilus, Nautilus pompilius)

Three. The Voice Of The Past (Triton's Trumpet, Charonia tritonis)

Four. Great Cities Of Shell (The Lightning Whelk, Sinistrofulgur sinistrum)

pt. II CAPITAL

Five. Shell Money (The Money Cowrie, Monetaria monetd)

Six. Shell Madness (The Precious Wentletrap, Epitonium scalare)

Seven. American Shells (The Lettered Olive, Oliva sayand)

Eight. Shell Oil (The Murex, Hexaplex trunculus)

Nine. Shell Shock (The Junonia, Scaphella junonid)

pt. III ORACLE

Ten. The End Of Abundance (The Bay Scallop, Argopecten irradians)

Eleven. Saving The Queens (The Queen Conch, Aliger gigas)

Twelve. Glowing Future (The Giant Clam, Tridacna gigas)

Thirteen. Trust In Nature (The Geographer Cone, Conus geographies).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 350-402) and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9780393651447

0393651444

OCLC:

1250429090