Paperback Classics

From the author of one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, Silent Spring, The Edge of the Sea is part handbook, part hymn to ecological complexity that conveys the sense of wonder in nature for which Rachel Carson is justly celebrated.

With a new introduction from New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery for the 70th anniversary, it is a brilliant, beautiful exploration of the Atlantic seashore that is still relevant today.
This edition will have a fresh cover design to accompany the new introduction. Replaces the previous edition 9780395924969.

In this remarkable book, Rachel Carson explores the strange and beautiful places at the edge of the sea, leading us into unknown worlds to catch the evanescent beauty of a tide pool and tell the story of a grain of sand.

Focusing on the plants and invertebrates surviving in the Atlantic zones between the lowest and the highest tides, between Newfoundland and the Florida Keys, The Edge of the Sea is divided into three main sections: The Rocky Shore, The Rim of Sand, The Coral Coast. These environments are found the world over but because of its configuration in geological history, the American Atlantic coast demonstrates their life patterns "almost with the clarity of a well conceived scientific experiment."

With poetry and science she transforms the seemingly simple animal and plant life in the sea into complex and stunningly beautiful creatures deserving of our compassion, understanding, and finally, protection.

POET OF THE SEA: Though Carson is best remembered for Silent Spring, one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, her deepest passion was for the sea, and many readers and critics consider The Edge of the Sea and her other classics on marine life to be her finest works. The New Yorker: "Rereading her natural histories, what stands out is how beautiful the writing is. Carson combined a scientist's ability to see with a novelist's ability to imagine."
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Rachel Carson (1907–1964) spent most of her professional life as a marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By the late 1950s, she had written three lyrical, popular books about the sea, including the best-selling The Sea Around Us, and had become the most respected science writer in America. She completed Silent Spring against formidable personal odds, and with it shaped a powerful social movement that has altered the course of history.