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The Bathysphere Book
The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths | Brad Fox
5 posts | 1 read
"Mesmerizing . . . Original and often profound, [The Bathysphere Book] is a moving testament to the wonders of exploration." Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Imbued with the adventurous spirit of science and exploration . . . [The Bathysphere Book is] an enchanting cabinet of curiosities." Kirkus Reviews A wide ranging, philosophical, and sensual account of early deep sea exploration and its afterlives, The Bathysphere Book begins with the first ever voyage to the deep ocean in 1930 and expands to explore the adventures and entanglements of its all-too-human participants at a time when the world still felt entirely new. In the summer of 1930, aboard a ship floating near the Atlantic island of Nonsuch, marine biologist Gloria Hollister sat on a crate, writing furiously in a notebook with a telephone receiver pressed to her ear. The phone line was attached to a steel cable that plunged 3,000 feet into the sea. There, suspended by the cable, dangled a four-and-a-half-foot steel ball called the bathysphere. Crumpled inside, gazing through three-inch quartz windows at the undersea world, was Hollisters colleague William Beebe. He called up to her, describing previously unseen creatures, explosions of bioluminescence, and strange effects of light and color. From this momentous first encounter with the unknown depths, The Bathysphere Book widens its scope to explore a transforming and deeply paradoxical America, as the first great skyscrapers rose above New York City and the Great Plains baked to dust. In prose that is magical, atmospheric, and entirely engrossing, Brad Fox dramatizes new visions of our planetary home, delighting in tales of the colorful characters who surrounded, supported, and participated in the divesfrom groundbreaking scientists and gallivanting adventurers to eugenicist billionaires. The Bathysphere Book is a hypnotic assemblage of brief chapters along with over fifty full-color images, records from the original bathysphere logbooks, and the moving story of surreptitious romance between Beebe and Hollister that anchors their exploration. Brad Fox blurs the line between poetry and research, unearthing and rendering a visionary meeting with the unknown.
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psalva
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A mixed reading experience. I‘m impressed by Fox‘s writing style, poetic and dreamy yet informative. However, the format didn‘t always agree with me. Its nonlinear, fragmentary organization made me lose the thread sometimes, especially since I wasn‘t binge reading it. Still, a fascinating, if niche, topic written about beautifully with accompanying illustrations, including Else Bostelmann‘s wonderful paintings.
#ReadingtheAmericas2023 #Bermuda

psalva I was reviewing the StoryGraph challenge and just realized I‘d been delinquent in tagging @BarbaraBB and @Librarybelle for all of my Reading the Americas posts. Ugh. 😞My apologies, and I‘ll try to tag y‘all for the remainder of the year as I catch up with my TBR📚📚📚 1y
Librarybelle No worries! Thank you for participating!! 1y
BarbaraBB No worries at all 🤍 1y
23 likes3 comments
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psalva
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As much as I‘m in awe of the research done with the bathysphere, I‘m saddened to learn of the eugenics background of Beebe and those that funded his project, like Madison Grant. However, I‘m glad the author isn‘t ignoring that aspect of this story. Also, I‘m glad Beebe began to see the error of his ways, signing a 1941 letter denouncing Hitler and calling “for improved workers‘ rights and an end to racial discrimination in the US.”

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psalva
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“A siphonophore…appears to be a single organism but it‘s not…The citizens share a common ancestor that once emerged from a fertilized egg, but now they grow and clone themselves and attach their offspring to their own bodies…There is no central brain…This frees the small bodies to pursue whatever they might devote themselves to. Some provide protection, some are responsible for eating, for reproduction, or for producing colorful glowing light.”

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psalva
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I‘m too late for #weirdwordsWednesday, but I had to post about this, a siphonophore. While reading the tagged, I stumbled upon this:
“A siphonophore…appears to be a single organism, but it‘s not. It‘s a colony of smaller animals-polyps and other beings called zooids. It‘s a city adrift in the ocean, an undersea metropolis whose citizens cooperate closely to keep the bustling society harmoniously alive.”
Isn‘t that stunning?! #weirdwords @CBee

CBee Never too late for #weirdwords 😊 This is incredible and I can‘t wait to read more about it! 1y
IndoorDame Cool! And pretty too!!! 1y
12 likes2 comments
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psalva
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Bathysphere: a strongly built steel diving sphere for deep sea observation

There are many wonderful words in this book relating to deep sea exploration and luminous effects. Learning about the people involved in using this contraption in the 1930s has me reflecting on recent disasters in the deep. The researchers then seem more prepared. I‘m also enamored with the paintings of sea creatures done by Else Bostelmann at the time.

#weirdwords @CBee

Megabooks Yes! These are fascinating! 1y
19 likes1 comment