REVIEWS


champion some bizarre ideas, like using Nike sneakers and bathtub toys lost off of freighters to study massive oceanic gyres. The books has its ups and down, but I most enjoyed the parts directly related to Dr. Ebbesmeyer’s scientifi c studies – especially his initial graduate studies at the University of Washington with Cliff Barnes. As an new master’s student he discovered something he called “snarks” in Puget Sound’s Dabob Bay. Snarks are coherent slabs of water that move from the South Sound to the Strait of Juan De Fuca. They may not seem very important unless someone is dumping sewage into the Sound and expects it to disperse in a few hours. Fortunately, there are plenty of similar adventures in his wide -ranging life that are equally fascinating, from studies of massive oceanic currents tearing up oil rigs (and leaving them to fl oat away like giant jellyfi sh), theories of how life evolved in fl oating pumice,


and studies of the mas- sive plastic inundation of on the world’s oceans. The


book in- cludes well- crafted in- sights into


Dr. Ebbesmeyer’s life in Seattle and what it is like to be a scientist at the turn of the 21st century. This includes stories about his family, parents and close colleagues, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Still I think it is important to remember that sci- entists do not work in a vacuum – science occurs within the framework of family, friends and support institutions and the book well conveys this. It was his mother who originally pointed out the advantages of studying sneakers in the ocean, and his relationships with a variety of colleagues, including Akira Okubo and Jim Ingra- ham are wildly productive. Ebbesmeyer’s long association with beachcombers and beachcombing networks also is a model of how scientists can work together with the public in a literate society to advance our understanding of the world. On the negative side, the book is


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uneven and some parts seem so personal they are almost painful. It is laudatory that Scigliano is equally credited as co-author, but the book still jumps around from sci- ence to family and back again much too sharply. Some of the science is very specu- lative, such as an entire section on a theory of how life evolved from pumice drifting on the ocean currents. The maps and il- lustrations challenge the reader – they are tiny, often diffi cult to read, and way too few and far between.


I was pleasantly surprised by the pro- fuse and well-documented references for “further reading.” So often, biographical accounts lack documentation, and/or they are way too boring, but, like icing on the cake, this book has fascinating and useful appendices, a full glossary, and a far better index than most textbooks.


If you want just the science, check out Goggle or the Web of Science and look up Ebbesmeyer’s almost 100 peer-reviewed papers – he is an articulate and prolifi c scientist.


If you want to know about the person behind the science as well as some interest- ing and inspiring stores about what is like to be a modern day oceanographer, check out this biography. Good reading one way or the other.


Orlay Johnson works for the National Marine Fisheries Service/National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration and is a member of the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME). This review originally appeared in Scuttlebutt, the newsletter for the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME).


Going Home: The Mystery of Animal Migration


Written by Mariane Berkes Published by Dawn Publications


Reviewed by Emily Baker LeRoux W


hat pushes an animal to travel thou- sands of miles to places it has never


seen or to reproduce in the same spot as its ancestors did? The mysteries of the animal world are many and scientists still don’t hold the all the answers. Exploring these topics with children can be exciting and a little daunting. I recently had the pleasure of reading Going Home to my kids and the timing couldn’t have been better. With fall changing toward winter here in Minnesota we have watched the bird activity increase as the fl ocks head southward toward warmer climes. This book provided a great jumping off point to migration in general.


Going Home highlights the migratory habits and patterns of ten different animals from Monarch butterfl ies to Manatees, you will be enthralled to learn about the unique things each species undergoes in the quest for reproduction and the continu- ation of the species. The story is told in a repeated poetic stanza, which offers a lovely continuity broken up by factual information about each species. The il- lustrations are beautiful and add to the information presented. Our favorite part of the book was the map that illustrated the distance that each animal travels on in journey. It really brought home how amazing this phenomenon is. This book would be a lovely read aloud to a class talking about animals in general or about the fascinating migration patterns of the animal world. It is equally


www.clearingmagazine.org/online CLEARING 2010


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