Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea by Edith WidderMy rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
What a fantastic book about bioluminescent ocean animals and a woman scientist breaking barriers in a mostly male world. Part autobiography, part science the main focus is on the research and exploration of the ocean’s waters and bioluminescent animals in particular.
This is an exciting read with amazing discoveries (yes, the Kraken is real!), disparaging tv documentary teams (slanted science for ratings), and submersible mishaps (although most dives do go well). Widder’s research and how she goes about trying to capture the bioluminescent animals on film and study them in the wild are fascinating tales. The few mishaps that go awry lead to moments of intense reading. And don’t skip the footnotes! They are extra nuggets that usually contain a bit of a joke. I’m not sure when the last science book made me laugh this much.
The book did have message: we have barely explored the ocean waters, which do cover more surface of the earth than land, and we need to do more, much more. Widder juxtaposes ocean explorations and research to space exploration, which gets funding and attention on an extreme scale comparatively. We need to learn more about the animals and environment in the oceans before it’s too late. There’s some really neat stuff down there, we just need to find it!
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
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