Explorations: A Life of Underwater Adventure

by Robert D. Ballard, Malcolm McConnell

An underwater adventurer recounts his greatest discoveries, including the canyons and plateaus of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the lost ships of Guadalcanal, and the remains of the Titanic

Genres: Biography, Science, Travel, Nonfiction, Autobiography

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942 in Wichita, Kansas) is a former commander in the United States Navy and an oceanographer who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989, and the wreck of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in 1998. Most recently he discovered the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 in 2003 and visited the Solomon Islander natives who saved its crew. Ballard is also great-grandson of American Old West lawman Bat Masterson.

from wikipedia.org

see also
http://literati.net/Ballard/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/fie...
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/pa...

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wrote a review here: http://www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blo...

[Eric Tsavdar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating!

[Ashley K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a tradition of reading one Titanic-related book each April; this year I went with Ballard's autobiography, so it covered many more topics besides his most famous discovery. Of particular note was his discovery of the submarine Thresher, whose debris field pattern yielded the "a-ha" moment that Ballard called the Rosetta Stone of understanding shipwrecks, enabling him to later find the Titanic. But probably even more exciting than any shipwreck was his work to support the then-nascent field of plate tectonics and most of all, his discovery of entire ecosystems at the ocean's depths that exists via chemosynthesis, not photosynthesis, thus turning our understanding of life on Earth on its head.
Ballard was one of my top childhood heroes because of my Titanic obsession. Of course, in reading too much detail about our heroes, we run the risk of losing some of our awe and respect for them. While Ballard is doubtless a brilliant scientist who made these important contributions to science, I couldn't help but read between the lines a bit and recognize how deeply privileged he was-- e.g., he got a fantastic job in his chosen field right out of college and, oh yeah, his dad just happened to be a senior engineer at that company. But more disturbing to me was the extremely deprecating way he wrote about a female colleague on a research cruise in 1967. I won't ever know her side of the story, but I can certainly imagine her point of view as the one woman in a highly competitive crew, and how much pressure she must have faced, and so I'm taking everything Ballard wrote about her with a massive heap of salt.

[Pat MacEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ballard's memoirs are an engrossing description of his career as a marine geologist and designer of deep-sea submersibles and Remotely-Operated-Vehicles (ROVs), and the discoveries he made with those machines. He was, for example, one of the folks who proved tectonic theory was correct, that the continents sit on tectonic plates, and they DO move. He proved it by diving along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is splitting apart and upwelling magma is pushing Europe and North America away from each other at the rate of one inch a year! His expeditions resulted in the discovery of the deep-sea vents along these plate boundaries that harbor ecosystems completely independent of sunlight, and his descriptions of the "smokers" and associated animals are evocative as all get out. I wanted to read this section because I believe a similar system may be supporting an extraterrestrial ecosystem under the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa. The searches that located two wrecked nuclear subs were almost as intriguing, and of course led directly to finding the Titanic. And then the Bismarck! And then ships sunk in the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. And then there's Guadalcanal, where thousands of American and Japanese sailors went down with their ships. Excellent photos. Vivid descriptions. Gripping tales of fires, mishaps, accidents and other near tragedies in the exploration of the Deeps. Highly recommended.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I preferred Ballard’s Titanic book which was focused on the technical and some historic details of that wreck. This book was at points much more autobiographical and these sections were of less interest (e.g., concerns re graduate and P.H.D. efforts, dealing with grief, etc.). The technical accomplishment and challenges were much more interesting. The sunken US submarines, the Titanic, the Bismarck, the ISIS, Iron Bottom Sound (Guadalcanal), all were intriguing stories. Overall, an interesting read, but not spectacular.

[B.szoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing book about underwater exploration and discovery. It is both funny and touching, and a wonderful look at the life and career of a brilliant explorer and scientist. It charts his career from his early days as an undergraduate all the way through his legendary expedition to find the wreck of the Titanic and later the Nazi supership Bismarck and beyond.

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, informative book on undersea exploration and the science involved. The author is first a scientist but also an explorer. He is the one who found Titanic and numerous other ships under the sea in deep water. The book contains numerous color photos. The book was an easy read.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Nonfiction about one of my most favorite people.

[Bill Yancey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account of explorations of Titanic, Bismarck, and other underwater wrecks. Some insight into Ballard’s life pre- and post- Woods Hole career.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been a very fact filled read with a touch of human life included. Reading about the loss of his son in a car accident was so sad .

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

glad I read this.