Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells

by Helen Scales

Seashells are the sculpted homes of a remarkable group of animals: the molluscs. These are some of the most ancient and successful animals on the planet. But watch out. Some molluscs can kill you if you eat them. Some will kill you if you stand too close. That hasn't stopped people using shells in many ways over thousands of years. They became the first jewelry and oldest currencies; they've been used as potent symbols of sex and death, prestige and war, not to mention a nutritious (and tasty) source of food. Spirals in Time is an exuberant aquatic romp, revealing amazing tales of these undersea marvels. Helen Scales leads us on a journey into their realm, as she goes in search of everything from snails that 'fly' underwater on tiny wings to octopuses accused of stealing shells and giant mussels with golden beards that were supposedly the source of Jason's golden fleece, and learns how shells have been exchanged for human lives, tapped for mind-bending drugs and inspired advances in medical technology. Weaving through these stories are the remarkable animals that build them, creatures with fascinating tales to tell, a myriad of spiralling shells following just a few simple rules of mathematics and evolution. Shells are also bellwethers of our impact on the natural world. Some species have been overfished, others poisoned by polluted seas; perhaps most worryingly of all, molluscs are expected to fall victim to ocean acidification, a side-effect of climate change that may soon cause shells to simply melt away. But rather than dwelling on what we risk losing, Spirals in Time urges you to ponder how seashells can reconnect us with nature, and heal the rift between ourselves and the living world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Biology, Natural History, Animals, History

1 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2015

About the author

In their review of my first book, Poseidon’s Steed, the Economist called me “The aptly named Helen Scales” and I guess they’re right. I do have a bit of a thing about fish (get it?).

Across the airways and in print, I’m noted for my distinctive and occasionally offbeat voice that combines a scuba diver’s devotion to exploring the oceans, a scientist’s geeky attention to detail, a conservationist’s angst about the state of the planet, and a storyteller’s obsession with words and ideas.

I have a Cambridge PhD and a monofin, I’ve drunk champagne with David Attenborough and talked seahorse sex on the Diane Rehm show. I spent four years (on and off) chasing after big fish in Borneo and another year cataloguing marine life surrounding 100 Andaman Sea islands.

These days I write books and articles, I make podcasts and radio, travel the world in search of stories, and do my best to spend as much time as I can in the sea as a scuba diver, free diver and rookie surfer. I’m a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the steering committee for the Museum of Curiosity. I’m also a proud aunt, I sew dresses, grow organic vegetables, put on high heels and dance Argentine tango, play piano, sing in the shower, and make a mess in a printmaking studio.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 3 out of 5]

I own quite a few books on shells and was really looking forward to this one. There was no reason at all that such a potentially fascinating subject about these beautiful and interesting creatures should have been such a mish-mash of dumbed-down information.

I especially was interested in hermit crabs as I used to have some for pets and once actually had a shell "shop" (well they thought so anyway). I did learn that one of the ways they get new shells is if a big crab sees a shell it wants (and might have to fight for) and there are a lot of other soldier crabs (local name) around they form queues from biggest to smallest. There might be several queues at a time. As the big crabs fight it out for the shell/s the littler ones continually swap queues 'as in a supermarket' as the author says, trying to be in the right lane.

When one of the big crabs has his new shell and discards his slightly-too-tight one, the next biggest takes it, and the one after that takes the newly-discarded one and so on down the line. I would like to see this!

This was so interesting I decided to bump up a very average 2 star to 2.5 and then round it up. If the rest of the book had lived up to this, I would have ordered it for my shop to go with all the shell, marine and beach guides, but I don't want my customers to be as disappointed as I was, so I'm not going to bother. I was deceived by the high average rating and I wouldn't want them to be too.

Rant about high average ratings and freebies. The average rating of this book is over 4 star, that always makes me suspicious and think that there were an awful lot of freebies. It's no good people saying that people do give 'an honest review in exchange for' the freebie because although some do (everyone on my friends' list certainly) because the majority just give it 4 or 5 stars, we all know that. Got to ensure those freebies keep on coming. And yes those high ratings and reviews do get the book noticed and perhaps sales so it is all the more disappointing when the book proves to be average, or even less.

[K.J. Charles]

Well written and very readable popular science about shells and the squishy things that live in them. I love a 'deep dive' popsci book that takes a fairly niche-sounding subject and shows you just how large and interesting it is, and this is a terrific example of the kind. Lots of interesting facts, history, and stuff to reflect on, including the existence of the Dismal Limpet which, wow, limpet, I feel you. Beautiful cover in pb too and properly edited, which is all too rare.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sea life is delightfully strange. You can tell how much fun Scales had writing lines like “Now, with no further need for mobility, the oyster reabsorbs its foot and grows huge gills” and “ecologists now routinely measure the length of wild female whelk penises as a gauge of environmental pollution.” This book contains both science and cultural history, so you get theories on how shells are formed and information on the biology and habits of creatures including mollusks, octopi, nautiluses, and sea butterflies alongside stories of how shells have been used as decorations and currency through history. Scales travels to take part in an oyster festival in The Gambia and view sea-silk crafts in Italy, and discusses current threats to ocean health with a range of researchers. We don’t often hear about climate change’s effects on the sea, but pollution and acidification will force species to adapt in unknown ways. You’ll need a greater than average interest in marine life to make it through this book – I stalled for months on the nautilus chapter. However, the sprightly writing style and varied subject matter make it worth dipping into even if you don’t want to commit to reading the whole thing.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

BOTW

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b063z...

Description: Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales tells the story of seashells; from the molluscs that create them to the humans who have used them as jewellery, symbol and even currency.

Triton with his shell horn.

1/5: Helen Scales defines 'molluscs', one of the most ancient and successful animal groups on the planet.

2/5: The author considers the human use of shells - from jewellery via fertility symbol through to their link with a dark episode in human history.

3/5: Helen Scales investigates the bizarre world of the hermit crab and uncovers the truth behind the near-mythical substance 'sea silk'.

4/5: the impact of fossilised shells on agriculture and geology, peeking into the driven world of the shell collector.

5/5: Molluscs continue to surprise as researchers pursue medical advances, while scientists look to them as bellwethers of our impact on the seas.

I especially enjoyed the myth of sea sheep giving us sea silk!

Descartes logarithmic spiral

[RKanimalkingdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Fantastic Read by Helen Scales.

Why did I chose to dive into the world of Molluscs?
Why not?

I will admit that the main reason why I picked up this book was because it was written by Helen Scales. I knew I would read something that was not only informative and entertaining, and I was not disappointed. Scales has an amazing way of being able to enrapture an audience whilst education them and trust me it's hard to do that.

I ended up learning much more about the life cycles and importance of molluscs. I also learned just how fragile the earth is. Nature, in all her glory, is built upon these small organisms that mediate and help stabilize so much that it would be impossible for her to be so chaotic without them. They contribute so much to the world and as always, we humans trample on it. Honestly, sometimes I feel that we really either kill and ignore or feel threatened and kill. There is no respect given. Thankfully, there are many dedicated men and women who are all doing their best to preserve and protect these seashells and little by little, their hard work is becoming successful and being recognized.

If you've read her other book, Poseidon's Steed, then you will enjoy this book too. It follows the same structure in that Scales brings in the cultural, historical, scientific, and her own experiences and weaves them into a fascinating tale. Sometimes, I think that school textbooks should be replaced with these types of books because they are...well...better. However, there are small areas that could have been improved The first being, to add more illustrations/pictures. Despite enjoying the book, it was difficult at times to imagine what the mollusc she was referring to looked like. Yes, I know google exists. However, some species are extinct which mean google imagines will show you a whole variety of what people think that species looks like. Not very helpful when a biologist goes into detail about the physiology of a species when you don't even know what it looks like. The second issue is more of a personal one. For some reason, this book felt a little disoriented in comparison to her first book. Poseidon's Steed, seemed to integrate the various aspects of seahorses (science, culture, etc.) much more seamlessly, then this book. It might just be me and it didn't take any enjoyment away from the book, but it was just something my brain kept picking at.

A NOTE
Scale's mentions this at the end of the book but I felt it needed to be said here too.
If you go to a store and they have a genuine seashell in pristine condition (regardless of size), that seashell was NOT randomly found by a seashell collector/diver but actually taken off of a real mollusc. In other words, that creature was purposely killed in order to harvest their shell just so it can be sold......If you collect seashells, please be mindful of that. These creatures are very much unknown to scientist yet, most agree that they are disappearing at a faster rate than predicted. Please be mindful of the fact that you are not the only creature on this planet that is trying its best to survive.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fantastic book. Scales combines stories of biology and of the people doing the biology seamlessly into an informative and enjoyable narrative. I recommend this for fans of marine biology, science history, and/or general environmental biology. Approachable enough for the lay person, informative enough for the more technical reader.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like seashells, you've GOT to read this book! It's informative & entertaining, & should be an easy read for mid-graders on up. I recommend this book to everyone!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBc Radio 4 - Book of the Week:Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales tells the story of seashells; from the molluscs that create them to the humans who have used them as jewellery, symbol and even currency.

Episode 1
Helen Scales defines 'molluscs', one of the most ancient and successful animal groups on the planet.

Episode 2
The author considers the human use of shells - from jewellery via fertility symbol through to their link with a dark episode in human history.

Episode 3
Helen Scales investigates the bizarre world of the hermit crab and uncovers the truth behind the near-mythical substance 'sea silk'.

Episode 4
Helen Scales explores the impact of fossilised shells on agriculture and geology, and peeks into the driven world of the shell collector.

Episode 5
Molluscs continue to surprise as researchers pursue medical advances, while scientists look to them as bellwethers of our impact on the seas.

Written and read by Helen Scales
Abridged by Sian Preece

Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

Helen Scales' doctorate involved searching for giant, endangered fish in Borneo; she's also tagged sharks in California, and once spent a year cataloguing all the marine life she could find surrounding a hundred islands in the Andaman Sea. Helen appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 on programmes such as 'Inside Science' and 'Shared Planet' and has presented documentaries on topics such as whether people will ever live underwater, the science of making and surfing waves and the intricacies of sharks' minds.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b064mg4p

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of the book intrigued me somewhat and as a person who only looks at a shell going ‘oooo pretty’ at most, my interest in them hasn’t really gone much farther than that. However, Im always up for learning and reading about an area which I know very little and have little grounding of so this book was absolutely perfect to learn more about this subject matter.

I’ve always been interested in marine biology too and as a scientist (not in marine biology!) I’ve always been a natural data and knowledge gatherer which spurred me on to read this book.

I can now count myself amongst the lovers of seashells after venturing into the hidden depths of this world and the secret lives they often lead. I now definitely see them in a different light and I absolutely loved learning more about this topic.

The authors infectious enthusiasm for the field was catching, and learning about shells is not nearly as boring as you might think! It certainly held my interest and was incredibly interesting in my opinion. I realise it might not be for everybody but for all those with an interest in marine science or a love of shells and ecology, this is a perfect read.

I loved reading about individual scientists specific areas of study, the stories of around the world travels and their finds as well as the history and finding shells in archeological digs and their significances. I also really enjoyed reading about pharmaceutical applications with a whole variety of marine and shell life finds. Really glad I read this in the end!

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of fascinating stuff. In particular, it was cool to learn that crabs queue up when they encounter a new shell house. The biggest takes the new shell and everyone else trades on up. It's a great argument that nature is just as likely to be cooperative as competitive.

The section on the nervous system and how it might play a role in the designs and color patterns on the shells was another paradigm-shifting point.

It possibly saved my life to learn about cone snail toxins. I won't be casually picking up those shells on the beach anymore!

I skimmed a few sections that were less riveting.

3.5

[Daniel Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This slim book offers a fine-but-not-spectacular introduction to the world of molluscs. It's accessible even for the non-scientific reader; by the time you reach this question -- "Could other calcifiers adapt to acidifying waters like coccolithophores?" (p. 277) -- you've been well-prepared to nod in general understanding. While the author's enthusiasm for her subject is obvious, it's not particularly contagious; I came away feeling a bit more educated (particularly about cone snail toxins!), but not especially inspired. Recommended mostly for molluscophiles and beachgoers who wonder what they're crunching to dust beneath their bare feet.

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating! Molluscs are weird, hermit crabs are so endearing, and I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting this whole book was 😊

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this a thousand stars if I could. I learned so much about shells, scientists, and the creatures that I love. My ideal book.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As gripping as the byssus thread of a noble pen shell. This book and its trove of facts will be (oyster) embedded in my brain. I absolutely loved it, from noisy limpets to vampire nutmeg hunters and the Costa Rica pencil-eating surfer snails. The plight of the flighty sea butterflies is one already close to my heart and it's reflection on the health of our whole oceanic ecosystem is a driver behind all of my work and research.

I would note that there is a certain lack of decolonial criticism in the exploration of sea-shell collecting, particularly in the narrative of Hugh Cuming and the inherent entitlement of globetrotting shell theft. It still gets rounded up to five stars though for being incredibly engaging and inspir(al)ing science writing. 9/10 🐌 🌊 🐚

[sarah bass · Rating 4 out of 5]

molluscs are so cool and this book was very interesting. took ages to get through and some parts did drag on a bit too much for me but overall pretty slay. probably 3.5 ⭐️

[Stephanie Froebel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spirals in Time is a wonderful introduction to how shells are made and the complex life of organisms that make shells. Helen Scales covers so many different types of mollusks and successfully expanded my knowledge of the oceanic world.

As a critique, the story did spiral just like a shell. The narrative covered so many topics that looking back, I am confused about what it actually covered. So many details of so many different things can get quite confusing. I also find her lines of argument occasionally weak. I appreciate her emphasis on the nuance of research that is not fully conclusive, but then she goes from "we don't really know" to affirming facts. For example, she goes on a tangent about how it may be possible for marine organisms to adapt to oceanic acidification then abruptly concludes that we are in big trouble with ocean acidification in the ocean. I don't disagree with her conclusion, but the arguments she used to get there are incoherent.

Still, an interesting read and I will likely pick up another one of her books soon.

[Lyn Sweetapple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been collection shells and shell books my entire life, but was totally enthralled by the stories and lyrical writing in this book. It included information I knew but written so beautifully that I was delighted to read about the topic. There were also many stories that I did not know and found Helen Scales to be the perfect person to tell them to me. Even if you are not interested in seashells, the stories and information about our natural world would be of interest to anyone.

[Rakie Keig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Optional subtitle: Molluscs, more interesting than you might think.

This is a surprisingly fascinating look into seashells and the creatures that build them, told in an entertaining and insightful way by someone with obvious enthusiasm for the subject. I now have a good repertoire of interesting facts about sea creatures which I can bring out at dinner parties. Recommended to everyone - if you're not a mollusc fan, you should be.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and nicely written book about the critters that make and live in shells, as well as what happens to shells after the inhabitant is no longer there. Not terribly detailed, but I read about creatures I've never heard about before (e.g. an octopus that makes its own shell and sea-silk), so this is a bonus.

[Ceris Backstrom]

Ok so I didn’t actually finish this book. I spent like 3 weeks on it and read just over half. The problem with it was mostly that it wasn’t enough of a science book for me, ya know? Like it was mostly these human interest narratives involving molluscs, and I got some weird colonial tourism vibes from a lot of them. I really wanted to like it, but the chapters kept getting further and further from cool mollusc science, and I started to feel like I was wasting my time chasing a dream. It is very hard for me to admit that I did not finish a book, so be gentle with me at this time.

[Shayna Silverman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wanted to finish this book before 2024 and alas, I did!!!!! I am such a nerd because I LOVED this book. It was so interesting and I learned so much about mollusks that I wouldn’t have in school. If you are into marine biology, I would totally recommend this book!! The writing was witty and easy to understand. I just adored it. 9/10

[Sugarpuss O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

**4.5 Stars**

I used to go shelling with my Grandma as a kid. I pick it up again about a decade ago, which means I was fortunate enough to have a few samples to inspect whilst reading this book. (It helps to have visual aids when you get to the part about why which way a shell spirals is important when it comes to mollusk reproduction.) And while I could've lived without knowing about sea silks, what I learned about cones still blows my mind..... All in all, this is a highly readable book with tons of information that even the most knowledgeable conchologist would find fascinating.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable exploration about shells and the creatures that inhabit them! My only wish was that there were more images.

[Nicole Sokolich · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! Shells are cool 🐚

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very science.

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was bloody fantastic! Who would have thought seashells could be so captivating?! This reminds me of the Peter Godfrey Smith book about octopus and other eight armed sea creatures in its attention to detail, its accidental humour and amazing trivia. Do I mind that Helen Scales creates a somewhat anthropomorphic stance towards underwater creatures? No I do not, they are bloody amazing!! I really like Helen's writing, its fresh, natural and not trying to be overly scientific or condescending to a non-expert audience.

This line for example made me giggle:-

"they generally creep around on a single foot with a mouth on the underside"!!!

I imagine in my mind, a lil oozing creature mooching about the ocean bed on one solitary foot, like Marvin the paranoid android, all the while munching on bits of ocean detritus like a maddened Cookie monster with its mouth on its foot!!! Awww!!!

I love nature books in general, and this one did not disappoint. A definite 5 stars.

[Sayani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A natural history of seashells skillfully sewn with informative sections beginning with the first molluscs on Earth, mollusc fossils, the general physiology, how they make their seashells, the geometry of seashells, historical snippets of usage of shells from cowries in slave trading to use of Spondylus shells in mesoamerican civilizations, seashells as food and ending with how our oceans face the perils of acidification through climate change and its effects of marine life. Beautifully written by Helen Scales.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some very interesting stories and facts in here. The pacing was a bit off and some chapters were vastly better than others.

[Miranda Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about mollusks

I really enjoyed this book. I especially liked learning about some of the wild adaptations that mollusks have and also about the huge role that seashells have played throughout human history. Some parts were a bit dense to get through for me but overall great!