Tide: The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth

by Hugh Aldersey-Williams

From Cnut to D-Day: the history and science of the unceasing tide explored for the first time.

Half of the world's population lives in coastal regions lapped by tidal waters. Yet how little most of us know about the tide.

Our ability to predict and understand the tide depends on centuries of science, from the observations of Aristotle and the theories of Newton to today's supercomputer calculations. This story is punctuated here by notable tidal episodes in history, from Caesar's thwarted invasion of Britain to the catastrophic flooding of Venice, and interwoven with a rich folklore that continues to inspire art and literature today.

With Aldersey-Williams as our guide to the most feared and celebrated tidal features on the planet, from the original maelstrøm in Scandinavia to the world's highest tides in Nova Scotia to the crumbling coast of East Anglia, the importance of the tide, and the way it has shaped - and will continue to shape - our civilization, becomes startlingly clear.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Nature, History, Environment, History Of Science, Natural History

464 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2016

About the author

I was born in London in 1959, the same year C.P. Snow gave his infamous ‘two cultures’ lecture about the apparently eternal divide in Britain between the arts and sciences. Perhaps this is where it all begins. Forced to choose one or the other at school and university, I chose the latter, gaining an MA in natural sciences from Cambridge.

By graduation, I was aware of a latent interest in the arts, particularly in architecture and design, and was seeking ways to satisfy all these urges in something resembling a career. Journalism seemed the obvious answer, and after a string of increasingly disastrous editorial positions on technical magazines, I went freelance in 1986 and was able at last to write about what really interested me in newspapers and magazines in all these fields.

Having an American mother and an English father makes me, as it says on jars of honey, ‘the produce of more than one country’, and has left me with a curiosity about matters of national identity. Living in the United States gave me the opportunity to write my first book, using my semi-detachment from the culture to identify a renaissance in contemporary American design. Its success led to a larger-scale examination of design and national cultures as well as a number other design books and a five-year stint as design critic of the New Statesman.

Now, the science was losing out. Over-compensating perhaps, I wrote an entire book about a single molecule—albeit an exceptionally novel and beautiful one, called buckminsterfullerene. Here at last science and design began to merge. My projects since then have continued to explore science, design, architecture, national identity and other themes in books and exhibitions.

I am a member of the Society of Authors and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. I live in Norfolk and London with my wife Moira, son Sam, and two Maine coon cats.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aldersey-Williams specializes in the history of science. He turns to the ocean for his latest book—no textbook, he explains, but “a book of stories and journeys.” The Tide is incredibly wide-ranging; its points of reference stretch from the biblical Exodus story to Thames tides in Charles Dickens’s novels. The momentum only sags a bit in a chapter on economics. Through it all, though, Aldersey-Williams is a keen, learned tour guide. By deeply probing the facts and metaphors of the tide, he succeeds in inspiring wonder. Meditative and scholarly.

See my full review at Hakai magazine.

[Mary Soderstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book for anyone who has spent time by the sea and wondered about the tides. Aldersey-Williams takes us along as he watches the tide come in, and then presents much scientific information in a very understandable and intriguing manner. This is a book my husband gave me a few years ago, but which I hadn't really gotten into. Then I started working on my next book, tentatively called Against the Seas: Saving Civilizations from Rising Oceans, and delved in it. You might say I was swept away. The very best sort of well-informed science writing for the general reader.

[Hendrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Ebbe und Flut irgendwie mit dem Mondzyklus zusammenhängen, davon hat jeder schon mal gehört. Aber will man eine genauere Erklärung für das Gezeitenphänomen, öffnet sich ein sehr komplexes Feld. Hugh Aldersey-Williams versucht mit seinem Buch, die komplizierten Vorgänge bei der Entstehung der Gezeiten, für den naturwissenschaftlichen Laien nachvollziehbar zu machen. Er verzichtet dabei weitgehend auf mathematische Formeln, Tabellen und Diagramme. Stattdessen setzt er auf Anekdoten aus der Menschheits- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, wobei auch die künstlerische Auseinandersetzung mit den Gezeiten betrachted wird. An der ein oder anderen Stelle, hätte ich mir dann doch eine detailliertere Darstellung, gern mit Formel oder Diagramm, gewünscht. Aber dessen ungeachtet eine interessante Einführung in das Thema.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science writing is a gift. I suspect Mary Roach has made it pretty difficult for everybody else, but Hugh Aldersey-Williams gave me plenty to think about here. Unless you're cut off from the route home by tides, most of us think of them seldom. There have been times, once or twice while living in the British Isles come to mind, when paying attention to posted tide charts could be a matter of life or death to a non-swimmer like me. This book explores the still poorly understood phenomenon of tides.

You might think, "the moon causes tides, right? End of story." But really it's just the beginning. The tides are enhanced by the moon, but they're caused by many factors—the spinning of the earth and the gravity of the sun, for example, also factor into the equation. In fact, they are quite complicated. Aldersey-Williams had his work cut out for him explaining such a complex topic to a general reading public. As the subtitle reveals, however, tides are the greatest natural force on this planet and we barely understand them.

Parts of the book are technical. That's difficult to avoid, given the topic. There are many interesting sections, and parts are quite witty. The bits exploring global warming are scary. There are plenty of surprises here. I won't reveal them here since they would no longer be surprises, but I will say that quite a bit of unexpected information lurks here.

A whole book about tides? When you finish, I suspect, you'll be thinking that there are many questions yet to answer. You'd be correct. And that's one of the charms of this fascinating book.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Op zich een erg leuk boek over het getij.

Soms wat oeverloos.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aldersey-Williams wanders thru the science, history and literary paths of the tide. It is a potpourri of antedotes, observations and travel monologues about the ocean and the force of its waves.

Why I started this book: I'm almost out of space on my iPhone, so I knew that it was time to knuckle down and listen to one of my many audio books. This one caught my eye, since I'm a Navy librarian, I need to read/learn more about the sea and the ocean.

Why I finished it: Interesting, really reminded me of Simon Winchester who's books also wander all over the place thematically, geographically and also tangentially.

[Paul Kerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a very intriguing book, that is probably best categorised in the "readable and accessible" science category let down by not the warmest or welcoming of authors - clearly not a fan of tourist or other such non scientific folks getting in the way of his work. That said, some of the insights were fascinating and often times of high drama as well as high tides - the dangers of Morecambe Bay are brought vividly to life for example. Satisfying read although it does not want you to explore the subject any further.

[Holly]

If this had been engagingly written, I could have forgiven it for not being informative about tidal science -- and vice versa.

But what he had to say about history, mythology, or his own experiences didn't capture me (at least, not the way he said it). And I was disappointed and a bit annoyed that, 90 pages in, there was no sight of an organized or substantial element of Talking About How Those Dang Tides *Do* Work. Especially given the subtitle! The first chapter actually involves a lot of him saying, "I wonder why this is. I wonder why that happens," and leaving it at that, which is not what I read nature writing for.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was at times fascinating but in other significant swathes it could be considered rambling. The sections interspersed with the author's own travels were particularly interesting. I was enthralled by the sections on Morecambe Bay and the Norwegian Maelstrom.  However other sections I found hard to plod through with little coherent structure to some chapters resulting in slow progress. 

[Sunhawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some would find the book dry despite the subject. I liked the jack-daw collection of information, thought, literature, scientific detail (not too much!), and sheer comprehensiveness of this book. As someone who attends to the moon and tide almost every day, the focus is welcome. In particular I enjoyed the uncertainty that runs throughout the book but reaches its peak at the end: what do we mean by "sea level"? Suggested by my long-time friend Tony: Thank you, Tony. I had not read Aldersey-Williams before, but may look up some of his other works.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never understood the usual explanations and diagrams of how the tides work, and it turns out that that is because the usual diagrams and explanations are much too simplified to account for the complexities that control how much tide there is at different places. Yes, the gravitational forces of the sun and moon are the basic culprits, but so is the position of the earth in its orbit, and so are the geological and geographical features of the area that the tides affect, and so are the winds and weather. The book does a fine job in clarifying what it can, and in explaining why other issues remain complex and not as well understood. A fine historical overview of how science has tried to understand tides from antiquity onward, with good stories of particular places that have peculiar tides.
A nicely written book that combines personal history with history of science. The photographs are generally not very useful, and sometimes downright mysterious about what they are supposed to convey.
I will remember the importance of tides to the author's own personal history, as a native of Norfolk, and as interested especially in the tidal phenomena around the British Isles. I will remember the stories of people trapped by the tide, and the way tides have become emblematic of unstoppable natural forces.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting popular science book, a micro history really, about the tides. The author covers science, history, myth and legend. Informative and accessible. The narrator, Derek Perkins, companionably narrates this unexpectedly fascinating story and makes it even more engaging and lively. The book ends with a warning about global warming and the danger to low lying areas around the world that will be affected by higher ocean levels and tides.

[Julia Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book! I borrowed this from the local library intending to read only the bits relating to my research on the 1953 North Sea storm surge that cauesed flooding on the east coast of England and in the Netherlands, but I found myself totally hooked and read the whole thing. Extensively researched, brilliantly structured and written, I learnt more about the tides from this book than I could ever have imagined I would. Superb book.

[Darrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just an enjoyable and interesting read. Some reviewers seem bothered by the way it meanders into many different topics and places. At times it was a little distracting, but overall, it worked. The surprise is that there is so much to say about the tides. While the science was good, and that is why I read it, the literary references and discussions were unexpected and interesting.

[Tessa De Roo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting snippets make for a comprehensive volume on the history and science of the tide. Very readable.

[Colin Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. The tides of the world remain as elusive to control and understand but in this book you get a glimpse of its power and mystery.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, I loved this one!

The earth isn’t spherical. The atmosphere has tides. The ground is rising. There are tides inside of tides. Tides indirectly gave us the anno Domnini system (pg.86). (Insert mind-popping emoji, here.)

The author, Mr. Hugh Aldersey-Williams guides readers on a journey through history, literature, and science to explain how tides are the greatest forces on earth. For example, we learn tide force is so great it, “rocks the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick landmass back and forth with each tidal cycle” (pg 211).

Through engaging storytelling, the reader learns scientific concepts that explain how tidal knowledge is essential to understanding climate change. The narrative pulls in mythology and literature giving non-science readers an escape from the technical. This remarkable balance between science and culture makes this book an immediate favorite!

At the start we are told, “Before we understood [tides] in a scientific sense, the tides were already comprehended in their way by mythmakers and storytellers” (pg. 18). The earliest mythmakers of the tide-less Mediterranean Sea listened to the exotic stories of distant tidal places (namely, Britain and Scandinavia) experienced by Roman explorers. These adventurers brought fabulous tidal stories into our ancient myths. Additionally, coastal tides were the first clocks providing usable measures of time, making tides “temporal as well as spatial occurrences” (pg. 56).

The book also explores biology resulting from the tide. “Nature’s richest seams are often where two habitats chafe together… these margins provide choice… and this intertidal zone… contains some of the world’s most biodiverse regions” (pg. 23). This intertidal zone is, “exceptionally fragile and vulnerable to human thoughtlessness” (pg. 97).

Furthermore, we learn it isn’t just the moon creating these tides. The sun plays a significant role. The balance of these celestial bodies provided an environment that created life itself. From biology to the astrophysics of moon and sun, this book covers it all.

Tides also played prominent roles in our human history. Deliberate self-defense tidal floods in the Netherlands, fateful low tides Boston Tea Party, and an immaculate study of tidal prediction for the 1944 D-Day invasions led to our current socio and political world. Without those influential tides, our world might look very different today.

The North Sea provided the earliest scientific advancements of tidal study, and its long history of study (thank you, Stockholm) gives our society a baseline in which to study rising sea levels. From Aristotle to Bede, from Galieo to Isaac Newton, right up to modern scientists using climate satellites to capture real-time data, this book captures the long and fascinating study of tides. (Note: tide studies were the “forerunner of today’s big data studies” pg. 221) Tidal study led to the successful Thames Barrier and now leads attempts to save Venice and other populated coastal areas. “All of these tides – of the air, of the earth itself, and of the layered depths of the sea – must be taken into account in full calculations of the familiar tide that alters the level of the sea. And they, too, must be understood and measured if we are to arrive at a meaningful idea of the true sea level from which the tides are merely a deviation” (pg. 313).

The tide is dynamic. It influences all. Tides give and take life. (And, special shout out to my friend Jenn who told me a few years ago that “surely these tidal forces pull on the human body as well” – it seems she’s right! pg. 268) Daily tidal forces, if captured, would equal “more than three times the global human energy consumption” (pg. 216)

We better start paying attention to the tides… we have a thousand years of data to look at, we can prove climate change is changing the world.

My only complaint about this book? It ended, and I wanted even more! Every coastal dweller and lover should read this, and I tip my hat to Mr. Aldersey-Williams for a job well done.

[Juliet Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitled 'The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth' this is a chronological look at the development of thinking about tides. It covers mythology, science, natural history, art and social issues around tides from the times of ancient Greece to the present day. The historical narrative is interspersed with the author's observations of tides in various oceans.

Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were all situated in areas around the Mediterranean, which doesn't have major tides so the tides as such didn't play hugely significant roles in these cultures, until the Romans expanded their Empire beyond the Mediterranean (and found the tides a significant obstacle to invading Britain). The first significant scientific research into tides took place in the area that is now India.

Tides obviously have a profound influence on the wildlife of the coast, particularly the intertidal area (the area between low tide and high tide that is constantly being deluged by water then drying out). The book contains a fascinating chapter examining how wildlife responds to changing tides, from the feeding behaviour of wading birds such as knots to the breeding cycle of the grunion, a fish that lays its eggs on the beaches of California.

Tides have played major roles in war (e.g. the D-Day landings), tragedies (e.g. the death of 23 cockle pickers on Morecombe Bay in 2004), historical turning points (e.g. The Boston Tea Party) and the reshaping of geography. Historically tides have always eaten away at coastlines, but in these days of climate chaos, this effect of the tides is increasing. Tidal defences have been built in many places, while in others the tides are harnessed to generate electricity.

Tides have influenced artistic creations too, including Handel's Water Music (composed for an event that took place on the water) and Telemann's Water Music, which was more of a creative response to the water itself.

This is a fascinating insight into the power and nature of the tide and it very effectively synthesizes knowledge from many different areas. However, I would have liked more coverage of the environmental issues affecting our oceans, particularly plastic pollution.

[John Oswald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this magnificent cross section of culture, literature, travel, science and personal obsession a few days ago. We have just moved to #chalkwellgardencity near Leigh-on-sea, and my dear friend @evansthelecture gave us this book as a housewarming. The tide is now a feature of every day, and has always profoundly confused me. I now feel less confused, although it’s a damn sight more complex than the gravitational pull of the moon. Turns out there are up to 20 different components of individual tides in different places.... anyway, this book is a real treat. It’s well written for starters by someone who clearly loves his topic. We go little by little from antiquity to the present day via writers, historians and scientists who have tried to understand the tide over the centuries. We’ve only just got there, it seems, and still have a lot to unlock. What makes this book so special is the writer’s clear love for the subject - he travels to all sorts of places with extreme tides and even spends a whole day just observing near his home in Norfolk. And little by little with masterful sleight of hand he progressively discloses the actual science of The Tide, with just enough to enlighten without it ever feeling like a physics lesson. Buy it, especially if you’re lucky enough to live not far from the sea....

[Kevin Sene · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone interested in the tides, I had to read this book, but it should be of much wider interest as it delves into both the science and folklore, whilst trying to avoid technical jargon.

On one level, it traces the history of our understanding of the tides from the times of Aristotle, Newton and Galileo to the modern day. Along the way, some myths from the past are explored from a scientific standpoint, such as mysterious whirlpools and tidal waves that our ancestors couldn’t explain, and theories about King Canute’s efforts to hold back the waves. There is also a historical account of the development of the science of tidal observations and predictions, including tide gauges and tide tables.

Whilst these aspects were interesting, it was the more personal accounts that I enjoyed most, such as of a family sailing trip that nearly went wrong and a low tide walk across Morecambe Bay with the Queen’s Guide to the Sands. Other highlights included watching a tidal bore in Nova Scotia and a murmuration of waterbirds in Norfolk, and the sights, sounds and wildlife that appeared while watching the whole thirteen hours or so of a tidal cycle.

Overall, it’s a fascinating book on one of the less well-known wonders of nature and brings to life the science in an imaginative way.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely interesting! I learned a lot of what I wanted to, and about what I didn’t know I didn’t know. It meanders a bit from topic to topic, which the author advises us about in the first pages. It makes the book easy to pick up and put down, so that could be a plus or a minus, depending on your reading style.

The narrative (anecdotal, scientific, and historical) is very euro-centric, particularly UK-centric (for sensible reasons I’m sure). I don’t blame the author for that, but I would have liked to explore deeper into east or south Asian history and science in particular.

The best basic explanation of planetary tidal mechanics is found right in the middle of the book, explained step-by-step, in a way I appreciate. I was able to use dining implements at a restaurant representing the earth, earth’s water, the moon, and the sun, to relay the same lesson to a companion.

There are a handful of photos throughout the book, but they are black-&-white and grainy, printed on the same paper and with the same ink as the text. As such, they don’t really add anything; I wish they were in color and better quality as mid-book inserts.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very deep dive (ha!) into the phenomenon of tides, spanning literature, history, geology, geography, physics, astronomy—you name it. Some of the scientific explanations were a bit over my head, to be honest, but the overall account of what tides are and how they work in different places around the globe was intriguing. I saw a review of this book that mentioned Sebald's The Rings of Saturn, and some of the author's meanderings combined with the black-and-white images reproduced throughout the book kind of bear up that comparison (The Rings of Saturn is called out by name towards the end of the book, so clearly the author had that vibe in mind). If you're interested particularly in the science of tides, this book is a good exploration of it.

[Skis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who has grown up by an estuary in Scotland, I am at once soothed and mystified by the powers of the sea. Yet it is only relatively recently that I have started exploring its natural history and present realities with any degree of seriousness. I feel this book might have put me off further reading if I hadn't already consumed other, more gripping studies of water and the sea. It was an informative enough read, and there were things I was glad to learn, but I wasn't engaged throughout and felt detached from a lot of what the author talked about. It seemed a bit drier and more Eurocentric than I had maybe hoped, possibly not surprisingly given the author's background, and I didn't feel we were going on a journey together. As I say, it has fortunately not put me off the whole subject, but I might take a break and read a few reviews before picking my next foray into the sea.

[David Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read but I think you need to have a real interest in the oceans and tides

This book covers a lot of ground (no pun intended) from the observational, the science, the history of discovery, some of the mathematics, through to thoughts of the future. As someone who is passionate about the oceans I enjoyed it very much but some sections were more heavy going. I wonder what someone who only has a passing interest in the topic would make of it. In the growing genre of these sort of "conversational" books about any given topic, this one is informative but not as accessible throughout as some. I was glad I stuck through it through the occasionally more sense passage though - it is definitely worth it.

[Simon Curling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wide ranging book covering Tides in all its aspects. Aldersey-Williams covers his won interests and observations to the scientific, geographic, social and artistic. He covers how the tide is addressed in art and literature and the role its played in history, from warfare to migration. He also covers the historic progress of measuring and attempting to explain and predict the tide. The author has travelled the world to visit the areas where tides have major impacts from venice to the Maelstrom and the bay of Fundy. Overall this is an accessible and interesting study of a major natural event.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a project, integrating good science writing into bite size pieces embedded within forklore, myth and the evolution of scientific thought is solid. For the most part, I thought Aldersey-Williams executed this admirably, and I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it. Unfortunately, it is impossible given how the author positions the text to ignore what seems like a deliberate erasure of all non-Western scientific voices. Should Aldersey-Williams have positioned himself as only writing this from a Western perspective, this could have been in part forgiven, but the claim itself is not articulated, leading to a blindly exclusionary take on the world history of tide science.

[Snoakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tide: The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth does exactly what it says on the tin.
Starting by observing a full tide from high to low water and back again, Hugh Aldersey-Williams takes us on a journey to explore that most mystical and yet everyday phenomenon, the tide. On the way, as well as the science itself, he takes in the history of the scientific discoveries and the people who made them.
It's a vast and complicated subject, but the complexity is lightened by forays into art and literature as well as the environmental aspects such as erosion and climate change and anecdotes from his own travels. There's just so much he wants to tell us that almost inevitably the end result is a little disconnected but it's all fascinating and well told.

[Don LeClair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never actually gave a lot of thought to how complex tides are. This book has thoroughly covered the history of human awareness of tides in history, science, and literature. It also tells the multi-century story of how we came to be able to predict tides with some reasonable accuracy. Interestingly, it turns out that we have the majority of variability in tides explained mathmatically, but there are still a variety of unanswered questions.
Hugh Aldersey-Williams, has done a phenomenal amount of research to write this book, and his passion for it comes through in his writing.

[Crystal Toller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the title of this book and decided to check it out from the library because the title made me curious to see what the book was about. I did not realize before I read the book that the author was a science writer. He has clearly done a lot of research for this book and I really enjoyed how he combined folklore and literature with science in writing this book. I'm not sure what I expected by the title but the book was very well written, extremely informative (even if some parts were hard for me to grasp since math is my worst subject) and really interesting. Highly recommend this book.

[Ellie Hull · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having moved to the coast, I thought it was time I learned more about the tide and remembered this book I bought my husband some time ago. It’s not a book to be rushed. It’s full of science, history, stories, and the author’s own research, but it feels very contemplative and though initially frustrating, it did relax me. I’ve learned a lot and shared a lot of tidbits I’ve read. It’s a very good book considering the biggest thing I’ve taken away is that we don’t really understand the tide at all.