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Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur
The story of an ancient sea turtle and what its survival says about our future, from the award-winning writer and naturalist
Though nature is indifferent to the struggles of her creatures, the human effect on them is often premeditated. The distressing decline of sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate what can go both wrong and right from our interventions, and teach us the lessons that can be applied to restore health to the world's oceans and its creatures. As Carl Safina's compelling natural history adventure makes clear, the fate of the astonishing leatherback turtle, whose ancestry can be traced back 125 million years, is in our hands.
Writing with verve and color, Safina describes how he and his colleagues track giant pelagic turtles across the world's oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent. As scientists apply lessons learned in the Atlantic and Caribbean to other endangered seas, Safina follows leatherback migrations, including a thrilling journey from Monterey, California, to nesting grounds on the most remote beaches of Papua, New Guinea. The only surviving species of its genus, family, and suborder, the leatherback is an evolutionary marvel: a "reptile" that behaves like a warm-blooded dinosaur, an ocean animal able to withstand colder water than most fishes and dive deeper than any whale.
In his peerless prose, Safina captures the delicate interaction between these gentle giants and the humans who are finally playing a significant role in their survival.
Though nature is indifferent to the struggles of her creatures, the human effect on them is often premeditated. The distressing decline of sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate what can go both wrong and right from our interventions, and teach us the lessons that can be applied to restore health to the world's oceans and its creatures. As Carl Safina's compelling natural history adventure makes clear, the fate of the astonishing leatherback turtle, whose ancestry can be traced back 125 million years, is in our hands.
Writing with verve and color, Safina describes how he and his colleagues track giant pelagic turtles across the world's oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent. As scientists apply lessons learned in the Atlantic and Caribbean to other endangered seas, Safina follows leatherback migrations, including a thrilling journey from Monterey, California, to nesting grounds on the most remote beaches of Papua, New Guinea. The only surviving species of its genus, family, and suborder, the leatherback is an evolutionary marvel: a "reptile" that behaves like a warm-blooded dinosaur, an ocean animal able to withstand colder water than most fishes and dive deeper than any whale.
In his peerless prose, Safina captures the delicate interaction between these gentle giants and the humans who are finally playing a significant role in their survival.
383 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2006
95 people are currently reading
3454 people want to read
About the author
Carl Safina
46 books583 followersCarl Safina’s work has been recognized with MacArthur, Pew, and Guggenheim Fellowships, and his writing has won Orion, Lannan, and National Academies literary awards and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals. He has a PhD in ecology from Rutgers University. Safina is the inaugural holder of the endowed chair for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University, where he co-chairs the steering committee of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and is founding president of the not-for-profit organization, The Safina Center. He hosted the 10-part PBS series Saving the Ocean with Carl Safina. His writing appears in The New York Times, Audubon, Orion, and other periodicals and on the Web at National Geographic News and Views, Huffington Post, and CNN.com.
He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Patricia, the two best beach-running dogs in the world, some chickens, a couple of parrots, and Frankie the kingsnake.
He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Patricia, the two best beach-running dogs in the world, some chickens, a couple of parrots, and Frankie the kingsnake.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
March 4, 2023
Review Back when I sailed the Atlantic, a 9' leatherback turtle followed the yacht for a couple of hours, hitching a ride in the wake. Where I live, leatherbacks come to lay their eggs. When they come on to the beaches, there are night patrols by Fisheries to ensure they aren't disturbed and in the day patrols to stop people digging up their eggs. All this made me very interested in this book.
One of the first things I learned was why leatherbacks have this thick leathery-rubbery carapace instead of the more usual turtleshell of interlocking bony plates that are fused together. It is because leatherbacks dive deeper than any other creature, including whales, and can hold their breath for longer. The pressure of the ocean depths would kill them if they couldn't expand and contract their bodies to balance these pressures.
Their mouths though are a real horror show, lined in spikes all through their throats and stomachs. They eat only jellyfish, and this aids them in holding the jellyfish, piercing it and presumably internally grinding it up.
I went to an immersive art exhibition in Miami last week, all about the waters of the Bahamas. One of the artists asked does anyone know what turtles eat, so of course I said jellyfish. He asked several more questions before he said dryly, 'you seem to know a lot about turtles' and I realised the questions were rhetorical. Sometimes I just do not have any social skills at all!
Good book, but boring in parts where it seems everything that can be written about turtles is even if it is not at all interesting or seemingly relevant. But my eyes have got into skimming automatically these days, so that's all right then.
One of the first things I learned was why leatherbacks have this thick leathery-rubbery carapace instead of the more usual turtleshell of interlocking bony plates that are fused together. It is because leatherbacks dive deeper than any other creature, including whales, and can hold their breath for longer. The pressure of the ocean depths would kill them if they couldn't expand and contract their bodies to balance these pressures.
Their mouths though are a real horror show, lined in spikes all through their throats and stomachs. They eat only jellyfish, and this aids them in holding the jellyfish, piercing it and presumably internally grinding it up.
I went to an immersive art exhibition in Miami last week, all about the waters of the Bahamas. One of the artists asked does anyone know what turtles eat, so of course I said jellyfish. He asked several more questions before he said dryly, 'you seem to know a lot about turtles' and I realised the questions were rhetorical. Sometimes I just do not have any social skills at all!
Good book, but boring in parts where it seems everything that can be written about turtles is even if it is not at all interesting or seemingly relevant. But my eyes have got into skimming automatically these days, so that's all right then.
January 3, 2017
After going to see the Loggerheads lay and hatch at Bargara last year I wanted to read more about turtles and I was not disappointed by this elegantly written, beautifully researched book. It was informative, inspiring and drew on the knowledge and experience of lots of dedicated turtle workers around the world. It was also the fascinating rollercoaster of emotions that I knew it would be for me.
Within the covers, the accomplished author and dedicated marine conservationist tells the story of the leatherback turtles . These amazing animals are the only survivors of their genus, they are the largest of the marine turtles, they go into the coldest waters, dive deeper than any whale.
The book tracks the populations of the Atlantic ocean and the Pacific separately, looking at the tracking that shows the turtles wandering all around the oceans, thousands of nautical miles in a lifetime before coming back to the beaches they hatched on the lay their eggs, decades after hatching.
A lot of the time it is quite lyrically beautiful, as the author goes out on swordfishing boats with lifelong fishermen off Georges Bank. He travels on tiny turtle spotting planes with conservationists and he walks night beaches in far-flung places such as PNG, USA and Trinidad. All of these places are described with immense skill, bringing the vast wonder of the marine world to the reader, wherever they may be. The descriptions of the people are also well done, sensitive and impartial.
Back to leather-back turtles : They are utterly fascinating and they are most likely on the road to extinction. It may not be a very long road. And there is where the rollercoaster of emotions hit me, I often avoid conservationist books because I know how badly the oceans of the world are doing and it fills me with despair. There are light points in the book, we hear about the work that is going on around the world, the Atlantic populations seem to be recovering better than the Pacific, there is a lot of conservation going on, lots of people care and are working to preserve the breeding beaches.
However, for anyone with any interest in marine turtles or the marine environment in general, the small nodes of discomfort are well worth reading through to enjoy the eloquent prose with which Carl Safina describes the many voyages of the most amazing 'living dinosaur'.
Within the covers, the accomplished author and dedicated marine conservationist tells the story of the leatherback turtles . These amazing animals are the only survivors of their genus, they are the largest of the marine turtles, they go into the coldest waters, dive deeper than any whale.
The book tracks the populations of the Atlantic ocean and the Pacific separately, looking at the tracking that shows the turtles wandering all around the oceans, thousands of nautical miles in a lifetime before coming back to the beaches they hatched on the lay their eggs, decades after hatching.
A lot of the time it is quite lyrically beautiful, as the author goes out on swordfishing boats with lifelong fishermen off Georges Bank. He travels on tiny turtle spotting planes with conservationists and he walks night beaches in far-flung places such as PNG, USA and Trinidad. All of these places are described with immense skill, bringing the vast wonder of the marine world to the reader, wherever they may be. The descriptions of the people are also well done, sensitive and impartial.
Back to leather-back turtles : They are utterly fascinating and they are most likely on the road to extinction. It may not be a very long road. And there is where the rollercoaster of emotions hit me, I often avoid conservationist books because I know how badly the oceans of the world are doing and it fills me with despair. There are light points in the book, we hear about the work that is going on around the world, the Atlantic populations seem to be recovering better than the Pacific, there is a lot of conservation going on, lots of people care and are working to preserve the breeding beaches.
However, for anyone with any interest in marine turtles or the marine environment in general, the small nodes of discomfort are well worth reading through to enjoy the eloquent prose with which Carl Safina describes the many voyages of the most amazing 'living dinosaur'.
January 19, 2012
Interesting, inspiring and frustrating are but a few words I could use to describe this book. It took me a chapter or two to get used to Safina's punctuation happy writing style but once accustomed I was hooked (no pun intended). As much as this book helped me form a better picture of leatherback populations I perhaps spent equal measure in wonder and outrage when reading it. I was in awe of the animals themselves, their habitats, the journey and the volunteers and scientists working tirelessly to protect these turtles, in some situations risking their lives by doing so. I raged at the ridiculousness of how long it took to instate fully functional turtle excluding devices in the U.S.A., building on nesting beaches, poaching and turtle surveyors trying to kill every last swordfish they see. There's irony for you!
My main irk with this book is it spends too much time in the Americas, as utterly fascinating as they are. Throughout the book the dire situations in Maylasia and the Indian Ocean were referred to which would have been good to experience through Safina’s eyes.
Of particular note are the grim realities of impoverished communities, overpopulation, property development and the desire for a westernised lifestyle that are sympathetically but realistically broached in this book. A job well done.
My main irk with this book is it spends too much time in the Americas, as utterly fascinating as they are. Throughout the book the dire situations in Maylasia and the Indian Ocean were referred to which would have been good to experience through Safina’s eyes.
Of particular note are the grim realities of impoverished communities, overpopulation, property development and the desire for a westernised lifestyle that are sympathetically but realistically broached in this book. A job well done.
August 26, 2017
I absolutely adored this book, I already had an interest in turtles, specifically sea turtles.
I thought I knew a fair deal about them before, but even as someone who's done a lot of research and reading on this topic a good deal of this book was new info.
In classic Safina form this book was gorgeously written and read more like a novel than a non fiction book. I absolutely adored every single page.
I feel like all I do with reviews of books from Carl Safina is gush, but I really can't find much of any faults with the book. There was very little repetition, the writing was engaging and beautiful, the info was well researched and much of it like many of his books it was first hand experience, and it's perfectly suitable for someone with little knowledge in this area to pick up the book and enjoy themselves.
Do you like turtles? Read this book and love them more.
No interest in turtles? Read this book and figure out that you did and didn't know it yet.
http://weatherwaxreport.blog
I thought I knew a fair deal about them before, but even as someone who's done a lot of research and reading on this topic a good deal of this book was new info.
In classic Safina form this book was gorgeously written and read more like a novel than a non fiction book. I absolutely adored every single page.
I feel like all I do with reviews of books from Carl Safina is gush, but I really can't find much of any faults with the book. There was very little repetition, the writing was engaging and beautiful, the info was well researched and much of it like many of his books it was first hand experience, and it's perfectly suitable for someone with little knowledge in this area to pick up the book and enjoy themselves.
Do you like turtles? Read this book and love them more.
No interest in turtles? Read this book and figure out that you did and didn't know it yet.
http://weatherwaxreport.blog
April 11, 2024
I get pretty excited about learning new things and even more so when it is written beautifully like this book and takes you around the world and makes you feel and know you are alive on a wondrous planet. You go from beaches in Florida infested with high rise condos to a dangerous lawless Mexican beach; from the romantic mystery and fog of Monterey Bay to the practical and hardworking fishermen of South Carolina who protest any regulations to protect anything other than themselves (which I get because this is their livelihood); from responsible and safe ecotourism in Trinidad to the untouched hunter-gatherer world of New Guinea. All to look for turtles. Not to mention the descriptions of nights with more stars and beaches more wild and marine animals stranger than I could have imagined. Lovely book about the ocean too. I can’t get one of the pictures out of my head, of a turtle and a human diver in the water, and I just never knew turtles were that huge. One of the turtle’s flippers looks at big if not bigger than the man, one of them! This book is what I love about nonfiction… It is a travel book, an adventure story, a spirit quest, and more.
“As the last little one commits itself to infinite mystery, the nearest whale lifts its huge head from the water. It seems to be watching, as though checking to be sure that all are accounted for. It’s so extraordinary- this gesture of the whale- so surreal, so tuned into the spirit of the ceremony that it raises hairs on my arms. The little ones have left us, slipping into the lacy whitewater and under the hem of the ocean, entering the great swim, neither to pausing to ask “what if,” using everything they know, with all they’ve got. Life is mostly a story we tell ourselves, but in face all our frenzy is but a quick dash toward the inner rim of a vast unknown, and no more than that….I wonder if this is the end of something ancient or the start of a future regained. I’m not certain what it is, but I know what it means: it means there truly is hope…turtles have taught me this: do all you can and don’t worry about the odds against you. wield the miracle of life’s energy, never worrying whether we may fail, concerned only that whether we fail or succeed we do so with all our might. That’s all we need to know to feel certain that all our force of diligent effort is worth our while on Earth.”
“There exists a presence in the ocean, seldom glimpsed in waking hours, best envisioned in your dreams. While you drift in sleep, turtles ride the curve of the deep, seeking their inspiration from the sky. From tranquil tropical bays or nightmare maelstroms hissing foam, they come unseen to share our air. Each sharp exhalation affirms, “life yet endures.” Each inhaled gasp vows, “life will continue.” With each breath they declare to the stars and wild silence… riding the churning ocean’s turning tides and resisting no urge, they move, motivated neither by longing nor love nor reason, but tuned by a wisdom more ancient- so perhaps more trustworthy- than thought. Through jewel-hued sultry blue lagoons, through waters wild and green and cold, stroke these angels of the deep- ancient, ageless, great-grandparents of the world.”
“Earth’s last warm-blooded monster reptile, the skin-covered Leatherback Turtle, whose ancestors saw dinosaurs rule and fall, is itself the closest thing we have to a living dinosaur. Imagine an 800 lb turtle, and that is an average female Leatherback. It’s a turtle that can weigh over a ton.”
“Poet laureate Billy Collins says poetry should displace silence, so that before the poem there is silence, and afterward, silence again. A sea turtle, suddenly appearing at the surface for a sip of air, displaces water. And afterward, water still. This is the turtle’s poetry, a wordless eloquence stated in silence and, in a moment, gone.”
Archelon was the biggest turtle ever, at 6000 lbs and 16 foot flipper spans and 15 foot body length; destroyed by the asteroid 65 million years ago that decimated life on earth with the dinosaurs, wiping out 85% of the earth’s species. It fell near the gulf of mexico and the Yucatan peninsula.
“One of the glories of any beach is that is it always at the end of the road.”
“Lights discourage mama turtles from coming on the beaches and they confuse hatchlings. When proliferating beachfront high rises began shining floodlights on the beach in the 1980’s, new residents found hatchlings in their bushes and elsewhere hatchlings shouldn’t be, and little turtles by the hundreds were getting squashed in lit parking lots…now residents expect to extinguish their outdoor lights from June thru October. There is no state law, but twenty counties and forty-six municipalities have lighting laws, encompassing 95% of Florida’s loggerhead and green turtle nesting sites.”
“A loggerhead has just turned away after hitting a different barrier: beach chairs. Prime nesting habitat is prime sunbathing habitat. And though there’s a light ordinance, ain’t no beach chair ordinance….the hotels and condos are unwilling to move the chairs back even 15 to 20 feet.”
“At Red Reef Park, Boca Raton’s densest turtle nesting area, nests are packed into the sand at the rate of one every few steps…. This park has a 30-foot-high dune with tall Australian pines that darken the background and shadow the foreground. Mother turtles like this spot…we also find 2 new green hatch outs… and they scramble straight to the water as if on a tight little raceway- just like they’re supposed to. Kirt explains that really high dune and pines break up the skyline and cast shadows. So it’s almost like a condo-.” The park beach is almost as good as if it had a condo! I’ve lived to see high rise apartment buildings become the standard for habitat quality.” So if the condos are responsible and dim all their lights, the turtles are more successful than the parks since the parks can’t block all the light from the towns/cities behind it.
“Beaches here (on Florida’s east coast) get artificially rebuilt every five years or so. Rebuilding one mile of beach requires about one million cubic yards of sand, at five to six dollars per cubic yard. U.S. beach rebuilding costs about 150 million annually. Taxpayers pay for it, and where the houses get washed away, taxpayers pay for rebuilding houses, including some very expensive oceanfront mansions…after repeated pumping, rock or clay remains; the seafloor runs out of sand. Lacking sand for its beach, Broward County, Florida, plans to “set up small experimental beaches of ground up glass bottles.: for over half a million dollars two beaches will be given what officials promise will be the look and feel of sand.”
“People have been on earth in our present form for only about 100,000 years, and in so many ways we’re still ironing out our kinks. These turtles we’ve been traveling with outrank us in longevity, having earned three more zeros than we. They’ve got one hundred million years of success on their resume, and they’ve learned something about how to survive in the world. And this, I think, is part of it: they have settled upon peaceful career paths, with a stable rhythm. If humans could survive another one hundred million years, I expect we would no longer find ourselves riding bulls (having bullfights). It’s not so much that I think animals have rights; it’s more that I believe humans have hearts and minds- though I’ve yet to see consistent, convincing proof of either. Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don’t do senseless things. they’re not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy… Turtles cannot consider what might happen yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone’s future. Turtles don’t think about the next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure that there will be one. meanwhile, we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human. That is the wisdom carried within one hundred million years of survival. What turtles could learn from us; I can’t quite imagine.”
“As the last little one commits itself to infinite mystery, the nearest whale lifts its huge head from the water. It seems to be watching, as though checking to be sure that all are accounted for. It’s so extraordinary- this gesture of the whale- so surreal, so tuned into the spirit of the ceremony that it raises hairs on my arms. The little ones have left us, slipping into the lacy whitewater and under the hem of the ocean, entering the great swim, neither to pausing to ask “what if,” using everything they know, with all they’ve got. Life is mostly a story we tell ourselves, but in face all our frenzy is but a quick dash toward the inner rim of a vast unknown, and no more than that….I wonder if this is the end of something ancient or the start of a future regained. I’m not certain what it is, but I know what it means: it means there truly is hope…turtles have taught me this: do all you can and don’t worry about the odds against you. wield the miracle of life’s energy, never worrying whether we may fail, concerned only that whether we fail or succeed we do so with all our might. That’s all we need to know to feel certain that all our force of diligent effort is worth our while on Earth.”
“There exists a presence in the ocean, seldom glimpsed in waking hours, best envisioned in your dreams. While you drift in sleep, turtles ride the curve of the deep, seeking their inspiration from the sky. From tranquil tropical bays or nightmare maelstroms hissing foam, they come unseen to share our air. Each sharp exhalation affirms, “life yet endures.” Each inhaled gasp vows, “life will continue.” With each breath they declare to the stars and wild silence… riding the churning ocean’s turning tides and resisting no urge, they move, motivated neither by longing nor love nor reason, but tuned by a wisdom more ancient- so perhaps more trustworthy- than thought. Through jewel-hued sultry blue lagoons, through waters wild and green and cold, stroke these angels of the deep- ancient, ageless, great-grandparents of the world.”
“Earth’s last warm-blooded monster reptile, the skin-covered Leatherback Turtle, whose ancestors saw dinosaurs rule and fall, is itself the closest thing we have to a living dinosaur. Imagine an 800 lb turtle, and that is an average female Leatherback. It’s a turtle that can weigh over a ton.”
“Poet laureate Billy Collins says poetry should displace silence, so that before the poem there is silence, and afterward, silence again. A sea turtle, suddenly appearing at the surface for a sip of air, displaces water. And afterward, water still. This is the turtle’s poetry, a wordless eloquence stated in silence and, in a moment, gone.”
Archelon was the biggest turtle ever, at 6000 lbs and 16 foot flipper spans and 15 foot body length; destroyed by the asteroid 65 million years ago that decimated life on earth with the dinosaurs, wiping out 85% of the earth’s species. It fell near the gulf of mexico and the Yucatan peninsula.
“One of the glories of any beach is that is it always at the end of the road.”
“Lights discourage mama turtles from coming on the beaches and they confuse hatchlings. When proliferating beachfront high rises began shining floodlights on the beach in the 1980’s, new residents found hatchlings in their bushes and elsewhere hatchlings shouldn’t be, and little turtles by the hundreds were getting squashed in lit parking lots…now residents expect to extinguish their outdoor lights from June thru October. There is no state law, but twenty counties and forty-six municipalities have lighting laws, encompassing 95% of Florida’s loggerhead and green turtle nesting sites.”
“A loggerhead has just turned away after hitting a different barrier: beach chairs. Prime nesting habitat is prime sunbathing habitat. And though there’s a light ordinance, ain’t no beach chair ordinance….the hotels and condos are unwilling to move the chairs back even 15 to 20 feet.”
“At Red Reef Park, Boca Raton’s densest turtle nesting area, nests are packed into the sand at the rate of one every few steps…. This park has a 30-foot-high dune with tall Australian pines that darken the background and shadow the foreground. Mother turtles like this spot…we also find 2 new green hatch outs… and they scramble straight to the water as if on a tight little raceway- just like they’re supposed to. Kirt explains that really high dune and pines break up the skyline and cast shadows. So it’s almost like a condo-.” The park beach is almost as good as if it had a condo! I’ve lived to see high rise apartment buildings become the standard for habitat quality.” So if the condos are responsible and dim all their lights, the turtles are more successful than the parks since the parks can’t block all the light from the towns/cities behind it.
“Beaches here (on Florida’s east coast) get artificially rebuilt every five years or so. Rebuilding one mile of beach requires about one million cubic yards of sand, at five to six dollars per cubic yard. U.S. beach rebuilding costs about 150 million annually. Taxpayers pay for it, and where the houses get washed away, taxpayers pay for rebuilding houses, including some very expensive oceanfront mansions…after repeated pumping, rock or clay remains; the seafloor runs out of sand. Lacking sand for its beach, Broward County, Florida, plans to “set up small experimental beaches of ground up glass bottles.: for over half a million dollars two beaches will be given what officials promise will be the look and feel of sand.”
“People have been on earth in our present form for only about 100,000 years, and in so many ways we’re still ironing out our kinks. These turtles we’ve been traveling with outrank us in longevity, having earned three more zeros than we. They’ve got one hundred million years of success on their resume, and they’ve learned something about how to survive in the world. And this, I think, is part of it: they have settled upon peaceful career paths, with a stable rhythm. If humans could survive another one hundred million years, I expect we would no longer find ourselves riding bulls (having bullfights). It’s not so much that I think animals have rights; it’s more that I believe humans have hearts and minds- though I’ve yet to see consistent, convincing proof of either. Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don’t do senseless things. they’re not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy… Turtles cannot consider what might happen yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone’s future. Turtles don’t think about the next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure that there will be one. meanwhile, we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human. That is the wisdom carried within one hundred million years of survival. What turtles could learn from us; I can’t quite imagine.”
September 11, 2018
Hmm.
I really enjoyed the first four chapters but overall, I was kind of disappointed.
Before I get into what spoiled this for me, I’d like to state that I’m reviewing the book, not the subject. I absolutely love sea turtles and participate in a few different initiatives to improve their lot and conserve their species (as much as I can from a landlocked, disinterested country).
Once the section with the swordfisherman began, the book lost the plot. It became disjointed, very repetitive, preachy, and, in places, almost melodramatic.
The book is, for the most part, quite readable. It’s easy to understand. It does wax lyrical at times which makes it a bit of a slog in places. While educational, much of the reading is upsetting; frankly, it’s an upsetting subject.
On a personal note, I learned of the plight of sea turtles while in South Africa. With the South African adoption of Australian initiative “Plastic Free July” and myriad awareness campaigns, I learned more about what I can do as an individual than I ever thought possible.
Sea turtle stewardship is a global issue. This book makes it America-centric. I was hoping for a more global perspective. North Americans are a huge part of the problem, for sure. They bury their heads in the sand and focus more on attributing blame than actually doing anything. I believe it’s a visibility issue: most of North America is landlocked; they will never see sea turtles in the wild or appreciate their fluid movements under the sea.
To quote Sir David Attenborough: “No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
I’m still not sure if I recommend this book. It is highly readable but the author’s repetitive and sometimes aggro writing style will definitely put some people off. There is a wealth of information buried in the book but it does require patience sifting through a lot of redundant interviews, a lot of pontification by various interviewees, flowery prose, and a significant amount of repetition. I admit that I skimmed the final four chapters because I just found it so tedious after it felt like I read the same thing over and over again. I wonder if this would have been better as a periodical, condensing and streamlining the information into a shorter and more succinct publication.
TLDR; while I’m a huge advocate for sea turtle conservation and education, I’m not sure this book achieves what it sets out to do.
I really enjoyed the first four chapters but overall, I was kind of disappointed.
Before I get into what spoiled this for me, I’d like to state that I’m reviewing the book, not the subject. I absolutely love sea turtles and participate in a few different initiatives to improve their lot and conserve their species (as much as I can from a landlocked, disinterested country).
Once the section with the swordfisherman began, the book lost the plot. It became disjointed, very repetitive, preachy, and, in places, almost melodramatic.
The book is, for the most part, quite readable. It’s easy to understand. It does wax lyrical at times which makes it a bit of a slog in places. While educational, much of the reading is upsetting; frankly, it’s an upsetting subject.
On a personal note, I learned of the plight of sea turtles while in South Africa. With the South African adoption of Australian initiative “Plastic Free July” and myriad awareness campaigns, I learned more about what I can do as an individual than I ever thought possible.
Sea turtle stewardship is a global issue. This book makes it America-centric. I was hoping for a more global perspective. North Americans are a huge part of the problem, for sure. They bury their heads in the sand and focus more on attributing blame than actually doing anything. I believe it’s a visibility issue: most of North America is landlocked; they will never see sea turtles in the wild or appreciate their fluid movements under the sea.
To quote Sir David Attenborough: “No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
I’m still not sure if I recommend this book. It is highly readable but the author’s repetitive and sometimes aggro writing style will definitely put some people off. There is a wealth of information buried in the book but it does require patience sifting through a lot of redundant interviews, a lot of pontification by various interviewees, flowery prose, and a significant amount of repetition. I admit that I skimmed the final four chapters because I just found it so tedious after it felt like I read the same thing over and over again. I wonder if this would have been better as a periodical, condensing and streamlining the information into a shorter and more succinct publication.
TLDR; while I’m a huge advocate for sea turtle conservation and education, I’m not sure this book achieves what it sets out to do.
March 27, 2008
I read a lot of natural history. I enjoy it a great deal, and I find it gives me perspective on my own place in the world. I rarely close a natural history book in tears. This one had me weeping numerous times both in despair and in hope. There were times, reading Safina's lucid prose, when I thought perhaps the only thing we could do to save the turtles was to spread some targeted virulent human plague amongst ourselves. There were other times that the stories he told of conservationists made me proud and almost abashed to feel myself part of the species.
So. A masterful book which taught me much about the great oceangoing Leatherback turtle and garnered much edifying bycatch along the way. Highly recommended.
So. A masterful book which taught me much about the great oceangoing Leatherback turtle and garnered much edifying bycatch along the way. Highly recommended.
February 24, 2013
Carl Safina's book is packed with information about sea turtles -- particularly the Leatherback Sea Turtle - and it's told in beautiful prose, mixing natural history and narrative. If you wish to learn more about this incredible animal -- over 65 million years old -- then this is definitely the book to read. Safina travels around the globe seeking to understand how the global migrations of these creatures are linked to their survival -- and human endeavour. What he (and the reader) discover is joyful, heart breaking and magical - each emotion coming in waves and through vignettes of visits to nesting beaches and travel routes globally.The visit to Breton Island should tantalise you because if you know anything about sea turtles you'll be wondering how they can cope with such cold waters. Read it and you will know. A definite winner for anyone who loves reading natural history or wants to learn more about sea turtles.
July 21, 2008
07/21/08
Yup, sea turtles are one of my favorite animals ever. This book is filled with wonderful, informative sketches of an amazing animal that make you realize just how much poorer our world will be without them in it. The author has a lyrical style that informs without being dry and pedantic. The book is also filled with a wonderfully realized cast of characters that help the author on his quest.
07/01/08
Picked this up for the Guatemala trip. Have I mentioned that sea turtles are one of my favorite animals of all time? Possibly even top 5.
Yup, sea turtles are one of my favorite animals ever. This book is filled with wonderful, informative sketches of an amazing animal that make you realize just how much poorer our world will be without them in it. The author has a lyrical style that informs without being dry and pedantic. The book is also filled with a wonderfully realized cast of characters that help the author on his quest.
07/01/08
Picked this up for the Guatemala trip. Have I mentioned that sea turtles are one of my favorite animals of all time? Possibly even top 5.
February 16, 2021
When I first finished this book, I gave it 4 stars. Now I'm upping it to a full 5, because this book is so beautiful. Imperfect and a bit rambling, but it's emotional, gripping, and impeccably written. I recommend this so much to people who love reading about natural history and conservation, and especially if you love turtles (insert "I like turtles" boy here). Carl Safina really exhausts the topic of turtles in every way, but he did it so engagingly. As I turned pages, I felt simultaneously impressed by his beautiful writing, and also just interested in everything that was happening. Trust me, political fights about saving the turtles probably wouldn't be this interesting/easy to read about if Safina wasn't the one writing about it.
This is also a spectacular conservation book. Safina has strong opinions on conservation, but I love that he doesn't paint anyone with broad brushes. A lot of the things that humans have done to this Earth were long-lasting and damaging, but he doesn't paint anyone out to be the bad guy. In the reverent way he writes about Leatherback sea turtles, those creatures that have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, it's enough to make a reader feel small. But that's exactly it. Humility is the key. And Carl Safina just makes you want to work hard to get into that mindset; humble yourself, learn about your world, and do your part to take care of it because it's a treasure. The things we earn when we protect our environment will always outnumber the things we earn by destroying it.
So I had a very personal and emotional reaction to this book. Everytime I see this book on my shelf, I want to hug it to my chest. Safina is a great author and an astounding writer. I recommend this 500%. I can't wait to get to my other books of his!
This is also a spectacular conservation book. Safina has strong opinions on conservation, but I love that he doesn't paint anyone with broad brushes. A lot of the things that humans have done to this Earth were long-lasting and damaging, but he doesn't paint anyone out to be the bad guy. In the reverent way he writes about Leatherback sea turtles, those creatures that have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, it's enough to make a reader feel small. But that's exactly it. Humility is the key. And Carl Safina just makes you want to work hard to get into that mindset; humble yourself, learn about your world, and do your part to take care of it because it's a treasure. The things we earn when we protect our environment will always outnumber the things we earn by destroying it.
So I had a very personal and emotional reaction to this book. Everytime I see this book on my shelf, I want to hug it to my chest. Safina is a great author and an astounding writer. I recommend this 500%. I can't wait to get to my other books of his!
February 26, 2020
"Magic is the simplicity of rightness" declares Carl Safina in this book devoted to the story of Dermochelys coriacea, the great Leatherback turtle, and nowhere is this more evident than in the book itself - an almost flawless blend of keen observation and heartfelt prose.
Survivors from the time of the dinosaurs, these giant sea turtles have been afloat for over 120 million years, only recently endangered by (what else?) human activity. Divided into two main sections, Voyage of the Turtle analyzes the current status of Leatherback communities in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, seeking to uncover the factors that have contributed to the very different condition of the two populations.
There is much here that will dishearten the reader, whether it is the wasteful nature of certain fishing practices, the seemingly endless capacity of government agencies to drag their feet when they should be more active, or the destruction caused by polution and overconsumption. But I was surprised and pleased to discover that this was by and large a hopeful book, focusing on the actions of the many scientists and activists who have made it their life's work to save these beautiful creatures.
It is also a marvelously well-written book, with many passages of striking beauty, in which Safina steps back and ponders the significance of the Leatherback - its connection to the environment, and to humanity:
"Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don't do senseless things. They're not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy. Turtles don't have the intellect to form opinions about greed, oppression, superstition, or ideology, yet they don't inflict misery on themselves or other creatures. Turtles cannot consider what might happen, yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone's future. Turtles don't think about their next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure that there will be one. Meanwhile, we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human. That is the wisdom carried within one hundred million years of survival. What turtles could learn from us, I can't quite imagine."
I do not often read works of natural history, owing not to a lack of interest, but to the scarcity of available time. But I was so entranced by Safina's tale of these "ancient, ageless, great-grandparents of the world," who are like "a sudden remembrance of a world before memories," that I think I may have to make the time - starting with Safina's other titles.
Survivors from the time of the dinosaurs, these giant sea turtles have been afloat for over 120 million years, only recently endangered by (what else?) human activity. Divided into two main sections, Voyage of the Turtle analyzes the current status of Leatherback communities in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, seeking to uncover the factors that have contributed to the very different condition of the two populations.
There is much here that will dishearten the reader, whether it is the wasteful nature of certain fishing practices, the seemingly endless capacity of government agencies to drag their feet when they should be more active, or the destruction caused by polution and overconsumption. But I was surprised and pleased to discover that this was by and large a hopeful book, focusing on the actions of the many scientists and activists who have made it their life's work to save these beautiful creatures.
It is also a marvelously well-written book, with many passages of striking beauty, in which Safina steps back and ponders the significance of the Leatherback - its connection to the environment, and to humanity:
"Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don't do senseless things. They're not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy. Turtles don't have the intellect to form opinions about greed, oppression, superstition, or ideology, yet they don't inflict misery on themselves or other creatures. Turtles cannot consider what might happen, yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone's future. Turtles don't think about their next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure that there will be one. Meanwhile, we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human. That is the wisdom carried within one hundred million years of survival. What turtles could learn from us, I can't quite imagine."
I do not often read works of natural history, owing not to a lack of interest, but to the scarcity of available time. But I was so entranced by Safina's tale of these "ancient, ageless, great-grandparents of the world," who are like "a sudden remembrance of a world before memories," that I think I may have to make the time - starting with Safina's other titles.
February 26, 2012
Carl Safina writes fluidly - if somewhat floridly - about the extraordinary lives of sea turtles. He takes the reader on a journey throughout the world to all the places turtles nest. From nesting beaches in Trinidad and Costa Rica to New Guinea and up to Cape Breton, he paints a picture so vivid that you often don't notice the steady stream of facts he's peppering you with.
For example: Turtles always return to the beach they were born on to lay their eggs. The bulk of their diet consists of jellyfish, although some species will also eat shellfish like whelks, oysters and horseshoe crabs. Humans don't eat horseshoe crabs, but we do use them as bait in eel fisheries. Turtles dive extensively to eat and can lower their brain metabolism low enough to function anaerobically. At the deepest depth they dive, there resides a creature whose latin name translates to "Vampire Squid from Hell." And so on.
Basically, this is well worth a read. Even if it *is* unabashed conservation propaganda by a person whose love of turtles may well be partially grounded in an antipathy towards his fellow man, you will be have a sense of wonderment at the trials and survival of what Safina calls "the earth's last dinosaur."
For example: Turtles always return to the beach they were born on to lay their eggs. The bulk of their diet consists of jellyfish, although some species will also eat shellfish like whelks, oysters and horseshoe crabs. Humans don't eat horseshoe crabs, but we do use them as bait in eel fisheries. Turtles dive extensively to eat and can lower their brain metabolism low enough to function anaerobically. At the deepest depth they dive, there resides a creature whose latin name translates to "Vampire Squid from Hell." And so on.
Basically, this is well worth a read. Even if it *is* unabashed conservation propaganda by a person whose love of turtles may well be partially grounded in an antipathy towards his fellow man, you will be have a sense of wonderment at the trials and survival of what Safina calls "the earth's last dinosaur."
November 19, 2013
This turned out to be the perfect book to read on a trip to the Caribbean, the region Safina identifies as the greatest success story among recent efforts to revitalize declining sea turtle populations around the world. The opening chapter in which he recounts watching a turtle nesting and laying eggs on a beach in Trinidad is enchanting. In general, his strategy of presenting facts about turtles--their extraordinary migratory habits, their monumental size and physical abilities, the many threats they've faced over the past few decades--in the context of his visits to turtle breeding and feeding grounds works very well. But after a while, some of the stories and facts become repetitive, and his obvious passion for all creatures of the seas leads him to include too much material that, while interesting, is tangential to the story of the turtles (especially the chapter on swordfish). Still, the book made me wish I'd scheduled my trip to Dominica just a few weeks earlier, when I might have been able to see Leatherbacks nesting on a beach just a few miles up the road from where I stayed.
October 13, 2016
On the one hand I'm thrilled about sea turtles. They swim across entire oceans and back again to get between their feeding and nesting areas. Leatherbacks dive deeper than any other vertebrae. And adult leatherbacks can weigh around 800 lbs. I'm struggling to envision a critter that size. I kind of want to fly down to one of these nesting beaches to see sea turtles for myself.
On the other hand, I'm depressed about the turtles' future. It almost seems them avoiding extinction is at human discretion. And in the Atlantic they've done well. But the Pacific, not so much.
But the author does make sure to emphasize it's not a black/white dichotomy. Nobody's killing turtles or digging nests for kicks and giggles. It just so happens that turtle meat and eggs are good eating. And it's good to understand that. Once you understand why everyone does what they do you can work on a solution that meets everyone's needs be they fishermen, turtles, conservationists or guys from the Midwest with a sudden concern about sea turtle populations.
On the other hand, I'm depressed about the turtles' future. It almost seems them avoiding extinction is at human discretion. And in the Atlantic they've done well. But the Pacific, not so much.
But the author does make sure to emphasize it's not a black/white dichotomy. Nobody's killing turtles or digging nests for kicks and giggles. It just so happens that turtle meat and eggs are good eating. And it's good to understand that. Once you understand why everyone does what they do you can work on a solution that meets everyone's needs be they fishermen, turtles, conservationists or guys from the Midwest with a sudden concern about sea turtle populations.
June 25, 2010
A beautiful very literate treatment of a fascinating subject, could not put it down. We should now more than ever know what is happening to our Oceans and their citizens. We should see what human activity is doing and what is needed. Please read this
Want to read
March 6, 2023My GR friend Petra liked it a lot, 4-stars worth:
"One of the first things I learned was why leatherbacks have this thick leathery-rubbery carapace instead of the more usual turtleshell of interlocking bony plates that are fused together. It is because leatherbacks dive deeper than any other creature, including whales, and can hold their breath for longer. The pressure of the ocean depths would kill them if they couldn't expand and contract their bodies to balance these pressures.
Their mouths ... are a real horror show, lined in spikes all through their throats and stomachs. They eat only jellyfish, and this aids them in holding the jellyfish, piercing it and presumably internally grinding it up."
2006 book. Not at our libraries, dammit.
"One of the first things I learned was why leatherbacks have this thick leathery-rubbery carapace instead of the more usual turtleshell of interlocking bony plates that are fused together. It is because leatherbacks dive deeper than any other creature, including whales, and can hold their breath for longer. The pressure of the ocean depths would kill them if they couldn't expand and contract their bodies to balance these pressures.
Their mouths ... are a real horror show, lined in spikes all through their throats and stomachs. They eat only jellyfish, and this aids them in holding the jellyfish, piercing it and presumably internally grinding it up."
2006 book. Not at our libraries, dammit.
April 3, 2021
I started to read this book with a very different idea of what the book would talk about. Turns out, it focuses mainly on the main threats sea turtles face on their travels and hatching events. I have learnt so much with this book, and even though sometimes it did go on for a while talking about what he was doing instead of what the turtles were doing (also that chapter about swordfish? Nice but unexpected), I enjoyed reading every chapter. I also paired it well with the documentary Seaspiracy as the subjects were sometimes related.
August 27, 2025
Safina has that special gift of knowledge of subject matter and a mastery of prose. What an enlightening and inspiring read.
It's been almost 20 years since published and the turtles are still under extinction pressure from what I see. Hopefully continued efforts will eventually make a difference. It could take several decades more.
Highly recommended.
It's been almost 20 years since published and the turtles are still under extinction pressure from what I see. Hopefully continued efforts will eventually make a difference. It could take several decades more.
Highly recommended.
July 6, 2020
This is an inspiring book about sea turtle natural history and conservation. It's anything but dry, as the author spent time traveling with fishermen, sea turtle researchers, and everyday people working to protect the nesting sites of these ancient and beautiful animals.
June 6, 2016
This book describes the magnificent sea turtles in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans--the sea turtles whose ancestors shared the earth with the now extinct dinosaurs. I was unaware of these ancient animals who travel vast distances. One group of leatherback turtles even lay their eggs in the South Pacific and then travel across the Pacific Ocean to the west coasts of North America, guided by the earth’s gravitational pull and the light from the stars. The same feats are accomplished by the leatherbacks in the Atlantic, traveling from as far away as the Mediterranean Sea, or the coasts of Spain or Africa to lay their eggs on the Caribbean beaches. But as is the typical story of our time, they are threatened and endangered. They have survived for ions but the most voracious predator (man) has destroyed their nesting environments and replaced them with resort beaches, stolen their eggs not just for their diets but to feed to domestic livestock (pigs), drowned them with fishnets and hooked them on their long lines. Carl Safina travelled the world researching turtle habitats, their egg laying, the baby hatchling turtles dangerous mad dash to the sea, and the turtles migration routes across the oceans. He describes the efforts to save these amazing animals. People are becoming more aware and mitigating measures have turned the tide in favor of the sea turtles in the Atlantic. People’s attitudes are changing in the Pacific, but cultural differences and poverty have slowed the turtles’ revival. As Carl Safina researched his book he joined a fishing crew who targeted swordfish, giving the reader a glimpse of the life of those who make their living from the ocean and a description of the unique swordfish itself; and joined an expedition that looked for leatherbacks in the Pacific Ocean using sophisticated equipment that scanned the ocean at different depths, allowing Safina to describe the bizarre creatures who inhabit those areas. Safina’s vast knowledge and obvious love of the ocean allowed him to create a book that hopefully may persuade humanity to slow their greedy tendencies and realize the importance of sea turtles and the other diminishing sea creatures.
February 20, 2020
This book was so beautiful and seriously stoked my desire to go to every hatching beach for any kind of turtle, anywhere. <3 <3 <3 I feel super honored that I had a chance in my life to study these marvelous creatures.
April 3, 2019
It took me a while to get used to safina's writing style but as soon I did, I was hooked.
I went into the book not expecting much but I came out of it a different individual. Safina recounts a tale that is filled with equal parts hope and sorrow.
He helps you to truly understand the difficulties that the leatherback turtle are facing while being mostly subjective (with some witty opinionated humor interspersed) and presenting all the facts in front of us. At the same time as this sorrow and death is occuring, he paints an incredible image of the work that is being done to protect this dinosaur. He does right by the conservationists and gives them a hero like aura. Which they rightfully deserve.
One of the most special things that safina does though, in my opinion, is he makes you feel as though you play a part in this grand story. He never plays the condescending scientist or the extremist you can't relate to. At every stage you feel slightly responsible for having supported fishing nets that don't use turtle excluding devices while also feeling immensely powerful in knowing that by doing very little you can do a lot by the turtle. Mind you he never makes you really feel guilty or empowered, he solely makes you aware of it. An itch at the back of your mind as you read the book that at the end may or may not compel you to action.
It personally compelled me to action, it's made me realize the inefficiencies of our fishing system and how our small decisions on land influence those creatures in the sea. Additionally, it made me realize there's a lot we can do for conservation efforts from wherever we are that make a big difference. Lastly, it reminded me that there's hope amidst all the chaos and sorrow. Incredible tales of animals coming back thanks to the hard work of heroic individuals battling against odds, and time, to keep these magnificent creatures alive.
Admittedly I have an inclination to love nature and animals, but I'm sure anybody could pick up this book and thoroughly enjoy it.
I went into the book not expecting much but I came out of it a different individual. Safina recounts a tale that is filled with equal parts hope and sorrow.
He helps you to truly understand the difficulties that the leatherback turtle are facing while being mostly subjective (with some witty opinionated humor interspersed) and presenting all the facts in front of us. At the same time as this sorrow and death is occuring, he paints an incredible image of the work that is being done to protect this dinosaur. He does right by the conservationists and gives them a hero like aura. Which they rightfully deserve.
One of the most special things that safina does though, in my opinion, is he makes you feel as though you play a part in this grand story. He never plays the condescending scientist or the extremist you can't relate to. At every stage you feel slightly responsible for having supported fishing nets that don't use turtle excluding devices while also feeling immensely powerful in knowing that by doing very little you can do a lot by the turtle. Mind you he never makes you really feel guilty or empowered, he solely makes you aware of it. An itch at the back of your mind as you read the book that at the end may or may not compel you to action.
It personally compelled me to action, it's made me realize the inefficiencies of our fishing system and how our small decisions on land influence those creatures in the sea. Additionally, it made me realize there's a lot we can do for conservation efforts from wherever we are that make a big difference. Lastly, it reminded me that there's hope amidst all the chaos and sorrow. Incredible tales of animals coming back thanks to the hard work of heroic individuals battling against odds, and time, to keep these magnificent creatures alive.
Admittedly I have an inclination to love nature and animals, but I'm sure anybody could pick up this book and thoroughly enjoy it.
March 16, 2009
This book was an awesome overview of the complex, amazing and interesting lives of sea turtles and the many dangers they are facing due to humans. Although it was depressing to read about the countless different ways that we are pushing sea turtles to extinction, it was inspiring to read about the individual people who are dedicating their lives to saving them. It really shows that a few people can make a difference. But it is an ongoing fight, and if you are interested in the subject, this book is enlightening. Safina does a great job of connecting the plight of the sea turtles with that of other animals; the stability of the ocean and its habitats; and the human/economic component.
The peeks of interest come in waves. The book has so slow parts. And actually the very last few chapters are packed with lots of interesting information. His writing is highly descriptive and occasionally poetic. Sometimes it's overkill and I wanted him to get to the point. All in all, it's beautifully written and educational.
The peeks of interest come in waves. The book has so slow parts. And actually the very last few chapters are packed with lots of interesting information. His writing is highly descriptive and occasionally poetic. Sometimes it's overkill and I wanted him to get to the point. All in all, it's beautifully written and educational.
October 12, 2015
Interesting, educational and mostly well written book about sea turtles and the trials they face from egg to death. The author researches the effects of man on sea turtle populations around the globe, and how detrimental effects can be halted, minimised and/or reversed. I would have liked to have read more about turtle ecology and how they interact with other sea creatures, rather than the chapter on swordfish. The book includes photographs.
Read
September 28, 2008If you don't think this book is AWESOME then we probably can't be friends anymore.
I didn't finish reading this book because 1) it needed to be returned to the library, 2) I had learned a lot about turtles, and 3) I got distracted by another book.
Good read as far as I got...
I didn't finish reading this book because 1) it needed to be returned to the library, 2) I had learned a lot about turtles, and 3) I got distracted by another book.
Good read as far as I got...
Want to read
December 13, 2008Damnit, I'm gonna have to broaden my bookshelves again. I need an nature/environment one.
But yay, turtles! I will stop my car and get out to save a turtle trying to cross a road. I love them.
But yay, turtles! I will stop my car and get out to save a turtle trying to cross a road. I love them.
October 18, 2025
I knew nothing about leatherback turtles, and not much about other sea turtles, before reading this book. Now I know a lot more. What I don't know, and what was most frustrating about the book, is what's happened since the book came out - this information is almost 20 years old. I know I can, and probably will, google to find out the status of the specific populations covered in the book and the overall health/endangeredness of the species.
Leatherbacks are an ancient species, and have thrived in the oceans for over 100 million years, orders of magnitude longer than any primate, never mind humans. Yet in the last several hundred years, humans have decimated their population, mostly for their meat and eggs. The book looks at the turtles and the situation from many points of view, and includes many factors. What they eat, what eats them (virtually only humans), what other creatures they share the oceans with, how other types of fishing hurt them, how poverty causes people to not be able to consider not eating them and their eggs, rules that governments implement (and the politics around them), different populations (overall, the Atlantic populations are faring better than the Pacific ones, largely due to laws), and more.
I thought the book bogged down in the middle. I had to force myself through, over weeks. I hated the chapters where Safina went out on swordfishing boats because they often saw turtles. Swordfishing is a way of life, and the way the fish are killed is brutal (yes, I'm vegetarian). But it's all well written. Learning about long line fishing was also disheartening, and how net fishing traps turtles (regulations that were new-ish when the book was written helped with this).
And then, I loved the last several chapters. An isolated island in Papua New Guinea where the small, poor population are respectful of the turtles. Sending down a probe off the California coast to various depths and seeing all the weird creatures, many of which had never been identified (again, some may have been identified in the last 20 years, something else to google). The last, short chapter, "A Chant for the Enchanted" tells the story of an indigenous culture that lives on an island in the Bay of California and who sing to the turtles and other sea creatures. Safina participates in bringing a group of them to a beach on Baja where leatherbacks have nested. There are no egg-laying females to see, but the group gets to help with releasing a bunch of hatchlings (they've never seen hatchlings) into the ocean. An older woman, who knows all the old songs, sings them out, and apparently calls in some whales to observe too. It is enchanting.
Leatherbacks are an ancient species, and have thrived in the oceans for over 100 million years, orders of magnitude longer than any primate, never mind humans. Yet in the last several hundred years, humans have decimated their population, mostly for their meat and eggs. The book looks at the turtles and the situation from many points of view, and includes many factors. What they eat, what eats them (virtually only humans), what other creatures they share the oceans with, how other types of fishing hurt them, how poverty causes people to not be able to consider not eating them and their eggs, rules that governments implement (and the politics around them), different populations (overall, the Atlantic populations are faring better than the Pacific ones, largely due to laws), and more.
I thought the book bogged down in the middle. I had to force myself through, over weeks. I hated the chapters where Safina went out on swordfishing boats because they often saw turtles. Swordfishing is a way of life, and the way the fish are killed is brutal (yes, I'm vegetarian). But it's all well written. Learning about long line fishing was also disheartening, and how net fishing traps turtles (regulations that were new-ish when the book was written helped with this).
And then, I loved the last several chapters. An isolated island in Papua New Guinea where the small, poor population are respectful of the turtles. Sending down a probe off the California coast to various depths and seeing all the weird creatures, many of which had never been identified (again, some may have been identified in the last 20 years, something else to google). The last, short chapter, "A Chant for the Enchanted" tells the story of an indigenous culture that lives on an island in the Bay of California and who sing to the turtles and other sea creatures. Safina participates in bringing a group of them to a beach on Baja where leatherbacks have nested. There are no egg-laying females to see, but the group gets to help with releasing a bunch of hatchlings (they've never seen hatchlings) into the ocean. An older woman, who knows all the old songs, sings them out, and apparently calls in some whales to observe too. It is enchanting.
July 30, 2020
*3.5 stars
Read this for my monthly book club and it had a lot of cool knowledge and I learned a lot. I especially liked the sections with the emphasis on meeting both the needs of the sea turtle as well as the needs of local indigenous peoples-a theme that I keep coming across. That being said, this was a looooong book and reading the kindle version did not help my understanding of the book, given how small the maps were. Since the maps were so small, I had a hard time placing where exactly he was in the world, and it made it hard to keep track of where he was before that, etc etc.
My main issues with the book were that the author never actually introduced themself-I would have appreciated a little section in the first chapter explaining his interest in turtles, what he does for a living, how he got involved with turtles, how exactly he was financially able to go across the world and meet with all these scientists, etc. Having that personal context would have helped me in understanding their perspective in all of this.
I found the switching between world locations jarring, and I could not tell you a single scientist he actually spoke with, since I got confused with all the switching of locations. There was a section focused on swordfish fishing which was fascinating, but also long-winded and I got confused where turtles came into all of that and why he felt the need to spend soooo much time on swordfish. The end of that section was abrupt, as he immediately switched to another location that left me wanting a more concrete end to the swordfish adventure.
There were many nuggets of information here, but I did feel that he repeated this knowledge several times throughout the book, and at times it felt like I was slogging through long wordy musings, and felt as though the book would never end. So overall I felt as though I did learn a lot, BUT the book could have done with some editing and would have held my interest more if it were condensed into a shorter book.
Read this for my monthly book club and it had a lot of cool knowledge and I learned a lot. I especially liked the sections with the emphasis on meeting both the needs of the sea turtle as well as the needs of local indigenous peoples-a theme that I keep coming across. That being said, this was a looooong book and reading the kindle version did not help my understanding of the book, given how small the maps were. Since the maps were so small, I had a hard time placing where exactly he was in the world, and it made it hard to keep track of where he was before that, etc etc.
My main issues with the book were that the author never actually introduced themself-I would have appreciated a little section in the first chapter explaining his interest in turtles, what he does for a living, how he got involved with turtles, how exactly he was financially able to go across the world and meet with all these scientists, etc. Having that personal context would have helped me in understanding their perspective in all of this.
I found the switching between world locations jarring, and I could not tell you a single scientist he actually spoke with, since I got confused with all the switching of locations. There was a section focused on swordfish fishing which was fascinating, but also long-winded and I got confused where turtles came into all of that and why he felt the need to spend soooo much time on swordfish. The end of that section was abrupt, as he immediately switched to another location that left me wanting a more concrete end to the swordfish adventure.
There were many nuggets of information here, but I did feel that he repeated this knowledge several times throughout the book, and at times it felt like I was slogging through long wordy musings, and felt as though the book would never end. So overall I felt as though I did learn a lot, BUT the book could have done with some editing and would have held my interest more if it were condensed into a shorter book.
October 23, 2017
Love at first page, and I would give this a four and a half. It was very literary for a non-fiction book, with many memorable and poignant passages. Every time I opened it I felt like I was escaping to another world.
There is no doubt that sea turtles (particularly the dinosaur-like leatherback turtles, which are the only living members of their genus, family, and suborder) qualify as “charismatic megafauna.” They feature in South Pacific legends and fables, were considered sacred to Aphrodite in ancient Greece, and were believed to support the world in Mayan, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian legend. Beaches known for attracting laying females are tourist attractions, and “turtle tourism” brings in millions of dollars a year to some communities in Costa Rica. As for the “megafauna” part, an average leatherback turtle weighs about 800 pounds – some weigh close to 1100 – and has a flipper span of eight feet.
One of the South Pacific fables recounted in the book that I particularly enjoyed: A fisherman noticed a large Hawksbill Turtle – a true prize. Without even pausing to anchor his canoe, he dove in after it, and finally managed to catch the turtle. But by then his canoe had drifted far away, and he had to release the turtle so he could try to retrieve his canoe. But he couldn’t and had to swim back to his village without either the turtle or the canoe. Moral: “those who try to do two things at once often accomplish neither.” In other words, be careful when it comes to multitasking…
There was a rather sickening chapter describing harpoon hunting for swordfish. While this was well-written (I kind of wanted to stop reading and at the same time couldn’t) and I learned a lot about swordfish (and the cruelty humans are prepared to inflict on wild animals that haven’t hurt them), it had nothing to do with turtles. This chapter probably would have worked better within the book as a whole if it had been cast as something like “sea turtles and swordfish share similar habitats [which is why the author was on a swordfishing boat to begin with] and here’s how sea turtles (marine reptiles) do things compared to the different way swordfish (true bony fish) get the same thing accomplished.” Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to tie in well with the story of sea turtles as told in the preceding and succeeding chapters. In some ways I wish it had, because it did one thing quite well. Especially when juxtaposed with stories of the lengths people will go to help sea turtles (one scientist helped an arthritic leatherback dig a nest), it darkly illuminated two conflicting aspects of the human relationship with nature. Two passages in particular stuck with me: “What a confusing species we are, by turns murderous and merciful, negligent and attentive, angels of both death and salvation” (page 240) and, “Watching her [a nesting Leatherback Turtle], and the people, I’m reminded of humans’ strange range of treatment of other animals, our deep capacity for kindness and our equal one for cruelty. Each comes naturally, and each is learned in like measure.” (page 17).
The book also describes how imperiled sea turtle populations are, and the conservation efforts being made to save them. Interestingly, turtle populations in the Atlantic and Caribbean are growing or at least stabilizing, while populations of the same species are nosediving in the Pacific. It is possible that some species will become locally extinct in the Pacific but continue doing well in the Atlantic. On the subject of extinction, I have seen so many references to an endangered species “battling” the possibility of extinction that the perspective of this passage struck me, “The death of a species comes as tranquilly as [a] gentle sunrise. There’s no final struggle, no valorous last stand or terminal flourish. Just one final puff of breath, then mere absence. No creature mourns its own passing. The grief and the consequences lie solely with us, but few feel the loss.” (page 238).
There is also an interesting discussion of how we need to start rerouting money for conservation efforts. Logging companies and developers have plenty of money to throw around and don’t hesitate to do it. But conservation groups tend not to have the money, and even if they do there is often the attitude that people shouldn’t have to be paid to conserve resources or protect species (in other words, to do the right thing). The upshot is that people only see the immediate and material benefits of not conserving or protecting, as opposed to the material sacrifice of conserving or protecting. And the material benefits that come from not conserving can include a wide range of undeniably good things – mosquito nets, vaccinations, books, and increased education. Right now, all of this is coming at the cost of tropical rainforests, pristine beaches, and sea turtles – or what many people might see as paradise. And so, “the human heart will cast itself out of Eden every time, because it has needs heaven never addresses.” (page 305).
At the same time, the book also sounds a note of optimism: “Two identical ships, leaving the same harbor on headings differing by just a couple of degrees, will end long journeys on very different shores. We might yet adjust our course.” (page 239).
A further example of the writing style includes what has to be the most poetic description of marine snow ever: “the dust of life from the sunlit surface of the miracle planet, the blue curve of earth.”
And lastly, there are more than scientific reasons to study turtles and think about how they behave:
“Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don’t do senseless things. They’re not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy. Turtles don’t have the intellect to form opinions about greed, oppression, superstition, or ideology, yet they don’t inflict misery on themselves or other creatures. Turtles cannot consider what might happen, yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone’s future. Turtles don’t think about the next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure there will be one. Meanwhile we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human.” (page 237).
There is no doubt that sea turtles (particularly the dinosaur-like leatherback turtles, which are the only living members of their genus, family, and suborder) qualify as “charismatic megafauna.” They feature in South Pacific legends and fables, were considered sacred to Aphrodite in ancient Greece, and were believed to support the world in Mayan, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian legend. Beaches known for attracting laying females are tourist attractions, and “turtle tourism” brings in millions of dollars a year to some communities in Costa Rica. As for the “megafauna” part, an average leatherback turtle weighs about 800 pounds – some weigh close to 1100 – and has a flipper span of eight feet.
One of the South Pacific fables recounted in the book that I particularly enjoyed: A fisherman noticed a large Hawksbill Turtle – a true prize. Without even pausing to anchor his canoe, he dove in after it, and finally managed to catch the turtle. But by then his canoe had drifted far away, and he had to release the turtle so he could try to retrieve his canoe. But he couldn’t and had to swim back to his village without either the turtle or the canoe. Moral: “those who try to do two things at once often accomplish neither.” In other words, be careful when it comes to multitasking…
There was a rather sickening chapter describing harpoon hunting for swordfish. While this was well-written (I kind of wanted to stop reading and at the same time couldn’t) and I learned a lot about swordfish (and the cruelty humans are prepared to inflict on wild animals that haven’t hurt them), it had nothing to do with turtles. This chapter probably would have worked better within the book as a whole if it had been cast as something like “sea turtles and swordfish share similar habitats [which is why the author was on a swordfishing boat to begin with] and here’s how sea turtles (marine reptiles) do things compared to the different way swordfish (true bony fish) get the same thing accomplished.” Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to tie in well with the story of sea turtles as told in the preceding and succeeding chapters. In some ways I wish it had, because it did one thing quite well. Especially when juxtaposed with stories of the lengths people will go to help sea turtles (one scientist helped an arthritic leatherback dig a nest), it darkly illuminated two conflicting aspects of the human relationship with nature. Two passages in particular stuck with me: “What a confusing species we are, by turns murderous and merciful, negligent and attentive, angels of both death and salvation” (page 240) and, “Watching her [a nesting Leatherback Turtle], and the people, I’m reminded of humans’ strange range of treatment of other animals, our deep capacity for kindness and our equal one for cruelty. Each comes naturally, and each is learned in like measure.” (page 17).
The book also describes how imperiled sea turtle populations are, and the conservation efforts being made to save them. Interestingly, turtle populations in the Atlantic and Caribbean are growing or at least stabilizing, while populations of the same species are nosediving in the Pacific. It is possible that some species will become locally extinct in the Pacific but continue doing well in the Atlantic. On the subject of extinction, I have seen so many references to an endangered species “battling” the possibility of extinction that the perspective of this passage struck me, “The death of a species comes as tranquilly as [a] gentle sunrise. There’s no final struggle, no valorous last stand or terminal flourish. Just one final puff of breath, then mere absence. No creature mourns its own passing. The grief and the consequences lie solely with us, but few feel the loss.” (page 238).
There is also an interesting discussion of how we need to start rerouting money for conservation efforts. Logging companies and developers have plenty of money to throw around and don’t hesitate to do it. But conservation groups tend not to have the money, and even if they do there is often the attitude that people shouldn’t have to be paid to conserve resources or protect species (in other words, to do the right thing). The upshot is that people only see the immediate and material benefits of not conserving or protecting, as opposed to the material sacrifice of conserving or protecting. And the material benefits that come from not conserving can include a wide range of undeniably good things – mosquito nets, vaccinations, books, and increased education. Right now, all of this is coming at the cost of tropical rainforests, pristine beaches, and sea turtles – or what many people might see as paradise. And so, “the human heart will cast itself out of Eden every time, because it has needs heaven never addresses.” (page 305).
At the same time, the book also sounds a note of optimism: “Two identical ships, leaving the same harbor on headings differing by just a couple of degrees, will end long journeys on very different shores. We might yet adjust our course.” (page 239).
A further example of the writing style includes what has to be the most poetic description of marine snow ever: “the dust of life from the sunlit surface of the miracle planet, the blue curve of earth.”
And lastly, there are more than scientific reasons to study turtles and think about how they behave:
“Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don’t do senseless things. They’re not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy. Turtles don’t have the intellect to form opinions about greed, oppression, superstition, or ideology, yet they don’t inflict misery on themselves or other creatures. Turtles cannot consider what might happen, yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone’s future. Turtles don’t think about the next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure there will be one. Meanwhile we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human.” (page 237).
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