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Ocean World of Jacques Cousteau #1-20
The Ocean World
The late undersea explorer sets out the fascinating story of the oceans in fact, lore, and legend. An eyepopping, beautifully designed volume, brimming over with glorious full-color photographs of the ocean's bounty and its most secret underwater habitats, this book includes 18 lively chapters covering all aspects of life in the sea: evolution, reproduction, foodgetting, motion, communications, attack and defense, legends and tales, life in the polar regions and in the abyss, and the future of the oceans. "Even out of the water, the reader feels immersed in the intoxicating `rapture of the deep'..."-- Newsday. 9 1/2" x 12".
446 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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725 people want to read
About the author
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
204 books170 followersBorn in 1910, was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, and filmmaker, who studied the sea. Although he is most famous to us from his television programmes, he also co-developed the aqua-lung, and pioneered marine conservation as a political and scientific priority.
In the Calypso, an ex-Royal Navy minesweeper, Cousteau visited the most interesting waters of the planet. During these trips he produced many books and films. He gained three Oscars for; The Silent World, The Golden Fish, and World Without Sun, as well as many other top awards including the Palme d'Or in 1956 at the Cannes Film Festival.
Cousteau liked to call himself an "oceanographic technician". He was in reality a sophisticated lover of nature who found a way of communicating complex scientific and biological concepts to ordinary people. While he was criticised at the time by some academics for failing to express science 'properly', his work permitted many people to explore the resources of the "blue continent". As an example of his influence, in 1975, folk singer John Denver composed the song "Calypso" as a tribute to Cousteau and his research ship Calypso. The song reached the number one position on the Billboard 100 charts.
Cousteau's work did a great deal to popularize knowledge of underwater biology and was featured in the long-lived documentary television series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau which began in 1968. On January 11, 1996, the Calypso sank in Singapore harbour. Cousteau died on June 25, 1997 - his work is continued by his son Jean-Michel and his grandson Fabien, who studies sharks from a custom-built shark-shaped submarine.
In the Calypso, an ex-Royal Navy minesweeper, Cousteau visited the most interesting waters of the planet. During these trips he produced many books and films. He gained three Oscars for; The Silent World, The Golden Fish, and World Without Sun, as well as many other top awards including the Palme d'Or in 1956 at the Cannes Film Festival.
Cousteau liked to call himself an "oceanographic technician". He was in reality a sophisticated lover of nature who found a way of communicating complex scientific and biological concepts to ordinary people. While he was criticised at the time by some academics for failing to express science 'properly', his work permitted many people to explore the resources of the "blue continent". As an example of his influence, in 1975, folk singer John Denver composed the song "Calypso" as a tribute to Cousteau and his research ship Calypso. The song reached the number one position on the Billboard 100 charts.
Cousteau's work did a great deal to popularize knowledge of underwater biology and was featured in the long-lived documentary television series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau which began in 1968. On January 11, 1996, the Calypso sank in Singapore harbour. Cousteau died on June 25, 1997 - his work is continued by his son Jean-Michel and his grandson Fabien, who studies sharks from a custom-built shark-shaped submarine.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 26, 2024
I was about 8 or 9 when, flipping through all 4 channels on my grandma’s TV in boredom, I stumbled upon “The Cousteau Odyssey”, and I was instantly in love. There was magic there, the amazing ocean world, the absolutely breathtaking deep sea life, the shipwrecks - and the red-hat-clad old skinny captain of the ship Calypso and his crew quickly became my childhood heroes.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau brought his fascination with ocean life and beauty to millions. That sense of wonder, curiosity, and deep respect for the ocean is incredibly infectious. And after hours and hours spent as a kid watching him, it was so fun to get my hands on this absolute brick of a book. The Ocean World of Jacques Cousteau is basically a Cousteau encyclopedia of all things aquatic, with breathtaking gorgeous photos and fun and accessible to all levels of readers text.
The ocean is a fascinating universe of its own, with complex life webs and all kinds of creatures living and eating and making more of themselves, sustaining themselves for millions and millions of years until our human activity finally starts posing a true existential threat. Cousteau was an explorer who eventually turned conservationist, and he carefully brings his message through.
Cousteau doesn’t romanticize the aquatic world. It’s often eat or be eaten — but he objects to popular perception viewing certain animals as “killers” just for doing what’s needed to survive. Sharks and orcas are no more reprehensible than a human who orders a burger, it’s just that they don’t have the luxury to outsource their meal prep to an out-of-the-way slaughterhouse.
It’s a huge, lovely, magnificent book with vibrant colors and glossy pages that are just a pleasure to touch and turn. (Hey, as a former ebook aficionado, I mean this praise). It’s hard to close it without the feeling of awe and respect for the life on our planet, especially in the depths of the seas and the shorelines. The ocean is majestic and fragile at the same time, and Cousteau seems to have understood it profoundly.
And for me, it was a lovely sunny autumn day reading in peace and feeling that childlike wonder of the world again.
5 sea stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau brought his fascination with ocean life and beauty to millions. That sense of wonder, curiosity, and deep respect for the ocean is incredibly infectious. And after hours and hours spent as a kid watching him, it was so fun to get my hands on this absolute brick of a book. The Ocean World of Jacques Cousteau is basically a Cousteau encyclopedia of all things aquatic, with breathtaking gorgeous photos and fun and accessible to all levels of readers text.
The ocean is a fascinating universe of its own, with complex life webs and all kinds of creatures living and eating and making more of themselves, sustaining themselves for millions and millions of years until our human activity finally starts posing a true existential threat. Cousteau was an explorer who eventually turned conservationist, and he carefully brings his message through.
Cousteau doesn’t romanticize the aquatic world. It’s often eat or be eaten — but he objects to popular perception viewing certain animals as “killers” just for doing what’s needed to survive. Sharks and orcas are no more reprehensible than a human who orders a burger, it’s just that they don’t have the luxury to outsource their meal prep to an out-of-the-way slaughterhouse.
It’s a huge, lovely, magnificent book with vibrant colors and glossy pages that are just a pleasure to touch and turn. (Hey, as a former ebook aficionado, I mean this praise). It’s hard to close it without the feeling of awe and respect for the life on our planet, especially in the depths of the seas and the shorelines. The ocean is majestic and fragile at the same time, and Cousteau seems to have understood it profoundly.
And for me, it was a lovely sunny autumn day reading in peace and feeling that childlike wonder of the world again.
5 sea stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
January 7, 2022
Few have done as much to heighten respect, interest and concern of much of the world for how our oceans support all life on the planet. At over 40 years old, this book is showing its age, but its text and generous groupings of photos serve as the foundation for many who have taken up the cause.
This book, in its oversized magnificence, gathers in a single volume about 20 of Cousteau’s essays (many of which were published separately). Certainly a great place for an adult or even an interested teen to expand their knowledge and determine where next to explore.
This book, in its oversized magnificence, gathers in a single volume about 20 of Cousteau’s essays (many of which were published separately). Certainly a great place for an adult or even an interested teen to expand their knowledge and determine where next to explore.
May 19, 2017
I bought this book as a child in the mid 90s after saving pocket money for almost a year. I kept visiting the book store always afraid that it could have been sold to someone else. I keep it in pristine condition, in a plastic brief case, and I show it fondly only to people that are important to me. A book more than worthy of top ratings on Goodreads. I hope that I will never part ways with this book and maybe someday someone will inherit my copy of The Ocean World.
December 5, 2011
This is essentially a narrative encyclopedia of the sea, strung together in an entertaining mix between a coffee table book and your middle-school biology book. Some of the information is noticeably dated (I read the 1985 edition), but this didn't detract from the read as much as it led me to consider what has (or hasn't) happened over the last 25 years. Cousteau filled this book with projections and predictions. I really enjoyed the mix of science and adventure, which seems to be the essence of Cousteau's books. He was both the world's most recognizable ocean explorer and a bona fide marine biologist. A third of the book focuses on the specifics of interesting species, from whales to cuttlefish to starfish. Another third focuses on man's interaction with the sea through science, fishing, transportation, and pollution. The final third focuses on legends of the sea, exploration, adventure, and a historical look at man's interaction with the oceans. The narrative is definitely science and preservation heavy; Cousteau basically summarizes stories like Shackleton's adventure and the Titanic, but seems most comfortable in connecting the workings of the ocean world through explaining the science behind it all. At 427 pages, the book reads faster than you might expect due to the many illustrations and photographs. A page-turner only for the science savvy, but a stimulating educator for the rest of us.
May 26, 2015
Every page I've learned something new and amazing about the ocean. Not just a category of species and their lives, it's really a witty and easy to understand work about the ocean's role in the global environment. I had no idea that coral cleans the air. Cousteau stresses again and again the ultimate destruction of the world if the oceans should be poisoned. I appreciate the strong emphasis of the fear of poisoning the planet as opposed to it warming a few degree over the next thousand years- which seems to be what many environmentalists are stuck on about now-a-days.
These volumes are great, also full of "science-fictional" inventions and dreams of mankind mastering both deep sea and space exploration. Cousteau predicts and hopes for a future where man regains his balance with the environment and also masters technology. I also look for the day where Cousteau's inventions and suggestions will be dated.
These volumes are perfect for both adults and children, fans of science, the ocean and technology alike. Full of a variety of pictures and information which has already made me appreciate slugs and fish a thousands times over. Never mind the envy I feel for the crew of the Calypso as they indeed blazed the trail of marine biology sciences.
January 18, 2022
The Ocean World, Jacques Cousteau, 1979, 446pp., Dewey 574.92, ISBN 0810980681
Amazing photos.
Amazing photos.
June 28, 2021
What can I say to summarize the months-long experience of flipping through all 20 volumes of this massive thing? It was an adventure. I loved reading about Cousteau's undersea experiences, appreciating the photography, and looking up more photos of particularly interesting creatures. I loved when my kids (rife with knowledge obtained via Octonauts) would come up behind me, correctly name a fish, and share an interesting fact about it. I loved the diagrams of the insides of ships and deep-sea equipment. I loved finding typos or mislabeled captions. I loved that an entire volume was spent on ocean-related stories and mythologies. I even loved the indulgent, self-satisfied, quirky poems that often capped off the end of a volume. Quite possibly my favorite part was the one about the "raptures of the deep." Everybody should disappear into these books now and then. The sea is endlessly fascinating, and even if you're not actively interested in it, Cousteau makes it interesting.
September 3, 2016
This book is a general overview of the ocean world. It's worth a look if you're interested in the ocean and the life of Jacques Cousteau. It was copyrighted in 1979, so the science and some of the ideas are out of date, but there is still good information to learn. The pictures, some spanning two entire pages, are inspirational and are worth viewing even if you don't read anything. One of the underlying themes is the harm mankind has done to the environment through ignorant or intentional pollution of the oceans and exploitation of the sea life. Jacques Cousteau was passionate about taking care of the oceans. It's a shame that pollution and exploitation are still going on today.
May 17, 2019
Published 40 years ago, this book is still relevant. Jacques’ knowledge, insight, and love of the sea are infinite. His hopefulness that we can solve our environmental problems is very heartwarming. Had we listened more to him, we would have a better chance at recovering our oceans and our planet.
The photographs, anecdotes, science, history, variety of subjects, and philosophy mean that this book has something for everyone, but read it cover to cover and savor the words of one of the ocean’s greatest friends.
The photographs, anecdotes, science, history, variety of subjects, and philosophy mean that this book has something for everyone, but read it cover to cover and savor the words of one of the ocean’s greatest friends.
November 20, 2008
Great reference material for anyone that dives, enjoys biology (Marine Biology specifically), or is interested with the sea. I have had this book for many years and it is a heavy coffee table tome but full of Cousteau's observations and opinions on ecosystems and the impact we have had on them. Unfortunately this material would be dated for anyone doing serious research on the subject but there is still good material to read and review.
May 25, 2019
We had the whole Cousteau encyclopedia. Fantastic book!
May 19, 2013
"The universe far transcends what man can sense, what he can organize into thought, what he can assign a purpose to. Man receives into his brain only a few narrow bands of the gigantic spectrum of messages dispensed by the cosmos. Outside these narrow bands, only slightly widened by technology, man senses nothing and understands very little." (61)
"Modern man's devices for attack and defense seem more elaborate than animal systems. In reality, however, they are all inspired by nature, with the erratic exception of the nuclear bomb. One wonders if with this invention man has not dissociated himself from nature forever." (122)
"'Odi et amo' may well be the confession of those who consciously or blindly have surrendered their existence to the fascination of the sea." -Joseph Conrad (289)
"Man as a species has progressed to this point only because of his ability to keep written records. The wheel does not have to be reinvented every few generations. A young scientist can rely on the work of the past, on basic principles that need not be proven again; he can pick up where his predecessors left off." (338)
"Modern man's devices for attack and defense seem more elaborate than animal systems. In reality, however, they are all inspired by nature, with the erratic exception of the nuclear bomb. One wonders if with this invention man has not dissociated himself from nature forever." (122)
"'Odi et amo' may well be the confession of those who consciously or blindly have surrendered their existence to the fascination of the sea." -Joseph Conrad (289)
"Man as a species has progressed to this point only because of his ability to keep written records. The wheel does not have to be reinvented every few generations. A young scientist can rely on the work of the past, on basic principles that need not be proven again; he can pick up where his predecessors left off." (338)
December 7, 2010
This book is not only informative, but it is a feast for the eyes. Many years ago, this book was a gift from my parents. It is still one of my favorite books, and I am very protective of it! Not a book I would ever loan. The book is lovely,and I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.
October 18, 2011
No human can resist a lust of the sea. Monsieur Cousteau has immortalised the true final frontier that is the sea in this remarkably detailed book. I will love this book until I die, I first read it in grade three and continually reread it.
March 28, 2007
Great book full of interesting facts such as:
Did you know that every drop of water that ever existed on the Earth still exist today?
Betcha didn't.
Did you know that every drop of water that ever existed on the Earth still exist today?
Betcha didn't.
June 20, 2008
I love the stunning photos and the respect and reverence for the ocean and all of its inhabitants.
August 3, 2008
I've had this book as a kid and I've gone through it so many times (lots of pictures of sea creatures). Spawned a lot of imagination. This was way before discovery channel....
July 22, 2009
Beautiful pictures and amazing facts
November 14, 2009
This is an Amazing Book!!! The Pictures are amazing. Colorful and on every page. There isn't a member of my Family that doesn't love this one.
March 8, 2016
One of the books that began my utter fascination with the sea...
February 19, 2012
not a picture book but rather a book of short paragraphs on topics carte blanche.
March 5, 2013
Legendary book. Must have for everyone who is into scuba diving.
December 6, 2013
Bad photography, but.............. fascinating stories and insights. A LOT of work went into this. Worth having on the shelf.
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February 6, 2015Awesome book! :D Dry in places (no pun intended) and somewhat outdated, but a really interesting read from a conservation and biology standpoint. Totally recommend!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews