''The Sea Around Us'' is a prize-winning and best-selling book by the American

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifi ...

Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book '' Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental ...

, first published as a whole by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1951. It reveals the science and poetry of the sea while ranging from its primeval beginnings to the latest scientific probings. Often described as "poetic," it was Carson's second published book and the one that launched her into the public eye and a second career as a writer and conservationist; in retrospect it is counted the second book of her so-called sea trilogy. ''The Sea Around Us'' won both the 1952

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five U.S. annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by U.S. citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists ...

"National Book Awards – 1952"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
(With acceptance speech by Carson and essay by Neil Baldwin from the Awards 50-year anniversary publications.) and a Burroughs Medal in

nature writing Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose or poetry about the natural environment. Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history facts (such as field guides) to those in w ...

. It remained on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller List for 86 weeksMiller GT. 2004. ''Sustaining the Earth'', 6th edition. Thompson Learning, Inc. Pacific Grove, California. Chapter 9, pp. 211–16. and it has been translated into 28 languages.

History

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

had published her first book '' Under the Sea Wind'' in 1941; it was reviewed favorably but it sold poorly. Carson initially planned to call the sequel ''Return to the Sea'', and began writing in 1948, just after hiring Marie Rodell as her literary agent. Carson began by writing a single chapter (what would be "The Birth of an Island") along with a detailed outline, which Rodell used to pitch the book to publishers. During research for the book, Carson met with a number of oceanographers to discuss current research. Carson and Rodell had little initial success with magazines as outlets for the islands chapter, nor for a second chapter titled "Another Beachhead." In April 1949, with about a third of the chapters complete, Rodell began trying to find a publisher for the entire book. By June she had arranged a contract with

that promised completion of the manuscript by March 1, 1950. Carson continued to write and research through 1949 and into 1950, despite unexpected health and financial difficulties. In part the research involved a trip aboard a

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

ship, ''Albatross III''. After revising the completion date, Carson completed the manuscript in June 1950. By that time, several periodicals (''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

Science Digest ''Science Digest'' was a monthly American magazine published by the Hearst Corporation from 1937 through 1988. History ''Science Digest'' was first published in January 1937 in an 8 x 5 inch digest size format of about 100 pages. ...

'', and ''

The Yale Review ''The Yale Review'' is the oldest literary journal in the United States. It is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It was founded in 1819 as ''The Christian Spectator'' to support Evangelicalism. Over time it began to publish more on ...

'') were interested in publishing some of the chapters. Nine of fourteen chapters were serialized in ''

'' beginning on June 2, 1951, and the book was published on July 2 by

. The serialization created a very large popular response, and the book was the subject of the feature review in ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' the day before publication. One chapter ("The Birth of an Island") was published in ''The

Yale Review ''The Yale Review'' is the oldest literary journal in the United States. It is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It was founded in 1819 as ''The Christian Spectator'' to support Evangelicalism. Over time it began to publish more on hi ...

''; it won the George Westinghouse Science Writing prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Critical reception

After the book's release, Carson was inundated with an unexpected volume of

fan mail Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or " fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter or note thanking their fans for th ...

and media attention. She was soon the object of attention from "the literary crowd," and because of a subsequent condensation in ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'', a broad general audience as well. The book sold more than 250,000 copies in 1951, in addition to the condensation and excerpts published elsewhere.

Adaptations

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

was filmed in 1952 and released in 1953; it won the 1953

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for Best Documentary (though Carson was extremely disappointed with the script and would never sell film rights to her work again).Lear, ''Rachel Carson'', chapter 10

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Around Us, The 1951 non-fiction books Biology books Books by Rachel Carson National Book Award for Nonfiction winning works Oxford University Press books Science books Works originally published in The New Yorker

History

Critical reception

Adaptations

See also

References

Further reading

External links