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Life Between the Tides
- In Search of Rockpools and Other Adventures Along the Shore
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
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Summary
LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2022
Few places are as familiar as the shore—and few as full of mystery and surprise.
How do sandhoppers inherit an inbuilt compass from their parents? How do crabs understand the tides? How can the death of one winkle guarantee the lives of its companions? What does a prawn know?
In The Sea Is Not Made of Water, Adam Nicolson explores the natural wonders of the intertidal and our long human relationship with it. The physics of the seas, the biology of anemone and limpet, the long history of the Earth, and the stories we tell of those who have lived here: all interconnect in this zone where the philosopher, scientist and poet can meet and find meaning.
In this blend of fascinating, surprising ecology and luminous human history, Adam Nicolson gives an invitation to the shoreline. Anyone who chooses can look beyond their own reflection and find the marvellous there, waiting an inch beneath their nose.
Critic reviews
"Another work of staggering genius by our greatest man of letters." (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
"A remarkable and powerful book, the rarest of things...Nicolson is unique as a writer.... I loved it." (Edmund De Waal)
"Miraculous.... An utterly fascinating glimpse of a watery world we only thought we knew." (Philip Hoare)
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What listeners say about Life Between the Tides
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- MR TREVOR R FITZGERALD
- 24-02-23
Loved it.
I happened to listen straight after Jules Vern’s 20,000 leagues and it was a wonderful coincidence. I absolutely loved the parallel of Rockpool life with art, sociology and science.
It was only the narration that I found laborious. A request to the publisher is for authors to voice their own books to give the tone and emphasis that they intended.
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- Elanor McNamara
- 07-02-23
This will change the way you look at rock pools.
This is a beautiful distillation of life at the shore on the West coast of Scotland, delving into life in the pools and life reflected by the pools. Loved it.
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- Anonymous User
- 15-05-23
Natural science, Gallic history, philosophy and poetry
I had no idea Nicholson is such a polymath: historian, natural scientist and ‘man of letters’. He has a humbling depth of perception and breadth of knowledge. I loved this work and listened to every chapter twice, at least. Outstanding explanations of shoreline zoological phenomena are followed by treatises on philosophy and Gallic history.. finishing generally in poetry. Rather more prosaically, one of the really great products of lockdown. I do wish he had read it himself. Kate
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- Douglas O'Neil
- 09-07-23
Philosophy by the pool
This is a book about the nature of reality. And a guy who looks at limpets.
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- james walter
- 29-10-22
Started good…
The beginning of this book is amazing, I learnt a lot about the various creatures that inhabit the rock pools, after this though it goes on a huge tangent and talks about historic folklore and long forgotten tales of woe, it got less nature focussed and I stopped listening on about the 3rd quarter
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