A review by billyjepma
Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea by Edith Widder
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
An excellent, insightful, and an ultimately hopeful memoir about science, discovery, and perseverance. Widder isn't a writer by trade, which she admits to, so the writing of her memoir is somewhat of a mixed bag, but the quality and richness of her material make up for it. The memoir bits aren't integrated into the scientific aspects as smoothly as I had hoped. Still, they complement each other and give the book a level of accessibility it probably wouldn't have had otherwise.
I love the ocean and have been enchanted by its mystery and impossible vastness since I was a kid, so it's not like this book would be a hard sell for me. I love Widder's passion for her work, and her enthusiasm is infectious even in the denser, more jargon-heavy sections (of which there are several). I'm so glad the book exists and hope it sells a lot of copies because more people, myself included, need resources like this one that can educate them on the incredible (and increasingly fragile) nature of our planet and inspire them to action.
I love the ocean and have been enchanted by its mystery and impossible vastness since I was a kid, so it's not like this book would be a hard sell for me. I love Widder's passion for her work, and her enthusiasm is infectious even in the denser, more jargon-heavy sections (of which there are several). I'm so glad the book exists and hope it sells a lot of copies because more people, myself included, need resources like this one that can educate them on the incredible (and increasingly fragile) nature of our planet and inspire them to action.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Death