A review by adamsw216
Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea by Edith Widder
4.0
Marine biologist Edith Widder provides us with a science book framed through the lens of her life. This autobiography is filled with asides where she explains basic science concepts and ideas (both from within and without her field of expertise). Widder has had an interesting life, complete with hardship and adventure. The anecdotes she shares with us are funny, insightful, and engaging. She writes with a sort of nerdy scientific wit and isn't averse to making a pop culture reference here and there.
Her primary goal with this book is to engage people in the wonder of exploration (more specifically, of science) by providing her particular field of research as a focal point: bioluminescence. Most of the time is spent taking us through various scientific research expeditions she has gone on. It is an interesting look behind the scenes when popular documentary teams tag along. Anyone familiar with the world of scientific research will not be so taken aback by the trials and difficulties Widder runs into (everything from funding to people trying to editorialize her work), but that doesn't make the stories any less entertaining. Her enthusiasm for what she does is palpable.
Widder's overall thesis is something that I strongly agree with. Conservation is a paramount issue, especially in this age of global warming awareness. Exploration of the oceans may be an integral part of this, but funding is scarce. More needs to be done on this front, and there is a lot we have yet to learn about our own planet. That being said, I disagree with her denigration of space exploration as unnecessarily taking funding away from oceanic research. I think it is just as, if not more, important for humanity than deep sea exploration. Surely we can find ways to fund both.
Her primary goal with this book is to engage people in the wonder of exploration (more specifically, of science) by providing her particular field of research as a focal point: bioluminescence. Most of the time is spent taking us through various scientific research expeditions she has gone on. It is an interesting look behind the scenes when popular documentary teams tag along. Anyone familiar with the world of scientific research will not be so taken aback by the trials and difficulties Widder runs into (everything from funding to people trying to editorialize her work), but that doesn't make the stories any less entertaining. Her enthusiasm for what she does is palpable.
Widder's overall thesis is something that I strongly agree with. Conservation is a paramount issue, especially in this age of global warming awareness. Exploration of the oceans may be an integral part of this, but funding is scarce. More needs to be done on this front, and there is a lot we have yet to learn about our own planet. That being said, I disagree with her denigration of space exploration as unnecessarily taking funding away from oceanic research. I think it is just as, if not more, important for humanity than deep sea exploration. Surely we can find ways to fund both.