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A review by daumari
Citizens of the Sea: Wondrous Creatures from the Census of Marine Life by Nancy Knowlton
3.0
I really wanted to like this book, but the prose killed it. The Census of Marine Life is one of the most astounding scientific undertakings in recent history, yielding many new species, behaviors, and revealing how little we actually know (in other words, directions for future researchers to start digging :P) There's a lot of cool stuff you can mention from the last ten years.
The only problem I have is that it's written for a *very* general audience. I do understand that a large part of the Smithsonian's job is scientific outreach, but with short (less than a newspaper article)'s paragraphs on a subject and phrases such as "Anemonefish like Nemo will...", it almost feels like the audience is expected to be either a child or have merely a passing interest in the subjects. Hook them with something general, sure, but take the opportunity to present more information!
The pictures were great, but as always you can find larger and higher resolution images online (and in some cases, video- like the octopus that seemingly appears out of nowhere from a rock which can be seen here). Might be good for a budding marine biologist or to pique someone's interest in the sea.
The only problem I have is that it's written for a *very* general audience. I do understand that a large part of the Smithsonian's job is scientific outreach, but with short (less than a newspaper article)'s paragraphs on a subject and phrases such as "Anemonefish like Nemo will...", it almost feels like the audience is expected to be either a child or have merely a passing interest in the subjects. Hook them with something general, sure, but take the opportunity to present more information!
The pictures were great, but as always you can find larger and higher resolution images online (and in some cases, video- like the octopus that seemingly appears out of nowhere from a rock which can be seen here). Might be good for a budding marine biologist or to pique someone's interest in the sea.