-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea
by Jeffrey Marlow
An awe-inspiring investigation into the hidden world of the deep sea—the most mysterious, unforgiving environment on Earth—whose secrets can radically revise our understanding of life itself and chart our planetary future.
The deep sea is our planet's last frontier. For most of human history, it was a vast, unknown realm that invoked awe and terror. And despite how much we've learned, it remains largely unexplored.
In The Dark Frontier, marine microbiologist and explorer Jeffrey Marlow offers a new perspective on the power and beauty of the deep sea, beginning with the nineteenth-century discovery that the ocean's depths were teeming with life and shifting to more recent investigations of the kaleidoscopic ecology of hydrothermal vents, methane seeps, and whale falls. Marlow illuminates the ocean's scientific marvels, including microbes that breathe metal and fish that withstand crushing pressures, as well as theories about how underwater habitats may have been the cradle of life on Earth. He reveals the deep sea's microbial universes, worlds within worlds that have opened new possibilities of survival in extreme environments.
The Dark Frontier is an engaging narrative journey grounded in Marlow's research and wide-ranging knowledge, together with insights from hundreds of experts, from deep-sea scientists to conservationists and UN diplomats. The book considers the twinned forces of exploration and exploitation, shining a light on deep-sea drilling and mining as well as the complexity of governing the high seas and their precious resources.
In this authoritative and accessible account of ocean exploration, Marlow captures the wonder and potential of the deep sea, teaching us lessons that help navigate the future—not just for the remarkable creatures that live there but for those of us on the surface as well.
"[A] moving debut exploration ... Marlow's fascination with underwater environments is palpable throughout, as he studies microbes that can exist by metabolizing methane, and discovers hidden ecosystems of strange fish, crustaceans, and worms ... This is science writing at its finest." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An eloquent scientist's rare view into deep-ocean expeditions ... Marlow's tales of seafloor mountain ranges and the characters he encounters are delightful and emotive ... His science is injected with feeling and perspective ... A romantic, illuminating dive into the deep sea and the controversies of exploiting it." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A brilliant scientist and storyteller, Jeffrey Marlow takes us on a page-turning descent into the deepest mysteries on the planet, revealing a world as strange, beautiful, and edifying as it is essential to our uncertain future. Though witness to the farthest reach of our destructive ways, Marlow leaves us with words of hope." —Jack E. Davis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea
"A fascinating, even moving, deep dive into the deepest of subjects. As Jeffery Marlow shows us, the ocean floor isn't a bleak wasteland—it's the largest part of our planet, teeming with life and with possibilities for a radically reimagined future. Marlow's book shines a brilliant light on Earth's crucial frontier." —Jason Roberts, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Every Living Thing and A Sense of the World
This information about The Dark Frontier was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dr. Jeffrey Marlow is a professor of biology at Boston University. He received his B.S. from Washington University in St. Louis, M.Phil. from Imperial College London, and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. He has been named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society. His journalistic work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Scientific American. He enjoys traveling, trail running, and nurturing his extensive collection of house plants.
If you liked The Dark Frontier, try these:
On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good and not quite all the time
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
