Staff Pick
Shortlisted for the 2015 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, James Nestor's Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves is a perfect blend of pop science, personal narrative, and compelling reporting. Beginning at sea level and descending nearly 30,000 feet, Nestor's book delves into the realm of oceanic intrigue, exploring freediving, magnetoreception, echolocation, attempts at inter-species communication, ama divers, origins of terrestrial life, synchronous coral spawning, physiological effects of depth, mammalian dive reflex, and so much more. Always interesting, Deep follows Nestor around the world as he racks up fascinating anecdotes from a variety of colorful characters. Science, adventure, history; Deep's appeal is vast and its rewards many. Recommended By Jeremy G., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
New York Times Book Reviewand#160;Editorsandrsquo; Choiceand#160;andbull;and#160;An Amazon Best Science Book of 2014and#160;andbull;and#160;Scientific Americanand#160;Recommended Read andldquo;Fascinating, informative, exhilarating.andrdquo; andmdash;Wall Street Journal
Deepand#160;is a voyage from the oceanandrsquo;s surface to its darkest trenches, the most mysterious places on Earth. Fascinatedand#160;by the sport of freedivingandmdash;in which competitors descendand#160;great depths on a single breathandmdash;James Nestor embeds with a gang of oceangoing extreme athletes and renegade researchers. He finds whales that communicate with other whales hundreds of miles away, sharks that swim in unerringly straight lines through pitch-black waters, and other strange phenomena. Most illuminating of all, he learns that these abilities are reflected in our own remarkable, and often hidden, potentialandmdash;including echolocation, directional sense, and the profound bodily changes humans undergo when underwater. Along the way, Nestor unlocks his own freediving skills as he communes with the pioneers who are expanding our definition of what is possible in the natural world, and in ourselves.
andldquo;A journey well worth taking.andrdquo; andmdash;David Epstein,and#160;New York Times Book Review
andldquo;Nestor pulls us below the surface into a world far beyond imagining and opens our eyes to these unseen places.andrdquo; andmdash;Dallas Morning News
and#160;andldquo;This is popular science writing at its best.andrdquo; andmdash;Christian Science Monitor
Review
"Put
Deep at the top of your reading list. This book will do for the oceans what
Cosmos did for space. It's mind-bending, intrepid, and inspiring." —
Po Bronson "The ocean, journalist Nestor reminds us, is “the final unseen, untouched, and undiscovered wilderness.” It is also a frontier extremely difficult to explore. The pressure is so intense, at 30 feet down our “lungs collapse to half their normal size.” Yet Nestor watches divers descend to 300 feet without scuba gear at a freediving competition. Alarmed (the consequences can be dire) and intrigued, Nestor sets out to learn about the allure and best purpose of freediving as “a tool to help crack the oceans mysteries,” thus launching an exceptionally dramatic and revelatory inquiry. As he begins training as a freediver, in spite of his fears, Nestor learns about our bodys remarkable “amphibious reflexes,” instantaneous physical
transformations used for centuries by pearl divers. Now innovative and daring marine explorers use freediving to swim among sharks, dolphins, and whales. Their mind-blowing discoveries about how these denizens of the deep navigate and communicate in the watery dark are matched by findings that prove that we, too, can practice echolocation and orient ourselves via our innate magnetic sense of direction, natural abilities our ancestors used long before maps and GPS. With a “wow” on every page, and brimming with vivid portraits, lucid scientific explanations, gripping (and funny) first-person accounts, and urgent facts about the oceans endangerment, Nestors Deep is galvanizing, enlightening, and invaluable."--Booklist, STARRED review
Review
A New York Times Book Review Editorand#39;s Choiceand#160;
An Amazon Best Book of the Month Scientific American Recommended Read
iTunes Top 20 Books of the Month
Christian Science Monitor Editorsand#39; Pick: 10 Best Books of July
BBC Book of the Week
The Week Book of the Week
andldquo;The deeper the book ventures into the ocean, the more dramatic and unusual the organisms therein and the people who observe themandhellip;Throughand#160;[Nestorand#39;s] eyes and his stories, itandrsquo;s a journey well worth taking.andrdquo;
andmdash; David Epstein, New York Times Book Review
and#160;andquot;Fascinating, informative, exhilarating book, and, I wager, it will at the very least have you testing how long you can hold your breath.andquot;
andmdash;Wall Street Journal
andquot;An engaging exploration of the depths of the worldand#39;s oceans and the human connection to the rapidly changing world below. This is popular science writing at its best.andquot;
andmdash;Christian Science Monitor
andquot;Rich and illuminating ... A passionate celebration of the possible and the unproven ... [Deep] will certainly enrich the thinking of anyone planning to spend time at the beach.andquot;
andmdash;Independent (UK)
andquot;Truly breathtaking ... Nestor gets right in with the competitors and rogue scientists who are unearthing mysteries of the deep and its inhabitants that we canand#39;t even imagine, in a book thatand#39;s engaging and eye-popping.andquot;
andmdash;Esquire
andquot;Nestor is crisp with his fun, seafaring facts; he is sober with his sprinkling of environmental bulletins. The book never preaches, and itandrsquo;s a zippy read.andquot;
andmdash;Los Angeles Times
andquot;Freediving, the sport that harnesses the mammalian dive reflex to survive deep plunges, can be a boon for marine researchers, avers James Nestor. We meet a salty cast of them, such as the and#39;aquanautsand#39; of Aquarius, a marine analogue of the International Space Station submerged off the Florida Keys. Equally mesmeric are Nestorand#39;s own adventures, whether spotting bioluminescent species from a submarine in the bathypelagic zone, or freediving himself andmdash; and voyaging into humanityand#39;s amphibious origins in the process.andquot;
andmdash;Nature (UK)
andquot;Put Deep at the top of your reading list. This book will do for the oceans what Cosmos did for space. Itand#39;s mind-bending, intrepid, and inspiring.andquot;
andmdash; Po Bronson
andquot;With verve and humor, the author describes his own risk-taking attempts to understand the oceanand#39;s ancient secrets and future potential and the daring and brilliant people who have dedicated their lives to probing deeper ... [Nestorand#39;s] writing is sharp, colorful, and thrilling ... Bring[s] the ocean to life from a research perspective as well as a human one. An adventurous and frequently dazzling look at our planetand#39;s most massive habitat.andquot;
andmdash; Kirkus
andquot;A thrilling account, made timely by the rapidly changing state of earthandrsquo;s most expansive environment.andquot; andmdash;Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Our species is more profoundly connected to the sea than we ever realized, as an intrepid cadre of scientists, athletes, and explorers is now discovering. Deep follows these adventurers into the ocean to report on the latest findings about its wondrous biology and#8212; and unimagined human abilities.
Synopsis
The deep sea remains Earths final frontier. And as James Nestor reveals, adventurous scientists current quests to solve the mysteries of the ocean are transforming not only our knowledge of the planet and its creatures, but also our understanding of the human body and mind. Over the course of the book, Nestor journeys from the oceans surface — where the extreme sport of freediving pushes the boundaries of human physical endurance — to its greatest, most otherworldly depth, 35,000 feet below sea level at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Along the way he finds “telepathic” corals that synchronize their blooming even though theyre hundreds of miles apart, octopus species that thrive in 300-degree water, sharks that swim in unerringly straight lines through pitch blackness, and, most illuminating of all, the human pioneers whose discoveries are expanding our definition of what is possible in the natural world, and in ourselves.
Synopsis
An Amazon Best Book of 2014 While on assignment in Greece, journalist James Nestor witnessed something that confounded him: a man diving 300 feet below the oceanandrsquo;s surface on a single breath of air and returning four minutes later, unharmed and smiling.
This man was a freediver, and his amphibious abilities inspired Nestor to seek out the secrets of this little-known discipline. In Deep, Nestor embeds with a gang of extreme athletes and renegade researchers who are transforming not only our knowledge of the planet and its creatures, but also our understanding of the human body and mind. Along the way, he takes us from the surface to the Atlanticandrsquo;s greatest depths, some 28,000 feet below sea level. He finds whales that communicate with other whales hundreds of miles away, sharks that swim in unerringly straight lines through pitch-black waters, and seals who dive to depths below 2,400 feet for up to eighty minutesandmdash;deeper and longer than scientists ever thought possible. As strange as these phenomena are, they are reflections of our own speciesandrsquo; remarkable, and often hidden, potentialandmdash;including echolocation, directional sense, and the profound physiological changes we undergo when underwater. Most illuminating of all, Nestor unlocks his own freediving skills as he communes with the pioneers who are expanding our definition of what is possible in the natural world, and in ourselves.
Synopsis
The ocean's depths contain wondrous biology and clues to unimagined human abilities, as intrepid researchers and athletes are now discovering.
Synopsis
New York Times Book Reviewand#160;Editorsandrsquo; Choiceand#160;andbull;and#160;An Amazon Best Science Book of 2014and#160;andbull;and#160;Scientific Americanand#160;Recommended Read Deepand#160;is a voyage from the oceanandrsquo;s surface to its darkest trenches, the most mysterious places on Earth. Fascinatedand#160;by the sport of freedivingandmdash;in which competitors descendand#160;great depths on a single breathandmdash;James Nestor embeds with a gang of oceangoing extreme athletes and renegade researchers. He finds whales that communicate with other whales hundreds of miles away, sharks that swim in unerringly straight lines through pitch-black waters, and other strange phenomena. Most illuminating of all, he learns that these abilities are reflected in our own remarkable, and often hidden, potentialandmdash;including echolocation, directional sense, and the profound bodily changes humans undergo when underwater. Along the way, Nestor unlocks his own freediving skills as he communes with the pioneers who are expanding our definition of what is possible in the natural world, and in ourselves.
andldquo;A journey well worth taking.andrdquo; andmdash;David Epstein,and#160;New York Times Book Review
andldquo;Nestor pulls us below the surface into a world far beyond imagining and opens our eyes to these unseen places.andrdquo; andmdash;Dallas Morning News
and#160;andldquo;This is popular science writing at its best.andrdquo; andmdash;Christian Science Monitor
About the Author
JAMES NESTOR has written for Outside Magazine, Menand#39;s Journal, Dwell Magazine, the New York Times, San Francisco Magazine, Interior Design, the San Francisco Chronicle, and numerous other publications. His longform piece andquot;Half-Safe,andquot; about the only around-the-world journey by land and sea in the same vehicle ever attempted (and completed), was published by The Atavist. Nestor lives in San Francisco and is a member of the San Francisco Writersand#39; Grotto.
Table of Contents
0and#160;|and#160;1
and#160;and#8722;60and#160;|and#160;12
and#160;and#8722;300and#160;|and#160;27
and#160;and#8722;650and#160;|and#160;54
and#160;and#8722;800and#160;|and#160;81
and#160;and#8722;1,000and#160;|and#160;100
and#160;and#8722;2,500and#160;|and#160;126
and#160;and#8722;10,000and#160;|and#160;159
and#160;and#8722;28,700and#160;|and#160;201
and#160;Ascentsand#160;|and#160;222
and#160;Epilogueand#160;|and#160;228
and#160;Acknowledgmentsand#160;|and#160;234
and#160;Notesand#160;|and#160;239
and#160;Bibliographyand#160;|and#160;247
and#160;Indexand#160;|and#160;257