The Sea Around Us
Author | Rachel Carson |
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Cover artist | 'the Strimbans' |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Sea trilogy |
Subject | Marine biology and history |
Genre | Nature writing |
Publisher | Oxford |
Publication date | July 1951 (previously serialized in part) |
Media type | |
Preceded by | Under the Sea Wind |
Followed by | The Edge of the Sea |
The Sea Around Us is a prize-winning and best-selling book by the American
The Sea Around Us won both the 1952 National Book Award for Nonfiction[1] and a
History
Simon & Schuster had published her first book Under the Sea Wind in 1941; it was reviewed favorably but it sold poorly. Carson initially planned to call the sequel Return to the Sea, and began writing in 1948, just after hiring Marie Rodell as her literary agent.[5] Carson began by writing a single chapter (what would be "The Birth of an Island") along with a detailed outline, which Rodell used to pitch the book to publishers. During research for the book, Carson met with a number of oceanographers to discuss current research. Carson and Rodell had little initial success with magazines as outlets for the islands chapter, nor for a second chapter titled "Another Beachhead." In April 1949, with about a third of the chapters complete, Rodell began trying to find a publisher for the entire book. By June she had arranged a contract with Oxford University Press that promised completion of the manuscript by March 1, 1950. Carson continued to write and research through 1949 and into 1950, despite unexpected health and financial difficulties. In part the research involved a trip aboard a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ship, Albatross III. After revising the completion date, Carson completed the manuscript in June 1950. By that time, several periodicals (The New Yorker, Science Digest, and The Yale Review) were interested in publishing some of the chapters.[6]
External audio | |
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Books and Authors Luncheon: Rachel Carson, 1951, Carson speaks from 3:00 to 20:15, WNYC[7] |
Nine of fourteen chapters were serialized in
Critical reception
After the book's release, Carson was inundated with an unexpected volume of fan mail and media attention. She was soon the object of attention from "the literary crowd," and because of a subsequent condensation in Reader's Digest, a broad general audience as well. The book sold more than 250,000 copies in 1951, in addition to the condensation and excerpts published elsewhere.[9]
Adaptations
A
See also
- Sea Around Us Project
References
- ^
"National Book Awards – 1952". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
(With acceptance speech by Carson and essay by Neil Baldwin from the Awards 50-year anniversary publications.) - ^ Lear, Rachel Carson, chapters 8 and 9
- ^ Miller GT. 2004. Sustaining the Earth, 6th edition. Thompson Learning, Inc. Pacific Grove, California. Chapter 9, pp. 211–16.
- ^ The Water Encyclopedia claims thirty-three translations. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
- ^ Lear, Rachel Carson, chapter 6
- ^ Lear, Rachel Carson, chapter 7
- ^ "Books and Authors Luncheon: Rachel Carson, 1951". WNYC. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ^ Lear, Rachel Carson, chapter 8
- ^ Lear, Rachel Carson, p. 223.
- ^ Lear, Rachel Carson, chapter 10
Further reading
- ISBN 0-8050-3427-7
External links
- The Sea Around Us at Faded Page (Canada)