TOW #8 - Deep (second half)

I recently finished the book Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and what the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves by James Nestor.  As I wrote about in my previous blog post, this book is fantastic.  The second half of the book was just as good, if not better than the first half.  This section expanded upon the ideas brought up in the first half of the book.  Nestor chronicles his adventures with free divers and unconventional scientists while also giving the reader an in-depth understanding of the marine biology.  Interestingly enough, this book is just as much about the state of research on the deep sea as it is about the research itself.  Nestor works primarily with renegade scientists- people who aren’t necessarily associated with a University or governmental organization.  These are the people who are getting actually into the water and taking videos and listening to audio clips and running experiments and doing work in the field rather than having to deal with all of the bureaucracy and logistics in the nightmare that is organized research.  Because of his extensive work with renegade scientists, Nestor is a clearly biased author.  This book is not simply a research textbook, but rather an argumentative piece that creates a clear and logical argument through the use of anecdotes and expert testimony. 

One of the best things about this novel is the use of quotations from experts.  However, these quotations are things the experts have said to Nestor in the flesh- they combine aspects of anecdotes with the testimony.  For example, Nestor writes about when he and an expert free diver/whale scientist were swimming with enormous Sperm Whales.  He writes:

“You can never chase down a whale,” Prinsloo explains as she yanks off the sheet and grabs her fins.  “They always needs to choose to come to you.”  If we move slowly in predictable motions, just in front of the whales’ path, they can easily echolocate the boat and get comfortable with our presence.  If they’re disturbed by us, they’ll take a deep breath and disappear beneath the surface.  We’ll never see them again. (Nestor 184).

In this excerpt, one can clearly see elements of narrative, anecdotal writing, expert testimony, and scientific logic.  This exemplifies how Nestor crafts this book to be entertaining, through the use of narrative and anecdotes, and also informative, through the use of expert testimony and logical scientific fact.  This joining of the two worlds is key in Nestor’s book.  It creates not only an enjoyable read but also a useful one.

I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of interests or preconceived notions.  I had not though I was interested in the science part of this novel (I read it for the free diving aspect), but as I read it I found myself getting more and more immersed in the science.  This is a wonderful book- a must-read for everyone.