Publishers Weekly
05/17/2021
Seashells—and the mollusks that grow them—are a potent force in nature and society, writes journalist Barnett (Blue Revolution) in this riveting survey. “From the shell cults of prehistory to the impressive number of mollusk-inspired Pokémon characters,” Barnett writes, “no creatures have stirred human admiration... as intimately,” and in a globe-trotting quest, she visits sometimes unexpected places where shells appear: In England, the White Cliffs of Dover are made from ancient shell deposits, while a pre-Columbian Peruvian temple has still-playable horns made from conches. Cowrie shells, meanwhile, were an early-modern global currency, and writers including Edna St. Vincent Millay and Italo Calvino were shell-obsessed. Barnett also covers the contemporary collapse of mollusk populations from overharvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change. There’s much quaint and curious lore, and she proves shelled animals are surprisingly adventurous (cone snails spear fish with their poisonous proboscis, for example). Throughout, Barnett delivers the goods with erudition and evocative prose: Scallops, she observes, are “jet-propelled, zigzagging, shell-clapping, free spirits... the eye rows glow battery-charge blue, like tiny flying saucers have landed in the seagrass.” The result is an entertaining, colorful tour of a surprisingly dynamic part of nature. Agent: Elise Capron, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (July)
Ron Charles
"For anyone who's ever admired the ocean's most beautiful objects, this is a literal 'beach read' to treasure."
Lauren Groff
"The Sound of the Sea is as exquisite, many-chambered, and luminous as the shells Cynthia Barnett describes in her wild and hybrid book. It is a travelogue, a finely argued indictment of colonization and capitalism, a reanimation of scientists lost to the official narrative, and, most ringingly, the story of the way shells and the soft and vulnerable animals within them reflect back both the greatness of human ingenuity and the equally immense and rippling effect of human harm to the natural world. This song of mingled praise and warning left me shell-shocked, wonder-struck, utterly delighted."
Andrew Robinson
"[An] arresting meditation on shells and ocean history."
Jason Mark
"Magnificent…[Barnett] starts with wonder, imbues that with knowledge, and then alchemizes it all into awe, leaving the reader struck with a blow of revelation…If you're looking for a late-summer beach read, you couldn't possibly do any better than The Sound of the Sea."
Sy Montgomery
"The Sound of the Sea is one of those rare, knockout books that has you gasping in surprise on every page. From the prehistoric to the present, seashells have suffused human life, from giving voice to ancient gods to spurring climate solutions today. Thank you, Cynthia Barnett, for honoring the gifts the mollusks have left us, and—like the conch shells that once called the faithful to worship—for giving them the voice to speak for the imperiled ocean."
David George Haskell
"Full of fascinating and important stories, vividly evoked. I was captivated by both the wonders of molluscan life and by the many unexpected ways that shells live at the center of human cultures. A must-read for anyone interested in the riches of the living Earth."
John Williams
"Will have you marveling at nature…Barnett’s account remarkably spirals out, appropriately, to become a much larger story about the sea, about global history and about environmental crises and preservation."
Katharine Norbury
"The Sound of the Sea is a glorious history of shells and of those who have loved shells. It is a history of fascination and of shame. It stretches our capacity to absorb new knowledge. It is as complex, multichambered and beautiful as its subject, and if Barnett can awaken our sense of wonder, then perhaps there is hope for jump-starting our collective sense of responsibility toward the oceans and one another."
Tom Eichhorst
"A superbly researched and thoroughly documented book, covering a complex subject from many different aspects…[I]t reads like a fascinating adventure story…[B]oth enjoyable and informative."
Colette Bancroft
"Enthralling…[A] fascinating history of the shellmakers and of the multitude of ways they have interacted with and shaped human beings."
Mary Elizabeth Williams
"This is not a scolding book; it's an awestruck travelogue and appreciation of something beautiful…With each page, Barnett's meticulous insights soon had me marveling with new appreciation."
Laurence A. Marschall
"A lustrous meditation…Barnett’s richly detailed narrative is a celebration of how much we have valued mollusks in the past, how fascinating they are in the present, and how vital it is to insure their survival into the future."
Douglas Brinkley
"In the deeply researched tradition of Rachel Carson’s sea trilogy, Cynthia Barnett enchantingly weaves poetic musings with deep-seated conservation wisdom and ocean science. An instant classic of nature history—a science-driven work of literature full of seaside grandeur."
Jack E. Davis
"Writing with clarity and heart, turning science into prose and history into useful knowledge, Cynthia Barnett has given us a book for the ages. The Sound of the Sea is timely and mind-opening, echoing voices from the wondrous world of shell-harbored creatures of the sea. She urges us to give them our ear in ways we never have before, for in this transitional age, their truth is our fate, their wisdom our answer, and their future our hope."
Jonathon Keats
"Fascinating…[The Sound of the Sea] explores topics ranging from colonialism to ocean acidification in connection to seashells."
Library Journal
★ 08/01/2021
Environmental journalist and science writer Barnett (author of the National Book Award-longlisted Rain) explores what seashells can tell us about the animals who inhabit them, the ecosystems they grow in, and the people who use them. The book details an astounding variety of marine mollusks, like the lettered olive, wentletrap, and lightning whelk (three species of sea snail). Particularly engaging chapters offer insight on how shells from far abroad have been found in Neanderthal sites, in the ruins of Pompeii and Cahokia, and in Mayan graves. Barnett explains how humans around the world have for centuries consumed, decorated, collected, and traded seashells and have valued shells as art, money, weapons, and building materials. She also discusses how shells have been appraised by museums and studied by scientists. Barnett also explores how seashells can demonstrate the dangers of pollution, coastal dredging, and rising ocean temperatures and acidity, even as they reveal adaptations to these new conditions. The book is enhanced by occasional black-and-white historical illustrations of shells. VERDICT Barnett's in-depth and lively narrative about seashells crosses disciplines, from architecture to neuroscience to alternative energy. A delightful, informative, and momentous read for both enthusiasts and readers who've never picked up a shell.—Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib.
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-05-03
An exploration of the history and biology of mollusks.
As environmental journalist Barnett notes, humans have long been captivated by seashells (“the work of marine mollusks”), collecting and using them for art, jewelry, and currency. In this well-researched, consistently illuminating work, the author smoothly combines environmental science and cultural history to trace the origins and decline of mollusks. The book is divided into chapters based on a particular species—among others, the chambered nautilus, the lightning whelk, the money cowrie, the lettered olive, and the queen conch. In each chapter, Barnett discusses the biology of the species, including the formation of its shell, as well as related culture and history. She also explores the factors that have led to the declines of all of these species, including climate change and overfishing. Barnett discusses observations and writings of other naturalists and scientists that she has found significant. Among them are Leonardo da Vinci, who wrote about visible fossils in the hillsides of Italy, testifying to changes the Earth has experienced across millennia; Julia Ellen Rogers, who authored The Shell Book (1908), which “brought the world of seashells to Americans during the national zeal for nature as a hobby”; and Thomas Say, the "father of American Conchology.” Barnett explores the many ways that Native Americans used shells in their daily lives—as tools, in trade, and for ceremonial purposes—as well as the various historically significant shell mounds that have been discovered throughout the U.S. The author also takes us around the world: to the Maldives, where ancient folktales of queens and a “cowrie monopoly” are vanishing; the Lowcountry coast of the Carolinas and Georgia, home of Gullah Geechee tradition; Andros Island in the Bahamas, where Barnett investigated the effects of the annual Conch Fest; and Florida’s Sanibel Island, where “every tide brings a treasure hunt.” Fans of Rebecca Giggs’ excellent Fathoms will find much to savor here as well.
An absolutely captivating nature book.
