Ebb and Flow: Tides and Life on Our Once and Future Planet

By Tom Koppel

Ebb and Flow was named one of 2007's "best science books" by Peter Calamai, science editor of the Toronto Star Dec. 30, 2007]. He calls it a "wonderful resource book.... Tom Koppel seems to have visited or read about every place with unusual tides and water currents, yet he wears this scholarship lightly."

Tides have shaped our world. They have carved out shorelines, transformed early life on Earth, and altered the course of human civilization. Tides frustrated Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, and aided General MacArthur. They govern the way our planet moves, provide us with an alternative source of energy, and may be aggravating global climate change.

Drawing on science, history, and personal memories, Koppel's fascinating book engages and enlightens, demonstrating that a subject we take for granted affects all our lives. He weaves together three grand narratives, exploring how tides impact coasts and marine life, how they have altered human history and development, and how science has striven to understand the surprisingly complex way in which tides actually work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550027263
• ISBN13: 9781550027266
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book Tom!

Hello, (hmmm I wrote a review on this book several months ago and it disappeared ... - mm) Anyways, I think this is an outstanding book, packed with interesting marine lore, anecdotes and loaded with facts. For 12 years I have worked for Blue Energy Canada, a company advancing renewable tidal (current) energy; Tom completed a short profile of our company in this book after a brief interview, and I thoroughly commend his overall efforts here. The book will be valued by sea-faring and couch-surfing mariners, engineers, earth scientists and anyone interested in marine matters. cheers, Michael Maser (Blue Energy Canada)