The Living Dock

By Jack Rudloe

Book Overview

Sometimes, a dock isn't just a dock. It's a habitat, a living thing. In the tiny fishing community of Panacea, Florida, the author's floating dock nurtures an abundance of marine life. Crabs, worms, mollusks and algae make their home there, attracting and feeding fish and other creatures higher up the food chain. These also feed the author's business, Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, which supplies specimens to research and teaching institutions: marine fauna from his dock, from nearby mud flats and beaches, and netted offshore from his little shrimp boat, "Penaeus." This entertaining and educational book looks at the life histories of some of these creatures, and recounts Rudloe's experiences in collecting them, in the process examining man's relationship with the natural world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0820012068
• ISBN13: 9780820012063
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Great Outdoors Publishing Company
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Brings the wonders of the Gulf Coast alive

This has been one of my favorite books since its re-publication. Not only is Jack a fabulous story teller, but the illustrations drawn from the works of Walter Inglis Anderson resonate with the texts and vividly bring to life those familiar creatures found in the intertidal zone of the Gulf of Mexico. This book itself seems alive when you read it. And I know of very few authors who can make one appreciate more the tremendous need for all us us to learn about and become respectful of the web of life around us. This book belongs on the shelves of all armchair marine biologists and explorers of the seas.