The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopu..., Susan Schiefelbein
The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopu..., Susan Schiefelbein
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The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus
Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World

Author: Susan Schiefelbein, Jacques Cousteau

Narrator: Stephen Hoye

Unabridged: 12 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/28/2008

Categories: Nonfiction, Nature, Ecology


Synopsis

Part adventure story, part manifesto, this is legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau's passionate plea for sustaining life on earth.

Explorer, diving pioneer, filmmaker, inventor, and activist, Jacques Cousteau was blessed from his childhood with boundless curiosity about the natural world. As the leader of fascinating, often dangerous expeditions all over the planet, he discovered firsthand the complexity and beauty of life on earth and undersea—and watched the toll taken by human activity in the twentieth century.

In his magnificent last book, available for the first time in the United States, Cousteau describes his deeply informed philosophy about protecting our world for future generations. Weaving gripping stories of his adventures throughout, he and coauthor Susan Schiefelbein address the risks we take with human health, the overfishing and sacking of the world's oceans, the hazards of nuclear proliferation, and the environmental responsibility of scientists, politicians, and people of faith. Written over the last ten years of his life with frequent collaborator Schiefelbein, who also introduces the text and provides an update on environmental developments in the decade since Cousteau's death, this prescient, clear-sighted book is a remarkable testament to the life and work of one of our greatest modern adventurers.

About Susan Schiefelbein

Susan Schiefelbein has won the National Magazine Award and the Front Page Award for her cover stories on social issues. A former editor at the Saturday Review, where she first worked with famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, she went on to write the narration for many of his documentary films, including winners of the Peabody and the Ace Awards. She lives in Paris.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Federico on October 26, 2024

"Hey Jacques!" Last book, posthumous, of the great Cousteau, legendary marine explorer, ecologist, scientist and activist for the protection of the oceans and all its living creatures. This book contains a description of his life, the adventures of its famed ship Calypso, and a detailed explanation......more

Goodreads review by David on May 18, 2013

The book start out promisingly, like a memoir, with tales from Cousteau's fascinating life. Most of the tales are about his close brushes with death. Then the book changes course, and goes into the predations of humans on our environment. Very preachy. No positive approaches to saving the environmen......more

Goodreads review by Elena on September 16, 2021

Beautiful book but extremely hard to read. It was written more than 20 years ago but even then Jacques Yves had witnessed climate change. Sure, when we daily commit to our 9-5 work by train, there's a chance we won't notice global warming or species extinction. But this book is one of these painful......more

Goodreads review by Kenneth on September 10, 2018

Instead of "Diver Down" this is Diver Up! This was a marvelous audio book to listen to at summers end. Not just a visit to my past, recalling sitting on the living room floor watching the wonderful TV documentaries that used to run in prime time on network TV in America! (Imagine that today!), the m......more

Goodreads review by Brian on August 29, 2020

This book, compiled by Cousteau shortly before his death in 1997, can serve as his last testimony to the world. We have the old man's tales of his early adventures and the marvels he found in the seas. But we also hear his mounting fury against the devastation of our planet. With coldly objective, p......more