An instant classic of nature history-a science-driven work of literature full of seaside grandeur.' - Douglas Brinkley, best-selling author of The Wilderness Warrior '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. A must-read for anyone interested in the riches of the living Earth.' - David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen 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. 'Full of fascinating and important stories, vividly evoked. She lives with her family in Gainesville, Florida, where she is also Environmental Journalist in Residence at the University of Florida. Wilson Award for Literary Science Writing.

She begins with their childhood wonder, unwinds surprising histories like the origin of Shell Oil as a family business importing exotic shells, and charts what shells and the soft animals that build them are telling scientists about our warming, acidifying seas.įrom the eerie calls of early shell trumpets to the evolutionary miracle of spines and spires and the modern science of carbon capture inspired by shell, Barnett circles to her central point of listening to nature’s wisdom-and acting on what seashells have to say about taking care of each other and our world.Ībout the Author: Cynthia Barnett is the author of three previous books, including Rain (longlisted for the National Book Award) and a finalist for the PEN/E. Spiraling out from the great cities of shell that once rose in North America to the warming waters of the Maldives and the slave castles of Ghana, Barnett has created an unforgettable account of the world’s most iconic seashells.

In The Sound of the Sea, acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives of the mollusks that make them. They were money before coins, jewelry before gems, art before canvas.

Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature’s creations since the dawn of humanity. A compelling history of seashells and the animals that make them, revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans, and ourselves.

The sound of the sea by cynthia barnett