The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World

by Cousteau, Jacques; Schiefelbein, Susan; McKibben, Bill

• ISBN13: 9781596914179
• ISBN10: 1596914173
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-10-30
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Part adventure story, part manifesto, the legendary ocean explorer'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 this magnificent last book, finally 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. Cousteau's lyrical, passionate call for action to protect our earth and seas and their myriad life forms is even more relevant today than when this book was completed in 1996. 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. Jacques Cousteau(1910-1997) was world renowned as an ocean explorer, filmmaker, educator, and environmental activist. He won three Oscars and the Palme d'Or for his films,was nominated for forty Emmys during the run of his TV seriesThe Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, and wrote or coauthored more than seventy-five books, includingThe Silent World, which has sold five million copies in twenty two languages. As director of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco and a member of the advisory committee of the IAEA, he was active in the conservation and anti-nuclear-proliferation movements. Susan Schiefelbeinhas won the National Magazine Award and the Front Page Award for her cover stories on social issues. A former editor at theSaturday Review, where she first worked with Cousteau, she went on to write the narration for many of his documentary films, including winners of the Peabody and the Ace. She lives in Paris. 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 what would be his final book, Cousteau describes his deeply informed philosophy about protecting our world for future generations. Weaving stories of his adventures throughout, he and co-author 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. Cousteau's call to action to protect our earth and seas and their myriad life forms is even more relevant today than when this book was completed in 1996. 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 timely, remarkable t

Author Biography

Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997) was world renowned as an ocean explorer, filmmaker, educator, and environmental activist. He won three Oscars and the Palme d’Or for his films, was nominated for forty Emmys during the run of his TV series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, and wrote or coauthored more than seventy five books, including The Silent World, which has sold five million copies in twenty two languages. As director of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco and a member of the advisory committee of the IAEA, he was active in the conservation and anti-nuclear-proliferation movements. 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 Cousteau, she went on to write the narration for many of his documentary films, including winners of the Peabody and the Ace. She lives in Paris.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Drive to Explore	p. 27
Personal Risk	p. 45
Public Risk	p. 80
Irreplaceable Water, Irreplaceable Air	p. 106
The Holy Scriptures and the Environment	p. 116
Saccage	p. 130
Catch as Catch Can	p. 146
Science and Human Values	p. 178
The Hot Peace: Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Energy	p. 205
Life in a Billion Years	p. 263
The Miracle of Life: The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus	p. 276
Epilogue: An Update Since the Writing of This Book	p. 293
Selected Bibliography	p. 303
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