Exploring the History and Ecology of the Gulf of Mexico: A Look Into the Making of an American Sea

Katie LeBlanc: This was a gift and the subject was absolutely perfect. The stories are priceless especially when they remind me of the familiar places I have visited and lived near. Well written. It was very difficult to put down.

United States on Nov 02, 2023

Nick Crisanti: A Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the Gulf of Mexico or, as the author stylizes it, the American Sea. The first half of the book relates the history of the gulf and its flora and fauna. From its European discovery, the search for the mouth of the Mississippi, the aboriginal inhabitants and their way of life, to the numerous species of fish and birds, and the beautiful coasts, islands and estuaries, Jack E. Davis provides a scintillating story of this unique treasure. The second half is about the environmental impact of American industry. Oil spills, industrial polluters, shoreline development, along with dredging, artificial beaches, canals, fertilizer run-off, etc., etc. The list goes on and on, and it doesn't look to get any better. While well written, the latter half was a chore to get through. The disturbing nature of the rampant trashing of the waters and shore surely cast a melancholy on my reading, and it just didn't captivate the way the book did at the beginning. Not to say it's unimportant, as it undoubtedly is; I'm pro-nature over pro-profit as much as the next lover of the great outdoors, but I prefer an engaging narrative, too. Half of the book delivered, the...

United States on Sep 19, 2022

Jon L Albee: America's "Third Coast" finally gets a dedicated history, beautifully synthesized through the lens of its humanity, and also its flora and fauna.

The wonderful intermingling of environmental history with human endeavor in the Gulf region brings to mind the lyricism of Bruce Chatwin with the analytical power of Jared Diamond and Morris Berman (particularly Wondering God). Those writers considered, this book is far softer in tone but no less potent in intention. As people, and specifically as people in the Gulf region, our history AND our fate are inextricably tied to the environment. It's a history of exploitation, true, but it's also a history of love, leisure and community defined by the land and, particularly, the water.

Davis' writing is just beautiful, and at times you'll be surprised you're reading a deeply research and analytical history. You'll want to cheer and cry, sometimes at the same time. Pitiful stuff? Try it. You'll see exactly what I mean.

United States on Nov 08, 2021

Jason Adams: I enjoyed “The Gulf,” but I find it tonally inconsistent. I found the first third an interesting narrative of native peoples and their colonizers. From the beginning, Jack Davis wants to make sure readers understand that European perspectives and techniques were an ill fit for the complex biome that existed on the shores of the Gulf. As Americans replace Conquistadors as exploiters of the natural resources in the Gulf, the book cites statistics and anecdotes to describe the environmental damage occurring throughout the region, and the largely doomed efforts to try and conserve unique cultures, habitats, and species. It is copiously documented and well written. It is plain that unbridled exploitation has started to undo the fragile interconnection between men and nature.

My primary quibble is that Davis never answers the question implicit in his title: what is an American sea, and how was the Gulf of Mexico made into one? The latter third of the book is nearly apocalyptic in terms of the impact of greed and carelessness on Gulf fisheries and landmass. Is Davis saying these characteristics are American? Is the Gulf American because it is a key to the American economy (A...

United States on Dec 02, 2019

ReadABunch: Not "preachy" at all, yet forceful in its presentation on human-initiated damage in the Gulf. Great writer, very descriptive, but not overly wordy. Does get a bit repetitive yet personal touches break up any encroaching boredom. I have recommended this to others. Glad I read it!

Canada on Aug 21, 2018

Navi: This is an immersive, readable account of the history of the Gulf of Mexico. Jack E. Davis does an incredible job bringing the Gulf to life in this ambitious undertaking of a book. The reader is taken on a journey from the early days of the Pleistocene era to the present. Davis uses geological, ecological, social, environmental, colonial, economical and biological frameworks to provide a detailed analysis of what the Gulf of Mexico means to the United States.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys epic, sweeping non fiction narratives with environmental undertones.

Canada on Aug 03, 2018

Robert McCartney: Both a historical overview and an ecological polemic this book has opened up to me a world about which I knew very little. From the more familiar stories of conquistadores, civil war forts, hurricanes and oil spills to much lesser known artists, fishermen and environment campaigners, my eyes have been opened to the bays, islands and backwaters that crowd the Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi to Key West. This world teams with schools of unfamiliar fish and luxuriant coastal vegetation. It is also a world threatened by overexploitation. A great book and an important one. Braudel would have loved this.

United Kingdom on Jul 27, 2018

Deborah Pickens: A perfect fit in the current trend for popular history, but one that also incorporates a well-researched, easily understood and, as popular history should be, entertaining account of the economic aspects of The American Sea – both environmental economics and human. Born and raised near the Gulf of Mexico, it was my summertime playground in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I saw plenty of changes in that time, but didn't really think about them, or put what I observed into the larger context that "The Gulf" provides. Now I know why so much of what has happened needs to be repaired as best we can, and as quickly and permanently as possible. My first Jack Davis book, but it won't be my last.

United Kingdom on Mar 19, 2018

Kem White: "The Gulf" is a lengthy work on one of the world's great natural resources. Davis covers all aspects of this American sea: cultural history, natural history, ecology, and destruction. The history is first rate as he discusses the Gulf's exploration by Europeans and their interactions with the indigenous populations. The natural history is wonderful, too, as Davis describes the birds, fish, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals that inhabit the Gulf's varied ecological zones. He concludes the book with a lengthy description of how mankind has abused the Gulf, its estuaries, and the rivers that feed it. This last section is not for the fainthearted environmentalist as case study after case study is presented describing over-fishing, pollution by the petrochemical industries, and deluges of poisonous run-off from agribusiness and suburbia. The Gulf as it exists today is probably moribund. I can't see how this body of water can sustain such disregard forever. Nor does the author, evidently, as his concluding chapter ends pessimistically. Given that a majority of the natives of the Gulf states abhor environmentalists and government - and greatly support the current...

United States on Aug 22, 2017