John Steinbeck's Log from the Sea of Cortez: A First-Hand Account of a Scientific Expedition

John d: Book is excellent. Glad I discovered it. But this edition is a poor one. Buy one if the others.

United States on Aug 10, 2023

Joseph Ferrare: Loved the little diamonds of philosophy and life knowledge. The descriptions were good, but I let the actual science roll right by me.

United States on Jun 20, 2023

Harald Riedl: Steinbecks unverkennbarer Stil, sein Humor und seine Menschlichkeit begegnen uns auch in diesem Buch, das daran erinnert, dass der Autor nicht nur ein Schriftsteller von hohgem Rang war, sondern ursprünglich eine Karriere als Meeresbiologe begonnen hatte. Sehr lesenswert!

Germany on Sep 13, 2020

Schuyler T Wallace: I possess what I thought was a complete collection of John Steinbeck’s works but “The Log from the Sea of Cortez” is not included. In fact I knew nothing about it. When I saw it advertised, I had to read it. I have it now and I can say it might be my favorite Steinbeck effort. Yes, the usual Steinbeck meanderings are still there and somewhat distracting, but I found them to be more lucid here, as if he intentionally intended to wander but was willing to explain their presence with no apology. They were very interesting and I gobbled them up like the hungry tuna he explored on his journey. Why were they not distracting? Because this was an expedition with lots of time to search out and ruminate on other subjects, which he did.

Take teleology, for instance; the study of the presence of things and why they exist in the world. He devotes an entire chapter and makes numerous other references in his book to explain why things are what they are. The simple answer? Because they are. Simple as that. Of course he goes into great detail to reach that conclusion. As you read about it, you’ll find yourself nodding your head in agreement to what seems a senseless answer. You’ll...

United States on Mar 08, 2020

MR CHRISTOPHER R PATTISON: One of the most insightful non fiction books that makes sense of his novels such as Cannery Row and The Pearl

Canada on Aug 09, 2019

willie mac: very different from steinbecks other novels but interesting

United Kingdom on Sep 30, 2017

Thomas Miller: Great book, great story, pretty deep at times but the glossary was very helpful, as it should be.
Delivered as advertised and that's always good.

Canada on Aug 03, 2017

Stephen Soule: Steinbeck shows a side of himself that I never imagined. He writes more about the human side of the expedition, while his friend and co-author Ed Ricketts provides huge insights into the biological research they were doing. Bad luck the book came out Dec 7, 1941. Like Steinbeck? Read.

Canada on Oct 18, 2016

C.J. PICKETT: The following is a letter I received from a friend, away on a research cruise.
Before her expedition embarked, I gave to her my treasured copy of this book,
and this is what she had to say:

"Day 14 at Sea.

"After spending a good week of troubleshooting, rebuilding arrays,
breaking them, re-fixing them, dealing with conflicting egos
(including my own), switching wires, and dealing with the
unfamiliarity of sea-sickness (due in two parts to my cold and the
magnificent roll of this ship), I have finally finished Sea of Cortez.
While it's fresh in my mind, I thought I'd jot down my thoughts to
send your way. This is going to be more of a letter than a note, as
the mood has struck me. Sans cigarette, however. I do not favor the
idea of clinging to my laptop on deck, protecting it from the
elements.

"Also, holy crap, has it really only been two weeks?

"SUCH a romantic story, from start to appendix. This idea that even
post Depression Era people could scrap together enough savings to
afford such a lavish, albeit business, adventure. I think of the
modern day scramble to get grants, itemized so precisely, spent...

United States on Aug 20, 2014