Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean Hardcover – January 31, 2017

When a non-fiction author is telling you what he ate for multiple meals, you know you have come across a book that was grossly inadequately edited. Unfortunately, most of this book is boring irrelevant details and long-winded barely relevant ancient myths about tides.I heard the author interviewed on NPR on Rick Steve's Travels, and the material summarized there was fascinating and scientific. Unfortunately, Rick Steves did not mention the fact that that interesting stuff is less than 1% of the book.In short, this book could have been edited by 30% to excellent effect. The author is not a bad writer, he is simply too long-winded and too convinced that the unedited daily trivia of his own life and his own thoughts are interesting to others. They are not, at least not at this absurdly endless length. Get a rigorous editor.

This book is a treasure that can’t quite be categorized. In plain language and clear drawings, it teaches quite a lot about the tides, how they work, and why they are so much stronger and weaker at different times and at different places. Yet the book is so much more: a travel memoir of adventures to faraway places (the coast of Normandy, a river in China, an Inuit village near the Arctic Circle, to name a few) and cultural history that deepens our understanding of the scientific discoveries and, for this non-scientist reader, makes the science accessible and a pleasure to learn. And finally, the book opens into questions of energy consumption and climate change, leaving the reader pondering our human capacity to solve problems, perhaps in part through the energy of the tides.Jonathan White has clearly gone where few of us would dare: over a river wall to await the arrival of a 25-foot wave, where he will have 10 seconds’ notice to make a climb back out that requires 7 seconds; under a thick ceiling of ice in the Arctic to gather mussels with an Inuit hunter at low tide; venturing along on a small skiff into churning waters in the Pacific Northwest. The tales he tells are gripping, wonderful to read aloud to family members. Yet the voice in which he writes is not so much that of a bold adventurer but of a humble and curious seeker. His reverence for the natural world and his wonder at the role of the tides within it will vibrate with the reader after the last paragraph has been read.

Tides is a fun collection of anecdotes that makes for an enjoyable read. Some asides (such as seeing St Mark's from the Lido, and speculation as to why Monday starts the week) are superfluous and sadly incorrect, but the preponderance of the anecdotes are enjoyable and informative. Tides is at its best when White sticks to his accounts and their immediate ramifications. With some more careful editing and fact-checking, this could have easily been a four, or even five, star review.

Absolutely incredible Book! First quarter was a little like reading a text book. The balance was like reading a action novel. I have been on the water (Long Island, New England, Bahamas, Leeward and Windward Islands) sailing for fifty plus years. Was only aware of different tidal ranges in those various areas. Sailing makes you aware of tidal currents; go with the flow and go a little faster, go against the flow and go very slow. This book tells the story of what has to be one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, force in nature; gravity. Mind boggling!

This is a surprising read. For a non-science person, like myself, I learned new things. But it is a slow read and some of the graphics seemed redundant. However, it teaches conceptually important things...things you would teach to your own children.

Well researched science in this deep dive on tide. Not many researchers or authors go the the Royal Society in London to read Sir Isaac Newton's Principia. But this story is presented in the first person with many wonderful human touches. White clearly brings us face to face with the power of mother nature in the story plovers fattening up on mud shrimp exposed by October low tides in the Bay of Fundy to be strong enough for a 2300 mile transoceanic non-stop flight to Suriname. A great read with many things to learn along the way.

I love this book! It's a wonderful combo of science, poetry, life experience and spiritualism wrapped up in pages in the form of a rectangle / book. I ocean kayak alot in the summer in Maine, and this book will be my go-to when I have a question about the tides AND the moon. I heard the author interviewed in Aug 2017, and bought the book, you will love it!

TIDES is a wonderfully-engaging, entertaining, and informative book. I had been under the impression that I understood the basic nature and cause of oceanic tides, but White’s book provides a whole new level of understanding, appreciation of and deference for the role of the dynamic waters of the ocean. White describes how the movement of the planet’s oceans are extraordinarily complex, inexorable, almost mystifying and idiosyncratic to the local geography and topography. The reader of TIDES not only comes away with a rich understanding and…especially…a deep respect for the power of oceanic tides, but given White’s many engaging stories about his personal adventures while exploring the extremes of tides’ unbelievable antics around the globe, comes away with a sense that either (s)he’s been there, or…in my case…wants to go there to share in the discovery of the majesty and power of tides.

This book consists of carefully crafted, easy to relax with chapters chronicling the author's explorations (and mishaps) in getting to grips with the enigmatic subject of tides. I came to it via his trip to Eling Tide Mill, beautifully recounted, and stayed with it throughout his other enjoyable episodes as I could imagine many other readers who have an affiliation to and fascination with the interrelated movement of oceans, moon and tides.He writes just as though he is alongside the armchair, personally telling the story, and I like that. The photographs would be improved with semi gloss paper but acknowledgement to environmental printing standards is well founded and accepted. The whole transports me on the ebb tide..

Fascinating and truly captivating.....I never knew I wanted to know so much about the Sea....

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, which looks at the phenomenon of tides in all their manifestations around the world, from the famous rises in the bay of Fundy, to title bores where they come in like a roaring torrent. There’s also a lot of attention devoted to waves, giant rogue waves, and big waves sought after by elite surfers. This will also greatly appeal to people who enjoy surfing.If you are at all interested in the ocean, you’ll find this book interesting. But the author has managed to transcend what could be a bit of a dry topic, and produced a lovely travelogue, and in his narratives and descriptions, perhaps even a work of art. I found in it an interesting, entertaining and soothing escape in these more stressful times.

Perfekt für Ozean Interessierte die Ebbe und Flut besser verstehen wollen. Man muss perfekt Englisch lesen können, dann ist es spannend vom Anfang an. Man lernt sehr viel über das Meer und ihre Bewegungen, man bewegt sich herum sehr interessante Orten herum die Welt mit merkwürdige Geschehen, Kanada. USA, China, Frankreich und mehr. Ein wertvolles Buch.

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