The Edge of the Sea

by Carson, Rachel

Social impact of environmental issues

Published 03/06/2021 by Canongate Books (Canongate Canons) in the United Kingdom as part of the Canons series.

Paperback | 336 pages, Integrated black and white illustrations throughout

In The Edge of the Sea Rachel Carson introduces us to the 'strange and beautiful place' where the sea meets the land. She explores a tide pool, an inaccessible cave, and watches a lone crab on the shore at midnight. From these, and other, encounters she offers us not just a scientifically accurate study of the ecology of the seashore, but also a hauntingly beautiful account of the fragile balance of life found at the edge of the sea.

The Edge of the Sea, like all her writing, sounds a prophetic alarm for the damage mankind is doing to the natural world, but also offers us inspiration: here is beauty, here is something worth saving.