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Between Pacific Tides
One of the classic works of marine biology, a favorite for generations, has now been completely revised and expanded. Between Pacific Tides is a book for all who find the shore a place of excitement, wonder, and beauty, and an unsurpassed introductory text for both students and professionals.
This book describes the habits and habitats of the animals that live in one of the most prolific life zones of the world--the rocky shores and tide pools of the Pacific Coast of the United States. The intricate and fascinating life processes of these creatures are described with affectionate care. The animals are grouped according to their most characteristic habitat, whether rocky shore, sandy beach, mud flat, or wharf piling, and the authors discuss their life history, physiology, and community relations, and the influence of wave shock and shifting tide level.
Though the basic purpose and structure--and much of the text--of the book remain the same, content has been increased by about 20 percent; a multitude of changes and additios has been made in the text; the Annotated Systematic Index and General Bibliography have been updated and greatly expanded (now almost 2,300 entries); more than 200 new photographs and drawings have been incorporated; and an entirely new chapter has been added--a topical presentation of the several factors influencing distribution of organisms along the shore. This edition also includes John Steinbeck's Foreword to the 1948 edition.
This book describes the habits and habitats of the animals that live in one of the most prolific life zones of the world--the rocky shores and tide pools of the Pacific Coast of the United States. The intricate and fascinating life processes of these creatures are described with affectionate care. The animals are grouped according to their most characteristic habitat, whether rocky shore, sandy beach, mud flat, or wharf piling, and the authors discuss their life history, physiology, and community relations, and the influence of wave shock and shifting tide level.
Though the basic purpose and structure--and much of the text--of the book remain the same, content has been increased by about 20 percent; a multitude of changes and additios has been made in the text; the Annotated Systematic Index and General Bibliography have been updated and greatly expanded (now almost 2,300 entries); more than 200 new photographs and drawings have been incorporated; and an entirely new chapter has been added--a topical presentation of the several factors influencing distribution of organisms along the shore. This edition also includes John Steinbeck's Foreword to the 1948 edition.
652 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1968
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372 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 16, 2009
You know how finishing a great novel leaves a gaping void in your life? Well, having just finished Between Pacific Tides, a nigh-encyclopedic account of the intertidal invertebrates found on the California coast, I feel just the opposite. This book is not a story that ends, but an introduction to a world of endless fascination, suffusing the reader (well, this reader) with the wonder and curiosity of its authors, particularly of the legendary Ed Ricketts, original and primary author of the book, and the basis of the much beloved character Doc in 's .
Reading it cover-to-cover is akin to reading a dictionary, but it isn’t necessary to do so. It’s just as fun to dip in and out, skip forward and back, revel in the depth and detail or simply appreciate the magnificent breadth of variety to be found, a reading experience not unlike tidepooling itself! It’s certainly not a field guide meant for quick identification, but a work to be consulted at home, or in the car, before and after an excursion.
It is also, on occasion, hilarious, especially on matters culinary. On the subject of brazenly colored but seemingly helpess sea slugs, the authors write,
You also must appreciate the unbelievably cryptic nomenclature on display in a book by well-meaning experts who, in their excitement, occasionally forget their lay audience:
And the linguistic erudition on display isn't strictly biological: the word ("like a tuft of wool") was new to me, as was the phrase (p. 423), apparently employed in Hamlet and roughly meaning "blown up by your own bomb."
Finally, reading the prefaces by Ricketts himself, his friend John Steinbeck, Calvin, Hedgpeth, and Phillips, one feels that while much of the book's humanity is pure Ricketts, it is the living, breathing product of generations of Pacific Coast naturalists, a store of knowledge whose factual details may shift with our understanding of the subject matter, but whose attitude and enthusiasm will remain undiminished as long as there are readers who respond in kind. The book is history, biography, science, and art. I'd recommend it for anyone who loves the world, and those willing (perhaps even eager!) to learn what a rhizocephalan cirripede might be.
Reading it cover-to-cover is akin to reading a dictionary, but it isn’t necessary to do so. It’s just as fun to dip in and out, skip forward and back, revel in the depth and detail or simply appreciate the magnificent breadth of variety to be found, a reading experience not unlike tidepooling itself! It’s certainly not a field guide meant for quick identification, but a work to be consulted at home, or in the car, before and after an excursion.
It is also, on occasion, hilarious, especially on matters culinary. On the subject of brazenly colored but seemingly helpess sea slugs, the authors write,
It might be supposed that so tender-looking a morsel, apparently defenseless, would not last long among the voracious tide-pool animals, but for some reason as yet unknown the nudibranchs are avoided. Obviously this challenge to all enterprising human tasters could not go unanswered indefinitely. Professor Herdman took up the gauntlet by eating a vividly colored nudibranch alive. He reported that it had a pleasant oysterlike flavor, so the question remains open. (p. 65)
You also must appreciate the unbelievably cryptic nomenclature on display in a book by well-meaning experts who, in their excitement, occasionally forget their lay audience:
S. gibbsii is interesting in that it plays host to several other animals: a commensal pea crab, a parasitic and degenerate rhizocephalan cirripede, and a vermiform copepod, Scolecodes huntsmani, which more nearly resembles a degenerate isopod. (p. 289)
And the linguistic erudition on display isn't strictly biological: the word ("like a tuft of wool") was new to me, as was the phrase (p. 423), apparently employed in Hamlet and roughly meaning "blown up by your own bomb."
Finally, reading the prefaces by Ricketts himself, his friend John Steinbeck, Calvin, Hedgpeth, and Phillips, one feels that while much of the book's humanity is pure Ricketts, it is the living, breathing product of generations of Pacific Coast naturalists, a store of knowledge whose factual details may shift with our understanding of the subject matter, but whose attitude and enthusiasm will remain undiminished as long as there are readers who respond in kind. The book is history, biography, science, and art. I'd recommend it for anyone who loves the world, and those willing (perhaps even eager!) to learn what a rhizocephalan cirripede might be.
November 10, 2012
This is the book that started my life. Given to me by a white haired college professor when i was 14 years old. It led me to understand and enjoy relationships. It fascinated me because to go any further would have been to run out of air. This is the story of the the edge of the sea, the last place where we can use our human abilities before we must turn into something else.
Want to read
December 2, 2008to be read concurrently with "Log from the Sea of Cortez" and "Cannery Row," ideally on a vacation to Baja
Read
June 6, 2024i love it when a guy is cute AND smart
January 21, 2023
A marine-biology classic, and I should think about buying one . . . Except my neighborhood library has a copy, and it's always on the shelf when I need it. And I don't have room for another thick book! Plus: retiree, fixed and shrinking income, between Biden and California's dumb and misguided
inflationary "stimuli" . . .
Back to the book: there are comments here wondering if the revised, updated version still has Ricketts' stuff. I think so, and I think the updaters were respecting the heritage of this classic book. But I'm certainly no marine biologist!
California state govt! Don't get me started! Sacramento sent us a bonus "Middle Class Income" refund for a few hundred dollars late last year. Except, instead of just sending a *check*, they sent a prepaid debit card. OK, but now thieves have figured out how to hack the cards, and the State just advised people to spend their money fast, before it's stolen. You can't make stuff like this up!
inflationary "stimuli" . . .
Back to the book: there are comments here wondering if the revised, updated version still has Ricketts' stuff. I think so, and I think the updaters were respecting the heritage of this classic book. But I'm certainly no marine biologist!
California state govt! Don't get me started! Sacramento sent us a bonus "Middle Class Income" refund for a few hundred dollars late last year. Except, instead of just sending a *check*, they sent a prepaid debit card. OK, but now thieves have figured out how to hack the cards, and the State just advised people to spend their money fast, before it's stolen. You can't make stuff like this up!
July 22, 2012
I can't speak for the newest edition because all of Ricketts may have been whitewashed out of it by this point, but the book in previous iterations has been one of the necessaries for my household's understanding of California tidepools and marine ecology. It's also fun to read: a real masterwork, an original contribution.
October 5, 2008
Ricketts was the prototype for the character "Doc" in Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, and you can feel a lot of the fellow in his writing. Clearly this was a scientist who meant business, and pursued his work passionately. Very readable, very usable.
December 19, 2011
Ed Ricketts is Doc in Steinbeck's Cannery Row stories. This is a book I periodically re-read: combined interests in Steinbeck, Monterey, Gulf of California, marine biology, boats, Stanford, doing things differently
January 18, 2016
This is has been a standard marine biology textbook for decades, covering both coast, bays, estuary, as well as the intertidal zones. One of the authors, Edward Ricketts, was a close friend of John Steinbeck and is the famous "Doc" of Cannery Row.
November 13, 2007
This is the most thorough book on North American Pacific Coast flora AND fauna. This is highly informational, but not really an entertaining read, unless you happen to be a marine biologist.
July 25, 2013
What a great book to have especially if you do any working along the beaches of the Alaska shores! Great pictures!
Can't wait to hit the beach again!
Can't wait to hit the beach again!
September 1, 2018
Many of the scientific names have changed since this classic was written. I was glad to have my beachcombers field guides to reference while I read.
November 11, 2023
The amount of "boots on the ground" research that Ed did is still impressive to this day. To say that this book is important is an understatement.
January 19, 2014
A tattered reference book that has been with me for decades. An absolute must-have for anyone who lives in the western USA and wants a better knowledge of marine life. Though we now live in Ireland, I brought this book with simply for the sake of nostalgia. Then last year I had the correct colors and fabrics I needed in my collection to make a quilt that spoke to my ancestors who opened up the Pacific Northwest and I wanted to have the theme be "between Pacific tides." Trolling through the book brought back many sweet memories of exploring tide pools in Oregon, Malibu, La Jolla, Carrillo, Carpinteria� and gave me the inspiration for design and tones that became the basic for the final quilt. I even dyed the muslin with tea to capture the subtle sand tones along the western shores. And, of course, I appreciate the book for its connection to Ed Ricketts, Steinbeck et al. Hard, as always, to put a date on a reference book!
January 14, 2009
1968 edition
August 5, 2011
I have an edition with Steinbeck's introduction. I have not seen the newest edition, but I can still use visual references to the PNW coasts photographed and described. Excellent resource.
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