In a previous post, I noted that reading widely in and about the field(s) you want to study can add depth to your application, even if you don’t actually mention or quote any of the sources. Your response to questions about what you want to study and why you want to study at University X will be much more effective if you can show a) that you understand the complexities of the field and b) that you have a specific rather than general interest.
I plan to compile lists of fun, readable and informative books by prospective major. The books on these lists will give students a sense of what they’ll learn in a particular field as well as how and why that knowledge is useful. Unless otherwise noted, these are not academic books, full of jargon – they are trade books, published by commercial publishers and designed to be read by people with no special knowledge or background in the field.
I’m doing these lists in order of what appeals to me, or what my students ask for, or even what interesting non-fiction I have to stumble across. However, if you have a special request for a particular major/topic, let me know, and I’ll be happy to do that list next.
MARINE BIOLOGY
Braithwaite, Victoria. Do Fish Feel Pain? Braithwaite examines the physiology of fish and uses new evidence to argue that fish are smarter than previously thought, as well as having more in common with vertebrates. Thought provoking book that forces the reader to rethink ethical questions concerning our relationship with fish.
Carson, Rachel. The Sea Around Us. Carson is the author of the famous Silent Spring. Although The Sea Around Us was published more than 70 years ago (1950), it’s beautifully written and insightful, and also (frankly) more wondrous and less depressing than Silent Spring (which you should also read, not for marine biology but because everyone should read that one!)
Davidson, Osha Gray. The Enchanted Braid. An overview of coral reefs and their current state.
Ebbesmeyer, Curtis. Flotsametrics and the Floating World. I highly recommend this one. It’s a funny, very readable introduction to oceanography (basically ecosystem dynamics), a subject that many marine biology students struggle with. If you don’t read this one before college, definitely do so before you take oceanography.
Hardt, Marah J. Sex in the Sea. In this informative and highly entertaining book, Hardt examines the various (and sometimes bizarre!) ways that sea creatures reproduce. Connecting this reproduction with sustainability, Hardt also shows how human activity is disrupting the sex lives of fish and actively damaging the diversity of the oceans.
Montgomery, Sy. Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. This is also a memoir. The author explores her fascination with octopuses as she tries to figure out how their thinking process, so different from our own, works.
Kunzig, Robert. Mapping the Deep. Kunzig’s book is a fascinating discussion of oceanography that looks at both how much and how little we know about the ocean.
Sale, Peter F. Coral Reefs: Majestic Realms Under the Sea. A thorough, in-depth discussion of coral reefs and their current state by an eminent marine biologist who’s spent his life on the subject.
Scales, Helen. Spirals in Time. An exploration of seashells from both a biological and cultural point of view.
Shubin, Neil. Your Inner Fish. This book is more about evolution than marine biology, but since it’s a fascinating topic, linking the human body back to our aquatic ancestors.
Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. This one is a bonus – it’s a novel and mostly for fun. But it’s a well-written and exciting book that gives a good sense of how fascinating and wondrous the sea really is.
Strike the Write Note 