Description

Book Synopsis
A compelling history of seashells and the animals that make them, revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans and ourselves

Trade Review
"Will have you marveling at nature… Barnett’s account remarkably spirals out, appropriately, to become a much larger story about the sea, about global history and about environmental crises and preservation." -- 24 Books to Read this Summer - The New York Times Book Review
"Cynthia Barnett presents us with a glittering Wunderkammer for our age, a staggeringly varied history — scientific, cultural, philosophical and economic — of one of the most beloved and enduring natural objects on Earth: the seashell... “The Sound of the Sea” is a glorious history of shells and of those who have loved shells. It is a history of fascination and of shame." -- Katherine Norbury - The Washington Post
"“Seashells were money before coin, jewellery before gems, art before canvas,” says science writer Cynthia Barnett in her arresting meditation on shells and ocean history." -- Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week's best science picks - Nature

The Sound of the Sea

    Product form

    A Paperback / softback by Cynthia Barnett

    £14.24

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    RRP £14.99 – you save £0.75 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Wed 16 Sep 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher WW Norton & Co
      Published 5 August 2022
      ISBN-13 9781324022077
      978-1324022077
      ISBN-10 1324022078
      Also in:
      Earth sciences Historical geography The Earth: natural history: general interest

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      A compelling history of seashells and the animals that make them, revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans and ourselves

      Trade Review
      "Will have you marveling at nature… Barnett’s account remarkably spirals out, appropriately, to become a much larger story about the sea, about global history and about environmental crises and preservation." -- 24 Books to Read this Summer - The New York Times Book Review
      "Cynthia Barnett presents us with a glittering Wunderkammer for our age, a staggeringly varied history — scientific, cultural, philosophical and economic — of one of the most beloved and enduring natural objects on Earth: the seashell... “The Sound of the Sea” is a glorious history of shells and of those who have loved shells. It is a history of fascination and of shame." -- Katherine Norbury - The Washington Post
      "“Seashells were money before coin, jewellery before gems, art before canvas,” says science writer Cynthia Barnett in her arresting meditation on shells and ocean history." -- Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week's best science picks - Nature

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