Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

As new condition blue boards, black spine, and silver spine lettering contained in an as new condition non price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. Includes Author Dedication; Introduction: A Different Light; Epilogue: A Case for Optimism; Acknowledgments; Further Reading; Index and About the Author. Illustrated with two sections of color photographic plates. Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Booklist. "Edith Widder's story is one of hardscrabble optimism, two-fisted exploration, and groundbreaking research. She's done things I dream of doing. I'd have wrapped my submersible, the Deepsea Challenger, in bacon if it would have lured the elusive giant squid from the depths. In Below the Edge of Darkness, Widder tells you how she did it." - James Cameron. "Luminous: the topic, the heroic journey, and the author herself.Dive in with Edith Widder, trailblazing scientist and explorer, as she reveals the galaxy of light and life in the universe below the surface of the sea, outshining skeptical male colleagues with dignity, grace, and a robust sense of humor." - Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society explorer at large and founder of Mission Blue. "A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean to understand bioluminescence - the language of light that helps life communicate in the darkness - and what it tells us about the future of life on Earth. Edith Widder's childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist was almost derailed in college when complications for a surgery gone wrong made her temporarily blind. Her new reality of shifting shadows drew her fascination to the power of light - as well as to the importance of optimism. As her vision cleared, Widder found the intersection of her two passions in oceanic bioluminescence, a little explored scientific field within Earth's last great unknown frontier: the deep ocean. With little promise of funding or employment, she leaped at the first opportunity to train as a submersible pilot and dove into the darkness. Widder's first journey into the deep ocean, in diving gear that resembled a suit of armor, took her down to eight hundred feet. Turning off her lights, she witnessed breathtaking underwater fireworks: explosions of bioluminescent activity. Her concerns about her career vanished. She only wanted to know one thing: Why was there so much light down there? Below the Edge of Darkness takes readers deep into our planet's oceans as Widder pursues her questions about one of the most important and widely used forms of communication in nature. In the process, she reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviors and animals, from microbes to leviathans, many never before seen or, like the legendary giant squid, never before filmed in their deep-sea lairs. Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosystem. A thrilling adventure story filled with scientific revelation, Below the Edge of Darkness reckons with the complicated and sometimes dangerous realities of exploration. Widder shows us how when we push our boundaries and expand our worlds, discovery and wonder follow. These are the ultimate keys to the ocean's salvation - and thus to our future on this planet." - from the inner front jacket flap . "Personal and page-turning, adventurous and awe-inspiring, Below the Edge of Darkness sparkles with the thrill of exploration and glows with an urgent plea for the future of our precious seas. Comparisons to Jacques Cousteau spring to mind as Edith Widder shares the profound journey of her life - one as unique and important as the unexplored realms of our very own planet." - Juli Berwald, author. ".a book to delight the general reader while simultaneously informing the professional: a book of marvels, marvelously written." R Dawkins. …