The Tide: The Science and Stories Behind the Greatest Force on Earth

English science writer Aldersey-Williams (In Search of Thomas Browne) capably serves as a guide to the tide, a powerful, often underappreciated force of nature. He begins his examination by experiencing a full tidal cycle in his home county of Norfolk before traveling to the Euripus Strait, where Aristotle studied one of the few areas of the Mediterranean with significant tides. Aldersey-Williams also discusses Charybdis, Odysseus’s famous whirlpool, starting with Homer’s description and working forward; he notes that the Strait of Messina has been identified as the potential source of the legend. The ineffective attempt by Canute (the 11th-century Danish king of England) to command the tide receives a thorough consideration, as do the much later tidal calculations that preceded the amphibious landings on D-Day—made possible by the tidal harmonic analyzer, a mechanical device created by a team lead by the future Lord Kelvin. No discussion of tides would be complete without a visit to the record-holding Bay of Fundy, to which Aldersey-Williams devotes an entire chapter. Inevitably, his final thoughts turn to global climate change and the rise of the tides. Throughout the book, Aldersey-Williams’s inclusion of a range of stories gives a broad view of humans’ continued fascination with the movement of the waters. Agent: Antony Topping, Greene & Heaton. (Sept.)