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The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus: Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World Audiobook
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(3.98) - 128 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Part adventure story, part manifesto, this is legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau's passionate plea for sustaining life on earth.
Explorer, diving pioneer, filmmaker, inventor, and activist, Jacques Cousteau was blessed from his childhood with boundless curiosity about the natural world. As the leader of fascinating, often dangerous expeditions all over the planet, he discovered firsthand the complexity and beauty of life on earth and undersea—and watched the toll taken by human activity in the twentieth century.
In his magnificent last book, available for the first time in the United States, Cousteau describes his deeply informed philosophy about protecting our world for future generations. Weaving gripping stories of his adventures throughout, he and coauthor Susan Schiefelbein address the risks we take with human health, the overfishing and sacking of the world's oceans, the hazards of nuclear proliferation, and the environmental responsibility of scientists, politicians, and people of faith. Written over the last ten years of his life with frequent collaborator Schiefelbein, who also introduces the text and provides an update on environmental developments in the decade since Cousteau's death, this prescient, clear-sighted book is a remarkable testament to the life and work of one of our greatest modern adventurers.
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"one time, my brother did a project on jacques cousteau, meaning i had to do a project on jacques cousteau (because i am only slightly more focused than he and my mom made me), but i didn't mind this one because jacques cousteau is really really cool."
— Gabrielle (5 out of 5 stars)
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[An] electrifying, many-faceted masterwork.
— Booklist -
“Cousteau’s reverence for life’s miracles…shines through in this eloquent testimony on the importance of pursuing higher ideals.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“[An] electrifying, many-faceted masterwork.”
— Booklist
The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus Listener Reviews
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" Very good - depressing as all get out but an interesting read. It is a bit dry at points which made it hard to read but that's my only quibble. "
— Caroline, 12/24/2012 -
" Interesting anecdotes...a very intimidating look at pollution and destruction of sea life. "
— Rebecca, 1/6/2012 -
" Boring didn't finish "
— Hilary, 8/14/2011 -
" i always loved watching his films(and still do) so i was excited to read this. "
— Amber, 7/14/2010 -
" This was a good book but I think the manifesto part about pollution, etc. was too long and will be preaching to the choir for most readers of a book by Cousteau. The parts about Cousteau's life and the way he thought about things were very interesting. "
— Andy, 2/4/2009 -
" Right now, this book is really fascinating to me, it is the first solid book about marine biology that I have considered reading "
— Shanice, 6/26/2008
About the Authors
Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997) was world renowned as an ocean explorer, filmmaker, educator, and environmental activist. He won three Oscars and the Palme d’Or for his films; was nominated for forty Emmys during the run of his TV series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau; and wrote or coauthored more than seventy-five books, including The Silent World, which has sold 5 million copies in twenty-two languages. As director of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco and a member of the advisory committee of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he was active in the conservation and anti-nuclear-proliferation movements.
Susan Schiefelbein has won the National Magazine Award and the Front Page Award for her cover stories on social issues. A former editor at the Saturday Review, where she first worked with famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, she went on to write the narration for many of his documentary films, including winners of the Peabody and the Ace Awards. She lives in Paris.
About Stephen Hoye
Stephen Hoye has worked as a professional actor in London and Los Angeles for more than thirty years. Trained at Boston University and the Guildhall in London, he has acted in television series and six feature films and has appeared in London’s West End. His audiobook narration has won him fifteen AudioFile Earphones Awards.