A Portrait of the Gulf Stream – In Praise of Currents (Armchair Traveller) - Hardcover

Orsenna, Erik

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1905791976 ISBN 13: 9781905791972

Publisher: Haus Publishing, 2008

Synopsis

Passion and concern for the Gulf Stream motivated Erik Orsenna to travel far and wide to meet scholars and scientists who hold the key to the mysteries of this powerful ocean current. Spanning thousands of years of history, this book weaves between poetry and science to trace the influence of currents on our climate and culture.

About this title

Review:

'The French author Erik Orsenna 'collects currents' in the way that other people collect butterflies or stamps. He has been in love with them since his childhood in Brehat, an island off the Brittany coast. His book is a personal and somewhat idiosyncratic investigation into the science and myths of currents, in particular the one that gives the United Kingdom and northern Europe a far warmer climate than usual for this latitude - the Gulf Stream. As well as talking to scientists and discussing past attempts to explain these hidden oceanic pathways, he travels to Norway, searching in vain for the mythical whirlpool the Maelstroem. At one point, Orsenna admits 'I am not a scientist, I am a wanderer', and it is clear that the true subject of this book, and the source of his fascination, goes well beyond the merely nautical. At the end he mentions feng shui and Australia's songlines as examples of land-based currents, but one senses that he could have said much more about the way currents resonate throughout literature and our wider culture.' (PD Smith The Guardian 20100925)

About the Author:

Erik Orsenna has published several novels, including L'Exposition coloniale, which was awaded the prix Goncourt. He was cultural advisor to French President Mitterand and has been a member of the Academie Francaise since 1998.

About this edition

• Publisher: Haus Publishing
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1905791976
• ISBN 13: 9781905791972
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224