| This is the first nontechnical book in decades about one of the greatest and most fascinating forces of nature on this globe. Yhe Gulf Stream--the great gyrc that flows up the Atlantic coast of the United States, across tile North Atlantic, down its eastern side, and through the Caribbean to the Flor- ida Straits- is arguably the most powerful oceanic engine in .the world. It was an avenue for the firs~ explorers to reach North America; it is tht path for the migration of countless sea erea- lures; it is a pump for oceanic nutrients and pollutants; it is a nursery for the most savage stortns. Yet most of what has been written about it has been addressed to scientists alone. Scientifically defined, the Stream is not a river in the sea, but like a river, it has its own human community -- from oceanographers to tuna fishermen, from archaeologists hunting for clues to the construction of Columbus s caravels to Coast Guardsmen hunting for drug smugglers, from climatol- ogists seeking clues to global changes in temperature and humidity to tanker captains riding the great current to Hatteras and beyond. For three years, that community was William H. MacLeish s home. |
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