The Deepest Map: The High-Stakes Race to Chart the World’s Oceans

TLDR: “Fascinating. Lots of information I didn’t know, and had never even considered.”

Book review by Deane Barker tags: oceans, science, cartography
An image of the cover of the book "The Deepest Map: The High-Stakes Race to Chart the World’s Oceans"

This is the story of the floor of the ocean, and all our attempts to map it. Turns out, we know nothing relatively little about it.

The framework of the book is that the author got to travel on the Five Deeps expedition. This was a project of adventurer Victor Vescovo to travel to the deepest points in all five oceans.

Most everyone has heard of Challenger Deep, which is the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean (it was made extra-famous when film director James Cameron went down there), but, obviously, every ocean has a deepest point. Vescovo had already summited Everest, so this was next on his to-do list, I suppose.

Amidst this adventure, the book covers a bunch of topics, each with a chapter:

It’s a good book. Well-researched, and well-written. It drags a bit when it digs into politics, which is unavoidable when talking about any unowned territory in the world. But other than that, I enjoyed it.

Book Info

Author
Laura Trethewey
Year
Pages
280
Acquired
  • I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on .
  • A hardcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.
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