The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951)

I loved this book and there isn't any review that I could write that could do it justice. I enjoyed getting to know John Steinbeck and his friends. I enjoyed his philosophical dissertations about life. (Although, I will admit, there was one chapter that I did doze through.) Yes, it is interesting that we spend so much money on health care and so much money on war to kill us. Yes, I agree we spend so much on STUFF so that one neurotic generation raises another neurotic generation. It is also interesting that he wrote down these ideas around 1940 and so much of them seemed written in the present time.

I know very little about marine biology so pictures of these sea creatures they collected would really have helped. I love Steinbeck's straight-laced sense of humor that just permeates this book. I also am curious as to what the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) looks like nowadays. It seemed beautiful in this book.

I appreciate the afterword about Ed Ricketts, his marine biologist friend. After reading Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, you gotta love Ed (Doc). That was a good ending to this book. ( )

This is an account written by John Steinbeck of the marine animal collecting journey he went on in 1940, during the best tide season to Baja California and the Sea of Cortez. He went with his good friend, Edward F. Ricketts. They, along with the crew of the boat, collected marine animals from the littoral areas of the coast. The aim was to get a picture of the ecology of that part of the coast as a whole, not to collect rarities. The "log" was compiled from the journals of Ed Ricketts and Tony, the boat owner, along with Steinbeck's memories, into a cohesive story.

I loved reading the main log; all the philosophical musings, mixed with humor and detailed descriptions of Baja and the critters that reside in the inter-tidal regions. Then I read the appendix, which was Steinbeck's tribute to his friend Ed Ricketts, a biologist from Monterey. Steinbeck was able in his prose to touch the heart of my grief. Very personal. The glossary was helpful, and I used my phone to look up images for many of the animals I was unfamiliar with. After that I read the introduction and learned quite a few things about the whys and how's of the writing of the Log, and other details of the two men's lives.

Interesting to read about these men and their trip. They are full of contrasts. Seeing the environment as a whole organism needing protection, yet they spear manta rays without a hope of capture for entertainment. Possibly this comes as a result of the fact that the story is always told in first person plural and there were six men on the boat (Steinbeck's wife at that time was also on board, but is never mentioned).

Anyway, I find that as usual I love Steinbeck's nonfiction better than his fiction. I enjoy hearing the man and his musings. ( )

I was especially taken with the last section found in the appendix that honored the life and death of Steinbeck's great friend Ed Ricketts. What a wonderful tribute to a person who meant so much to so many in that part of the country. The entire book was certainly an enjoyable and satisfying read. It was good to hear this voice again. ( )

The journal of the collecting trip prefaced by a short biography of Rickets. ( )