The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans

Environmental journalist and science writer Barnett (author of the National Book Award–longlisted Rain) explores what seashells can tell us about the animals who inhabit them, the ecosystems they grow in, and the people who use them. The book details an astounding variety of marine mollusks, like the lettered olive, wentletrap, and lightning whelk (three species of sea snail). Particularly engaging chapters offer insight on how shells from far abroad have been found in Neanderthal sites, in the ruins of Pompeii and Cahokia, and in Mayan graves. Barnett explains how humans around the world have for centuries consumed, decorated, collected, and traded seashells and have valued shells as art, money, weapons, and building materials. She also discusses how shells have been appraised by museums and studied by scientists. Barnett also explores how seashells can demonstrate the dangers of pollution, coastal dredging, and rising ocean temperatures and acidity, even as they reveal adaptations to these new conditions. The book is enhanced by occasional black-and-white historical illustrations of shells.