A Celebration of the World's Barrier Islands
Pilkey has written a highly engaging and intelligent book on the fragile beauty of the barrier islands.(Library Journal)A marriage of expertise and aesthetics.(Charleston Post)Delicate renderings of the islands by artist Mary Edna Fraser look like vivid aerial-view paintings but are actually batik prints of the coasts, counterbalancing Pilkey's careful study of the 'restless ribbons of sand.'(New Yorker)It's a wonderful tour, richly illustrated with colour and black and white photos. Mary Edna Fraser's silk batiks deserve special mention. They capture the sense of the islands remarkably well, giving us a keen birdseye view of the land.(New Scientist)The fragility of those coastal areas is explored in Orrin Pilkey'sA Celebration of the World's Barrier Islandswhich takes readers on an illustrated jaunt to many of the barrier islands worldwide.(Ann Lloyd MerrimanRichmond Times-Dispatch)Pilkey provides an informative guide to the wheres and wherefores of barrier islands -- from the vacation meccas off the east coast of North America, to the exotic carbonate archipelagos of Mozambique, to the ice-battered slivers of tundra that line the Arctic Ocean. Aerial and satellite photographs illustrate each geological peculiarity that the text brings into focus, but the most remarkable images in the book are the batiks created by Mary Edna Fraser.(Natural History)[Pilkey] uses lively, engaging language to explain the origin, the long-term evolution, and the day-to-day processes that determine the distribution and morphological splendor of barrier islands... Original illustrations are magnificent and complement the elegance of the book.(Choice)This book serves as a fine introduction to the world's diverse barrier islands, yet provides an enormous wealth of information.(Southeastern Naturalist)The global scope of this book is impressive.... this attractive book will succeed in stimulating other scientists to write about geomorphological features for the general public.(Andrew GoudieTimes Higher Education Supplement)This is an attractive and thoughtful book...Highly recommended to all whose interests include coastal environments.(Harold D. PalmerOceanography)A book that not only is intellectually stimulating but aesthetically pleasing...Pilkey's book is eye opening and should be required reading.(Mary Ellen RiddleCoast)Pilkey's and Fraser's collaboration produces an emotional response to the beauty of our planet, one which proves that science and art can together deepen understanding.(Linda KaunFiberarts Magazine)If there is one book poised to have a positive impact on the future of the world's disappearing barrier islands, this is it.(Laura J. MoorePalaois)This is an interesting and yet unusual book... It is a welcome addition.(Derek J. McGlashanGeomorphology1900-01-00)