Lethal Tides: Mary Sears and the Marine Scientists Who Helped Win World War II

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HarperCollins

Annotation: "Magnificently researched, brilliantly written, Lethal Tides is immensely entertaining and reads like an action novel. C... more

Genre: [World history]

Reviews: 3

Catalog Number: #355874

Format: Publisher's Hardcover

Publisher: HarperCollins

Edition Date: 2022 Release Date: 08/23/22

ISBN: 0-06-299169-8

ISBN 13: 978-0-06-299169-0

Dewey: 940

Language: English

Reviews:

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Oceanographer Mary Sears’s critical contributions to the U.S. Navy during WWII are detailed in this impressive and inspiring portrait. Pediatric surgeon Musemeche (Small) examines how Sears and other members of the women’s naval reserve, better known as WAVES, “developed critical intelligence for numerous amphibious missions, prepared manuals for general use by sailors and navigators, assisted in creating survival maps for air-sea rescue, and collated bathythermograph data for use in submarine warfare.” One of the first 10 researcher fellows at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, Sears became a leading authority on plankton despite not being allowed to sail aboard the institute’s research vessel (she relied on male colleagues to gather specimens for her). Brought into the U.S. Hydrographic Office in 1943, Sears worked alongside colleagues including oceanographic librarian Mary Grier, oceanographer Dora Henry, and marine biologist Fenner Chace Jr., to compile reports on surfs, reefs, tides, and waves for landings at Luzon, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and other Pacific theater hot spots. Musemeche peppers the narrative with details of the sexism Sears and others faced in the military and academia, and the ways in which the war effort upended life on the home front. The result is a rousing account of talent, intelligence, and commitment overcoming prejudice. Agent: Marcy Posner, Folio Literary. (Aug.)

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Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Reading Level: 6.5

Interest Level: 9-12

"Magnificently researched, brilliantly written, Lethal Tides is immensely entertaining and reads like an action novel. Catherine Musemeche has brought to life the incredible work of the scientists and researchers who made such a remarkable contribution to America’s war effort in the Pacific theater during WWII.” —Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy, Ret.), #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed and The Hero Code

Lethal Tides tells the story of the virtually unknown Mary Sears, “the first oceanographer of the Navy,” whose groundbreaking oceanographic research led the U.S. to victory in the Pacific theater during World War II.

In Lethal Tides, Catherine Musemeche weaves together science, biography, and military history in the compelling story of an unsung woman who had a dramatic effect on the U.S. Navy’s success against Japan in WWII, creating an intelligence-gathering juggernaut based on the new science of oceanography.

When World War II began, the U.S. Navy was unprepared to enact its island-hopping strategy to reach Japan. Anticipating tides, planning for coral reefs, and preparing for enemy fire was new ground for them, and with lives at stake it was ground that had to be covered quickly. Mary Sears, a marine biologist, was the untapped talent they turned to, and she along with a team of quirky marine scientists were instrumental in turning the tide of the war in the United States’ favor.

The Sears team analyzed ocean currents, made wave and tide predictions, identified zones of bioluminescence, mapped deep-water levels where submarines could hide and gathered information about the topography and surf conditions surrounding the Pacific islands and Japan. Sears was frequently called upon to make middle-of-the-night calculations for last-minute top-secret landing destinations and boldly predicted optimal landing times and locations for amphibious invasions.

In supplying these crucial details, Sears and her team played a major role in averting catastrophes that plagued earlier amphibious landings, like the disastrous Tarawa, and cleared a path to Okinawa, the last major battle of World War II.

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