The Eloquence of the Sardine: The Secret Life of Fish & Other Underwater Mysteries

(Paperback)

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Humans have identified just a fraction of the 2.2 million species living in the sea. Roughly 91% of all marine species remain unknown: myths still to be written, discoveries still to be made, blank pages with room to dream . . .

As a small boy, Bill Fran ois was frightened of deep water. Until a chance encounter with the elusive sardine set him on course for a life in marine science: a mission to better understand, and preserve, the underwater world, to find his place in that ecosystem and learn how to converse harmoniously with the ocean.

In a series of exquisitely rendered vignettes of marine life, Fran ois invites us on a whistle-stop global tour to reveal the mysteries of the sea, beginning with the simple eloquence of the sardine. He unpicks the sound of the sea - an underwater symphony orchestra voiced by a choir of fish - and deciphers the latest scientific discoveries on the immunity of coral and the changing gender of wrasses. We visit the depths of underwater Paris as Fran ois delves into the mysterious world of the eel and explore an extraordinary three-generational friendship between humans and killer whales, and the role a shoal of herrings played in Cold War tensions.

Throughout, Fran ois effortlessly brings the inner workings of fish to life - their language, their emotions, their societal rituals. He also makes a case for why we should look to the sea for inspiration for improving society and investigates the shocking journey from sea to plate.

Drawing on history, myth and legend, but always grounded in science, The Eloquence of the Sardine will change the way you think about the sea in the most poetic of ways.

Reviews

An illuminating debut collection . . . Franois's tone is conversational, and his passion and excitement are contagious . . . a fun deep dive into marine life * Publishers Weekly *
With an elegant mix of storytelling, science, and humour, Franois delights us with his infectious love of life beneath the waves. These aquatic reveries pry open the oceans' mysteries to reveal pearls within * Jonathan Balcombe, author of Super Fly, and What a Fish Knows *

Author Bio

Bill Fran ois is a physicist passionate about the marine world. He studied at the ENS school in Paris and then devoted himself to research on hydrodynamics. The eloquence contests he won, like the Le Grand Oral on France 2, propelled him to become passionate about his other world: that of words. He mixes these universes to relay the importance of protecting our oceans.