Tilly Lloyd from Unity Books reviews The Sea Is Not Made of Water: Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicolson, published by HarperCollins.
Few places are as familiar as the shore - and few as full of mystery and surprise. How do sandhoppers inherit an inbuilt compass from their parents? How do crabs understand the tides? How can the death of one winkle guarantee the lives of its companions? What does a prawn know? In The Sea is Not Made of Water, Adam Nicolson explores the natural wonders of the intertidal and our long human relationship with it. The physics and biology of the seas, the long history of the earth, and the stories we tell of those who have lived here: all interconnect in this zone where the philosopher, scientist and poet can meet and find meaning.