|
The Sea Brings Forth |
First edition - Alfred A. Knopf - 1968 BIZARRE CATCH, THE NEW YORK TIMES >by Edward Garside, June 9, 1968 "In a word this is simply a beautiful nature book. It is brimming with interesting information about marine creatures, their fantastic shapes and adaptations, so expressive of the fierce poignancy of the struggle to survive that informs all life. Beyond this, Mr. Rudloe is remarkably evocative of the Florida Gulf Coast fishermen with whom he worked, their working life, closeness to nature, racy speech and solid presence. The author, despite his youth, is already a biological collector of national reputation. To this one can add that he has the writer's gift that magical ability to reveal the wonder in all things." THE BOOKSHELF, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"As interesting and enterprising a young man as you are likely to meet in a decade is Jack Rudloe, whom you can get to know in is lively book, "The Sea Brings Forth". Twenty-four years old, a college drop-out, he makes important contributions to academic research with his flourishing, complicated business, the Gulf Specimen Company. It was built by his own energy and diligence. All of its materials were in the sea, but knowing how and where to find them, applying the skill, knowledge and hard work to get them and ship them, required more capital of character than of cash.... "Some specimens are collected along the beaches and by wading and skin diving. But the most important source is Rudloe's tips as a working passenger on the shrimp boats and crab boats of his strip of the Gulf Coast. The nets of the shrimpers,in particular, bring up enormous quantities of "trash fish," among which is Rudloe's gold. "At the end, Rudloe faces the fact that his business can no longer be a one-man operation. He will have to expand and equip it by investment and take on the responsibilities of employees. To do this, he declines the tempting offer to take a job with a California university to be their own collector. At the start he had educated himself for the work by "books and more books on invertebrate zoology and marine fishes." He reflects, "The kind of education I had been amassing was not honored with a diploma but it had a solid and practical foundation, one that no university could offer. Watch the YouTube video on 3 Books by Jack Rudloe  |