# The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths - Hardcover

by **Brad Fox** (Author)

**"Hypnotic . . . Beautifully written and beautifully made."  
\--**W. M. Akers, _The New York Times Book Review_****

"Mesmerizing . . . Original and often profound, \[_The Bathysphere Book_\] is a moving testament to the wonders of exploration."  
\--**_Publishers Weekly_, Starred Review**

"Imbued with the adventurous spirit of science and exploration . . . \[_The Bathysphere Book_ is\] an enchanting cabinet of curiosities."  
\--_Kirkus Reviews_  
  
A wide ranging, philosophical, and sensual account of early deep sea exploration and its afterlives, _The Bathysphere Book_ begins with the first ever voyage to the deep ocean in 1930 and expands to explore the adventures and entanglements of its all-too-human participants at a time when the world still felt entirely new.  
  
In the summer of 1930, aboard a ship floating near the Atlantic island of Nonsuch, marine biologist Gloria Hollister sat on a crate, writing furiously in a notebook with a telephone receiver pressed to her ear. The phone line was attached to a steel cable that plunged 3,000 feet into the sea. There, suspended by the cable, dangled a four-and-a-half-foot steel ball called the bathysphere. Crumpled inside, gazing through three-inch quartz windows at the undersea world, was Hollister's colleague William Beebe. He called up to her, describing previously unseen creatures, explosions of bioluminescence, and strange effects of light and color.

From this momentous first encounter with the unknown depths, _The Bathysphere Book_ widens its scope to explore a transforming and deeply paradoxical America, as the first great skyscrapers rose above New York City and the Great Plains baked to dust. In prose that is magical, atmospheric, and entirely engrossing, Brad Fox dramatizes new visions of our planetary home, delighting in tales of the colorful characters who surrounded, supported, and participated in the dives--from groundbreaking scientists and gallivanting adventurers to eugenicist billionaires.

_The Bathysphere Book_ is a hypnotic assemblage of brief chapters along with over fifty full-color images, records from the original bathysphere logbooks, and the moving story of surreptitious romance between Beebe and Hollister that anchors their exploration. Brad Fox blurs the line between poetry and research, unearthing and rendering a visionary meeting with the unknown.

### Author Biography

Brad Fox is a writer living in New York. His novel, _To Remain Nameless_, was published by Rescue Press in 2020. His stories, articles, and translations have appeared in _The New Yorker_, _Guernica_, _Public Domain Review_, and the Whitney Biennial. He has worked as a researcher and story consultant for novelists and filmmakers, and he had an earlier career as a journalist and relief worker in the Balkans, Mexico, the Arab world, and Turkey.

**Number of Pages:** 352

**Dimensions:** 1.2 x 9.2 x 6.4 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** May 16, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 29.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 29.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths - Hardcover

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