Review
WL Rating
Like Willard Bascom’s Wave and Beaches, James McCully’s Beyond the Moon provides an approachable and elegantly simple description of the science surrounding the sea. Specifically, McCully’s book provides detailed, yet quite simple explanations of how tides work. We all know that tides are linked to the phases of the moon, but beyond that the knowledge of the average surfer or sailor gets pretty thin. In his book, McCully artfully describes the wide variety of factors that influence our planet’s tides. He covers the basic drivers: lunar and solar gravitation. He also drills into the other myriad factors including lunar declination, bathymetry, the Earth’s centrifugal force, etc. Sounds heavy, but it isn’t. In fact, as I read this book, I frequently found myself reacting like a light switch had been flicked on in my head. But be careful, this knowledge isn’t stuff you’d toss around in a cocktail party, i.e. my wife was happy when I finished this book and stopped boring her to death with arcane lunar knowledge. Regardless, if you have ever wondered how tides work and why, this is the book to own. Definitely a WL Essential. (July 2009)
Beyond the Moon - James Greig McCully
