Under The Microscope

THE OCEAN ALMANAC, by Robert Hendrickson; Hutchinson Reference/Reed, 1994; 446 pps; $39.95

If you want short snippets on how to survive at sea, marine geology, ghost ships, odd sea creatures, or anything else vaguely nautical, this book should be on your shelf.

The print is small because Hendrickson has packed so much between the covers, but there's a good table of contents and index if you're in search of something specific, rather than just dipping. Take the weirder stuff with a grain of salt -- fact sometimes does't get in the way of a good sailor's yarn.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.