Under the Sea-Wind, Rachel Carson's first book and the pioneering environmentalist's personal favorite, is a breathtaking masterpiece of nature writing. Described in the introduction as "both scientist and poet, in love with the wonder she has discovered in nature," Carson delves deep into the astonishing mysteries of ocean ecology, bringing birds, fish, and other aquatic creatures to vibrant and compelling life. She organizes the lyrical text around the survival struggle of three "protagonists" inhabiting different parts of the ecosystem—a gull for the shore, a mackerel for the open ocean, and an eel for the deep-sea bottom—but the central character through the book is the sea itself. Under the Sea-Wind is an enlightening and exuberant classic that belongs in the library of any beach house or ocean lover's home. Read it with your toes in the sand!