The Eternal Darkness

The book is basically a very brief history of deep-sea exploration that is divided into three parts. The first part deals with exploration up until the time of the submersible. There really isn't much about ancient exploration techniques because until the beginning of the 20th century, humankind really wasn't doing any deep-sea exploring. The book talks a lot about bathyscaphs and bathyspheres, things that I only vaguely remember from old Walt Disney cartoons.

The second part of the book explores the discoveries made using submersibles. Ballard began his career near the beginning of the end of this age and it is in this section that he begins discussing many of his own personal voyages and discoveries, including those in the mountain ranges of the oceans.

The third part of the book talks about the events in deep-sea exploring from about the early 1980s on with robotic vehicles doing most of the really deep work. In this part of the book, Ballard discusses other discoveries he was involved with including the Titanic.

Personally, I found the book quite interesting. Ballard does seem to take a lot of credit for various discoveries and events, but he was actually there for the discoveries of those things or at least was a member of the team. This book probably isn't something that an expert in science would want to read (too easy), but it's great for the average Joe. If only all science books were as easy to read as this one.

As one with longtime personal acquaintance with Ballard's oceanographic work, I advise readers not to place credence in one carping, jealous critic. On the other hand, without Amazon's review system how else could one ever learn of the nuanced, knowledgeable critique of "Time Walker"?

One noteworthy point is that beside his spectacular images and technical breakthroughs, Ballard is ever on the alert to new ideas and concepts. For example, he realized and has popularized the amazing resource that the Black Sea - which has no oxygen through most of its 2000 m depth - offers for finding new insights into ancient cultures. In this environment teredo worms and ordinary bacteria that destroy virtually all wood and metal are absent. The anaerobic bacteria that remain operate exceedingly slowly - offering the chance that even leather and sometimes paper might remain recoverable when wrecks are buried in mud.

Because of the popularity of Ballard's work he has enjoyed support of powerful organizations, from the U.S. Navy to National Geographic. He uses these resources not to enrich himself as many others might do, but primarily to advance further explorations whose costs might otherwise be prohibitive.

So enjoy the visual and the action in Ballard's book, and keep the mind open for the talk, and appreciate one of the large spirits of 20th Century and 21st Century science and exploration.

Ballard discovered the wreck of the Titanic. He led the teams that discovered hydrothermal vents and "black smokers"--cracks in the ocean floor where springs of superheated water support some of the strangest life-forms on the planet. He was a diver on the team that explored the mid-Atlantic ridge for the first time, confirming the theory of plate tectonics. Today, using a nuclear submarine from the U.S. Navy, he's exploring the ancient trade routes of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea for the remains of historic vessels and their cargo. In this book, he combines science, history, spectacular illustrations, and first-hand stories from his own expeditions in a uniquely personal account of how twentieth-century explorers have pushed back the frontiers of technology to take us into the midst of a world we could once only guess at.

Ballard begins in 1930 with William Beebe and Otis Barton, pioneers of the ocean depths who made the world's first deep-sea dives in a cramped steel sphere. He introduces us to Auguste and Jacques Piccard, whose "Bathyscaph"descended in 1960 to the lowest point on the ocean floor. He reviews the celebrated advances made by Jacques Cousteau. He describes his own major discoveries--from sea-floor spreading to black smokers--as well as his technical breakthroughs, including the development of remote-operated underwater vehicles and the revolutionary search techniques that led to the discovery and exploration of the Titanic, the Nazi battleship Bismarck, ancient trading vessels, and other great ships.

Readers will come away with a richer understanding of history, earth science, biology, and marine technology--and a new appreciation for the remarkable men and women who have explored some of the most remote and fascinating places on the planet.