The Log from the Sea of Cortez

by John Steinbeck

Book Overview

In 1940 Steinbeck sailed in a sardine boat with his great friend the marine biologist, Ed Ricketts, to collect marine invertebrates from the beaches of the Gulf of California. The expedition was... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140187448
• ISBN13: 9780140187441
• Release Date: November 1995
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

First Rate

John Steinbeck had a high interest in marine biology, one that helped forge an extraordinary friendship with Ed Ricketts in the 1930s. Ricketts, the model for Doc in CANNERY ROW, was a professional biologist living in Monterey. He proposed an exploration of the Gulf of California and in the spring of 1940 he and Steinbeck set sail on a rented boat with a colorful crew that should have suggested a sea novel along the lines of CANNERY ROW and TORTILLA FLAT. The original result from this trip was the book THE SEA OF CORTEZ, which included the "log" fashioned by Steinbeck and an extensive inventory of the scientific information collected. It was published in the fall of 1941 and promptly forgotten when Pearl Harbor was struck. A decade later, the scientific catalogue was removed and Steinbeck added another section, a moving and often hilarious appreciation of his friend Ed Ricketts. The title became THE LOG FROM THE SEA OF CORTEZ and that's what we have here.This is a great book for the beach, where I read it. It is filled with the imagery of a warm coastal area. It is several things, really: a book filled with the wonder and scientific knowledge of marine life, a how-to (and sometimes how-not-to) guide for collecting specimens, a travelogue that captures the wilderness communities of Baja California in its time, and an often hilarious account of staying amused at sea with the likes of a crew with names like Tony, Tex, Sparky and Tiny. Steinbeck also takes the occasion to explore his own philosophy as inspired by their studies. Especially interesting is his Easter Day entry, in which he defines and explores at length what he calls "teleological" and "non-teleological" thinking. He gives us much to think about, and does so in clear, fluent prose. If you pay close attention, you will see him forming the idea for what years later became THE PEARL.One caution: read the critical introduction AFTER enjoying the text. Like most introductions, it contains some spoilers and it also makes references that are better understood once one is familiar with the material it limns.

a real classic & a great read

This is the book that really "turned me around" on Steinbeck. I had been forced to read RED PONY & THE PEARL in High School & while I acknowledged Steinbeck's ability I found his subjects unbearably depressing. LOG FROM THE SEA OF CORTEZ showed me another, funnier, more thoughtful, and more engaging Steibeck that then lead me to CANNERY ROW etc. This is the so-called Narrative Portion of a much longer guidebook co-authored by Steinbeck & Ed Ricketts that was simply called SEA OF CORTEZ and includes both illustrations and keys to the marine intertidal of Baja. The longer version is alas now long out of print & a real collectors item. LOG it turns out is a mixture of an actual travel log as Ricketts, Steinbeck & the crew of the Western Flyer wander in and out of the coves on the eastern side of the Baja peninsula, and also some philosophical essays by Ricketts that I gather actually pre-date th Cortez trip. I have frequently assigned the Easter Sunday chapter to my students as an marvellous discourse on science & scientists, but in fact the whole book is just that -we get a real sense of the joys & follys of field ecology & a wonderful look at an amazing piece of country before it was "discovered" and at least in part spoiled. The book is like a wonderful conversation with two very very smart & funny people & one comes away having learned a great deal & wishing one could have gone along on the original trip.

A different Steinbeck

I read this book while preparing to follow the footsteps of Steinbeck and Ricketts to the Sea of Cortez (the Gulf of California).I was living, at the time, in 'Steinbeck Country,' Monterey, California--where Ed 'Doc' Ricketts kept his lab (referred to in "Cannery Row.").In this book, "The Log From the Sea of Cortez," Steinbeck sheds his fiction-writer persona, and regales his readers with the story of his trip, which Ricketts initiated for scientific purposes.The thing that interested me the most, aside from the descriptive passages about the area in question, was the juxtaposition of Ed Rickett's pragmatism and Steinbeck's unabashed idealism and populism. Steinbeck comes across as a flaming socialist--not too surprising, considering "The Grapes of Wrath" and some of his other works.The friendship of these two men, despite the radical differences in their philosophies, is intriguing.If you are a fan of Steinbeck's fiction, this book will give you more insight into his character and philosophy than any of his other books save, perhaps, "Travels With Charlie," which came much later.

One of the Great Travel Stories of All Time

One of my good friends from high school introduced me to this book after we were both middle-aged. He set the challenge that we should complete this journey together. I look forward to it.John Steinbeck, the great fiction writer, is just as intriguing as a nonfiction writer. In fact, there is more scope here than in any of the novels. Steinbeck was fascinated by his friend, Ed Ricketts, Baja California, The Sea of Cortez (located in Baja), the marine life there, and the people along the way. You can read this book for any of those dimensions and be well rewarded. In fact, it is interesting to learn more about Steinbeck, the man, through his reminiscences of this trip. Although I enjoyed all of these dimensions,to me the element that is most appealing is the story of two friends simply traveling and learning. It is very much a tale of the voyage that we all make through life, by way of analogy. In a way, it reminds me of a literal Pilgrim's Progress, except that this actually occurred. Fact, in this case, is more interesting than fiction.If you liked Steinbeck's novels, read this. If you like travel stories, read this. If you like stories of scientific research, read this. If you like adventure, read this. Even if you don't fall into one of those categories, read this. Enjoy!

a modern masterpiece

Like many people of my age (45) I read 'Grapes of Wrath' and 'Cannery Row' as schoolbooks. Steinbeck was 'just' another modern author, one of many in the curriculum, although I enjoyed the writing more than that of some other authors. Thirty years later, I am sitting in Crete, in my favourite town, reading a worn Penguin paperback of 'The Log from the Sea of Cortez'. I bought it for pennies in a charity shop just before leaving for Greece, more out of curiousity than anything else. It is a cliche, but I was captivated. Steinbeck's use of English and his powers to describe a scene and circumstances, with tight narrative, are an object-lesson for would be writers. Since reading about the expedition, I have returned, belatedly, to one of the best authors of the twentieth century. Beware, it is fashionable to reduce Steinbeck to a social commentator whose later work was poorly conceived. Don't believe the hype. This book will take you to a place that no longer exists outside its pages, and it is a glorious description of two friends doing something just because they could. That's all folks!