Life in the sea

Abstract: The sea was the cradle of primordial life, from which the roots of our own existence sprouted. Billions of years of evolutionary development brought forth an enchanting variety of forms, colors, lifestyles, and patterns of behavior, into which we only not long since began to gain direct insights. Nowhere else is it so conspicuously possible to look back at the same time on the manifestations of all life forms up to our own. In 13 chapters with 60 clearly understandable, vivid, light-heartedly worded and separately enjoyable „wanted posters“, numerous astonishing phenomena of the marine fauna are described, without burdening the reader unnecessarily with technicalities. More than 330 of the author’s underwater color photos illustrate the text. Inquiry into the wider relationships whets our curiosity and satisfies it wherever science has already found the answer. A fascinating macrocosm takes shape around the unique entwinements of marine fauna, evolution, and ecological systems. This is no mere picture book, but a work in which text and illustrations are in proper balance. The reader is drawn to the pictures and the viewer to the text. Accounts of personal experiences enliven the narrative. Learning is seldom coupled with so much aesthetic pleasure. Author: Dr. Werner GRÜTER is a university professor of neurology and psychiatry. Off the campus, he has, for some decades now, devoted his attention to marine biology, not least with a view to tracking down the wonders of evolution. Being an experienced scuba diver and underwater photographer, he was able to gain direct insights on the scene and collect the illustrative material for this book. His enthusiasm is contagious, thanks not least to his gift for explaining complex scientific contexts in readily understandable, amusing, and gripping terms. The author, who has established a foundation for the promotion of comprehensibly communicated science, himself sets an excellent example between these covers.