The Curious World of Seaweed

About the Author

TJosie Iselin is a photographer, writer, and book designer with six previous books to her credit, including Beach Stones, Heart Stones, and Beach: A Book of Treasure. She holds a B.A. in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University and an M.F.A. from San Francisco State University. She shows her artwork regularly at galleries and museums throughout the United States. Her work is on view at www.josieiselin.com. She lives and works in San Francisco, where she walks the beach often.

Marine algae are the supreme eco-engineers of life: they oxygenate the waters, create habitat for countless other organisms, and form the base of a food chain that keeps our planet unique in the universe as we know it. In this beautiful volume Josie Iselin explores both the artistic and the biological presence of sixteen seaweeds and kelps that live in the thin region where the Pacific Ocean converges with the North American continent―a place of incomparable richness. Each species receives a detailed description of its structure, ecological importance, and humans’ scientific inquiry into it, told in scientifically illuminating yet deeply reverent and inspired prose. Throughout the writings are historical botanical illustrations and Iselin’s signature, Marimekko-like portraits of each specimen that reveal their vibrant colors―whether rosy, “olivaceous,” or grass-green―and whimsical shapes. Iselin posits that we can learn not only about the seaweeds but also from them: their resilience, their resourcefulness, their poetry and magic.

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