Book cover of Lethal Tides: Mary Sears and the Marine Scientists Who Helped Win World War II

Book description

"Magnificently researched, brilliantly written, Lethal Tides is immensely entertaining and reads like an action novel. Catherine Musemeche has brought to life the incredible work of the scientists and researchers who made such a remarkable contribution to America's war effort in the Pacific theater during WWII." -Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S.…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Lethal Tides as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

What an eye-opening biography! Mary Sears never left the United States, but she was a key reason the World War II Pacific invasions were successful. This book does not take away from the sacrifices of the fighters or the hard strategic decisions and leadership of the commanders. It does show what science, combined with traditional fieldwork and creative library research, can do to design maps and provide information about tides, ocean depths, and coral reefs, thus enabling men, ships, and equipment to attack Japanese-held islands effectively.

This book is also an homage to teamwork by people, especially women and academics…

Would the Allies have been successful in winning World War II without the contributions of women? Rosie the Riveters, code breakers at Bletchley Park, aviators who flew aircraft to and from the front, human computers at Los Alamos, and scientists that filled laboratory positions, all contributed to that success. But do we know their names? Do we understand the significance of their contributions?

This book highlights one woman’s contribution: Mary Sears, the chief US Navy oceanographer during World War II. Sexism kept her off marine voyages and forced her from academia so she became a military operative, joining the Navy.…

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