The Sea is Not Made of Water: Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicolson (2021)

Nicolson explores the natural wonders of the intertidal near his home in the Highlands Region of Scotland’s west coast.  In his own words, this book is “about those multiple layers between the tides, the ways in which the simple overlies the less-than-simple there, the extraordinary mirroring of human and animal life on its shores, in pools that are silent and beautiful and as full of threat as any rats’ alley or Roman circus.” Nicolson captures the subtle beauty of seashore life, combined with an easy-going survey of Gaelic traditions, ecological science, philosophy, literature and more.

Reviewed by Pat Miller