Tide: The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth review – ebbs and flows
Hugh Aldersey-Williams's scholarly survey of the history of tides, from the Bristol Channel to the Bay of Fundy, is enlighteningThe subtitle of this book gives pause. The greatest force on Earth? Typhoons, volcanos and earthquakes humbled by a few metres' change in the level of seawater? There is little in the early chapters to enforce the claim. Hugh Aldersey-Williams begins with a trip to the shore near his Norfolk home, preparing the reader for "Nature's greatest marine performance". The action begins an hour or so after high water. The tide ebbs. Twelve hours and 30 minutes later it has returned and started to fall again. The author notes froth, gulls and vegetation. Subsequent journeys to Venice to observe work on the lagoon's tidal barrage, and the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia to watch a tidal bore roll up the Shubenacadie river are not thrilling.
Related: The power and glory of tides - in pictures
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