Lady with a spear Hardcover – January 1, 1953

Honestly I found this book to be a bit horrifying, but it’s actually a great example of racist and colonialist thinking.This book describes destruction. The death and destructions of marine life, including a really incredibly sad portion about an ancient clam that they killed just because they could. And they laughed about it.If you keep these things in mind, this book is a snapshot into a pretty sad historical record, when people did what they wanted and destroyed what they could in the name of science.

Very interesting to read Dr. Clark's first book, telling about her early years and experiences. This used book also had fun drawings to enhance Dr. Clark's text. [Honestly I got interested as I am a U.S. postage stamp collector, and really liked the stamp released by the USPS this year (2022) with Dr. Clark]

Eugenie was one of the most impressive people I have ever known. Our family had a signed copy of this book that could no longer find but I was lucky to find one online. When we first meet she had salt water pools with sharks that learned to ring a bell when they were hungry; this was the Cape Haze marine laboratory on Casey Key in Sarasota, Fla. I last saw her in her office at Mote Marine recovering from Malaria she had got on a diving trip.She will always be remembered as one of the worlds greatest Early pioneers in oceanography. This was her first book and it is one to be treasured. Remember to keep breathing while reading this book. Enjoy !

I read this memoir as a tween, it was buried amongst my parents vast library. I was inspired then by this story of a woman determined to follow her passion, and study the creatures of the sea that fascinated us both. Reading it with an adult eye doesn't disappoint.

I met Eugenie many years ago when I was running the Navy's submarine sonar program. The sharks were biting off our sonar sensors and I met with her with the aim of finding a solution. She was a true pioneer in many ways. I would think she'd be an inspiration to anyone aspiring to make a difference.

Thanks

Lady with a SpearEugenie Clark 1953Vivid account of a young marine scientist's travels and research. 5*Published in 1953, the same year as Jacques Cousteau's "The Silent World," "Lady with a Spear" is approaching 60 years of age, but it still retains the same freshness and vigor it had when I read it as a boy, probably about 1960. Science back then often seemed more simply fun than today, perhaps because the naturalist or ethnographer could be a genuine explorer (as well as scientist) in ways seldom possible today, and this book is a perfect exemplar of that sense of fun, wonder and discovery. I highly recommend it for its intrinsic interest, the author's youthful enthusiasm and independent spirit (so typical of that generation coming out of Depression and war), and the vivid and realistic picture it gives of doing science.Eugenie Clark was born in 1922, and the initial chapters chronicle her early interest in fishes, education at Hunter College and New York University, and fieldwork in California and Bimini. We also get some insight into her family and personal life, but almost incidentally -- the Japanese-American mother who imbued her with a love of the sea, encouraged her obsession and bought her first acquarium, the family friend (and later stepfather) at whose restaurant she developed a taste for sashimi. The core of the book begins in chapter 6, in 1949, when she sets forth to the South Seas on a glorious wanderjahr sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, with the specific goal of investigating venemous and poisonous fish, and her beloved family of plectognaths in general. This trip lasted only a brief three months, but covered a lot of territory, as can be seen from the chapter titles listed at the end of this review or the lovely map inside the front cover. After finishing up her Ph.D. research back home (and a brief aside in which she introduces her fiance Ilias, or "the complicating factor" as she calls him), in 1950 she takes off for a year of study at Egypt's isolated Marine Biological Station on the Red Sea. Although more sessile than her almost pelagic wanderings through Oceania, her ichthyological adventures and the people she meets are just as fascinating.Clark conveys very well the fascination with her fishy subjects, the adventure of finding a rare or new specimen and the more intellectual adventure of studying fish behavior in the aquarium (not to mention the sometimes tedious necessity to organize and publish her results), but a good part of the charm of the book lies in the people she meets along the way , from scientists and military personnel to South Sea natives. "Sharing the fun of fishing turns strangers into friends in a few hours. Whether you sit with native fishermen in their boat and fish with nets and lines or dive under the sea with them -- they will lead you to the haunts of the specimens you desire and you could not find yourself in safer and more enjoyable company." (p. 187 of hc)Although sometimes categorized as a "young adult" book, "Lady with a Spear" does not seem to have been written specifically with that audience in mind (indeed, most of it is taken up with her adventures in her late 20's), and will appeal equally to adults and to teens who can let their minds drift back to the WWII era. Though addressed to the layman, it does not talk down. Younger children, in particular, may be disturbed by the sometimes wholesale slaughter using spear, net or poison involved in obtaining scientific specimens (and/or lunch!), and some parents may be made a bit uneasy by the occasional adult subject matter such as Chapter 16's detailed description of why the sea cucumber is referred to as "the penis of the sea."The hardcover, at least, is very nicely and solidly produced. Even without the dust jacket, it has an attractive earthy yellow cover with a drawing of a clown fish and sea anemone, and a green spine with her favored wooden spear. Inside the front and back covers are maps of her Pacific and Red Sea venues with just the right amount of detail. There is an insert of about 40 black and white photos of Clark and the people and fish featured in the story, and several line drawings throughout.Chapters:1. Getting acquainted with fish2. Underwater off Southern California3. Platyfish and swordtails4. Filefishes in the West Indies5. The eyes of fishes6. Bronx Zoo to Hawaii7. Kwajalein: the poisoners and the poisoned8. Guam: whiskey and raw fish9. Saipan and tide-pool treasures10.The Palaus and the best spearfisherman11 Fishes I didn't get12 South of the Palaus13. Field trip to Ulithi14 Off to Egypt15 Marine station in the desert16 Fishing in the Red Sea17. From early morning till late at night18 Looking into Egypt's past: King Tut and me19 The marine station's visitors20 The most important visitorEugenie Clark has a website at <sharklady><dot><c-o-m> (trying to avoid getting filtered out here ;-).

Eugenie Clark wrote "Lady with a Spear" over 50 years ago. When I was in my teens I took this book out of the local library and read it with fascination. The whole idea of being able to study underwater creatures appealed to me as it was another nook of the natural world only slightly better explored than the soil under our feet.Clark's tale of growing up in New York City to become one of the "early" female biologists (there were not many of these in the late 1940s) was certainly riveting to a young and rather introverted beginning biologist. However, the bare fact that I was growing up in the desert with only the fairly polluted Colorado River nearby made the follow up into marine biology problematic.Still, I always remember the clear writing and the authors obvious love of her subject as she went from being a tropical fish hobbyist, through college, through working under Carl Hubbs and finally as a full-fledged ichthyologist. I did not appreciate the fact that her Japanese family were lucky to live on the East Coast, and not the West, where many Japanese-American citizens were interned, nor was I especially aware of the major difficulties that a female student faced in joining such a once male-dominated profession. Now I have all the more respect for Eugenie Clark's achievement!A book well worth the reading, especially by the young who have any interests in the natural world.

.....arrived without the cover as shown in advert, but in good condition given age; first gifted in 1954!