Description:

An unprecedented and masterfully told biography of Jacques Cousteau that reveals for the first time the fascinating and compelling individual behind this famous television personality.

Inventor of the aqualung and fearless scuba diver, Jacques Cousteau opened up the ocean to a mass audience for the first time. Here, with the cooperation of many of the subjects closest confidants and family, Brad Matsen makes clear the full picture of his remarkable life, showing the father, military man, inventor, entrepreneur, and adventurer behind the public face. Vividly conveying the people, the science, and the lure of the sea that shaped Cousteau's life, Matsen paints a luminous portrait of a man who profoundly changed the way we live on our planet.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In his latest research effort, Matsen (Titanic's Last Secrets) aims to produce a "respectful, honest remembrance" of beloved oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, with admirable results. An adventurer, inventor, explorer, environmentalist and filmmaker, Cousteau, along with his talented crew and family members, developed groundbreaking tools for diving and filming underwater. Matsen traces Cousteau's career and personal life from his 1911 birth throughout the twentieth century, as he pursued military and, later, civilian life, two marriages, attempting to answer questions about the individual beneath the public figure: "How could a man of such immense power have allowed his children... to turn against each other? Was he a tragic character hidden behind the veil of celebrity? Does he deserve our enduring love?" While he doesn't uncover all the answers, Matsen examines Cousteau with a sensitive eye, qualifying his astounding career and lasting legacy (just in time for 2009's anticipated restoration of Cousteau's vessel Calypso). Readers will learn the particulars of Cousteau-designed Aqua Lungs and wetsuits, as well as the underwater living experiment and nonprofit corporations that Cousteau founded, without neglecting the challenges of funding his adventures. Environmentalists, divers, and armchair ocean lovers will all soak up this work.
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Review

“Matsen's book is eloquently crafted by a man who clearly understands and respects the wonders of the sea.” -- Winston-Salem Journal

“Absolutely do not miss this book. It is both entertaining and an important slice of history.”--Diver Magazine

“Cousteau owned one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. . . . Yet, as Matsen deftly demonstrates, we hardly knew him.” —*Seattle Times *

“There are a lot of Cousteau books – bits and pieces – and many are nonsense. This one is remarkably accurate.”--Jean-Michel Cousteau

“Cousteau's life was a cautionary tale, and Matsen tells it exceedingly well.”--San Francisco Chronicle
                                              
“Brad Matsen reminds us that Cousteau earned his fame honestly: He invented the modern understanding of the sea.”—Outside Magazine

“Revealing.”—The Economist

 “Matsen examines Cousteau with a sensitive eye, qualifying his astounding career and lasting legacy. . . . Environmentalists, divers, and armchair ocean lovers will all soak up this work.”—Publishers Weekly

“Goes beyond the sea. . . . fills us in on Cousteau’s work with the French Resistance during World War II. It also tells of family tragedy and drama.”—*NY Post                                       

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