The Blue Edge

Rating:
Summary: The Blue Edge
Review: A fantastic journey which explores the landsape of the underwater world as well as ourselves. Carlos Eyles does a terrific job of documenting the changes he has seen in the ocean and himself while traveling down the Sea of Cortes to Revillagigedos. The power of nature and mans connection to it weaves its way through the pages and I could not put the book down. One does not have to be a diver to enjoy this book because the stories relate to far more than just fish in the sea. Anyone who enjoys nature, adventure, exploration of unknown lands and exploration of self should read this book. Valid questions are raised about emotions and how the environment reacts to them through stories sharks, manta rays, whales and dolphins. This book will keep you on the edge of seat while sharks circle, and make you smile when dolphins jump.

Rating:
Summary: The Blue Edge
Review: A fantastic journey which explores the landsape of the underwater world as well as ourselves. Carlos Eyles does a terrific job of documenting the changes he has seen in the ocean and himself while traveling down the Sea of Cortes to Revillagigedos. The power of nature and mans connection to it weaves its way through the pages and I could not put the book down. One does not have to be a diver to enjoy this book because the stories relate to far more than just fish in the sea. Anyone who enjoys nature, adventure, exploration of unknown lands and exploration of self should read this book. Valid questions are raised about emotions and how the environment reacts to them through stories sharks, manta rays, whales and dolphins. This book will keep you on the edge of seat while sharks circle, and make you smile when dolphins jump.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth the money
Review: A good book for nearly anyone. There is plenty of excitement and it is full of sea knowledge. My only complaint is that there are dreary sections filled with the author's life philosophy that I found quite boring, and ended up skipping over.

Books should have a central theme, and the philosophy blurred whatever the theme was supposed to be. A good editor would have removed most of it.

Rating:
Summary: A great book for all.
Review: I absolutely loved this book, and am looking forward to reading it again. Carlos' narrations combined with his twist on words paints a picture even the most land locked reader can imagine. As a marine enthusiast and student, it is wonderful to read works from hunters who also appreciate the undersea world and respect its power and importance.

Rating:
Summary: A great book for all.
Review: I absolutely loved this book, and am looking forward to reading it again. Carlos' narrations combined with his twist on words paints a picture even the most land locked reader can imagine. As a marine enthusiast and student, it is wonderful to read works from hunters who also appreciate the undersea world and respect its power and importance.

Rating:
Summary: Into the Blue Edge
Review: The Blue Edge is Carlos Eyles latest book. It is a pseudo-diary of the authors sixty-five day journey aboard the Nirvana with his friends Jack and Pam. He journeys through the Sea of Cortez to the San Benedicto islands. The journey is on one level a journey from the once bountiful Sea of Cortez to near pristine San Benedicto islands. On another level it is a journey through man's impact on the ocean in the infinitesimal slice of geographic time that man has populated the planet. On an introspective level it is a journey through one man's search for balance and his link to the ocean, and to himself.

The word "mystical" has been used to describe the writing of the book. "Mystical" implies something apart from the human experience. The Blue Edge is experiential. It is about experiences that we all face. It is apropos that the boat is named Nirvana, which is the Buddhist term for "enlightenment." Some of the things that the Buddha realized on the road to enlightenment were, that the world is suffering, all things are impermanent, and that there is no Self. The Blue Edge takes us through part of that journey. It shows us the pain, and the joy, as one man struggles with finding his place in the world. As he tries to balance his love for the ocean, his love for his family, and his love for himself.

Carlos leads the reader through the fragile, and thus transitory, illusion of the permanence of job, family, possessions, and our natural resources. He describes how man's greed, and ego, has affected the balance of the once pristine waters of the Sea of Cortez, and how it also is taking its toll on the San Benedicto islands.

For the spearfishmen this is the journey that some of us go through in our diving careers. Our pictures of full stringers of fish on our desks and walls. Our attempts to give permanence to a moment in time. Our attempts to catch the "most" fish. As our diving careers progress we find we take fewer and fewer shots looking for the "right" fish. The contrast Carlos paints with Jack, who is struggling to find his place in his relationship with Pam and with the ocean, and the spearfishermen aboard the Ambar III that are dumping the carcasses of the filleted fish into the water, to Brian Yoshikawa not taking any shots waiting for the 200 pound tuna.

The Blue Edge may be difficult reading for people who have no ties to the ocean, since the sixty-five day journey is aboard a boat. It, however, is must reading for anyone who spends any time with the ocean. The book encapsulates our life journey in those sixty-five days. It gives us glimpses of Nirvana (enlightenment) through Carlos's eyes. It is this poignant glimpse which is what wraps us up page after page, because we feel from the very beginning of the book that Nirvana is not to be attained for Carlos at this time. The struggles through the grinding teeth of sharks, and lawnmowers, is something the ocean takes us through. The longing to play in the ocean, the longing for wealth, the longing for pleasure, the longing for the kill. The experiences Carlos goes through in The Blue Edge shows us that "Nirvana", on one level, or more simply the struggle to find balance with the ocean, on a lower level, is unattainable as long as we long to possess it.