This book shouldn't work for me. There's no plot. It's nonfiction. There's no dramatic question. It's mostly just descriptions of collecting marine specimens for later study. The other sailors are lightly drawn, but with humor and tenderness. There are no adventures. No people exoticized.

But I couldn't stop listening. I was captivated by the mundane philosophical reflections on politics, bribery, friendship, acceptance, etc. Not that any of these are “practical” or “important.” It's just that he’s such a beautiful writer.

And I’d want you to read it, dear reader. I just finished the audiobook. Maybe the most beautiful writing (within my specific taste, of course) I’ve ever read.

We say it for so many things, but...: Surprisingly relevant.

I like to read a nonfiction book from a famous literary author from time to time. It can help me understand their psyche a little better, which can allow for a deeper appreciation for their fictional work. I did this with Salter as well.

'The Log from the Sea of Cortez' can be a bit of a snooze cruise from time to time, but the writing flashes occasionally and Steinbeck's sense of humor is evident almost throughout the entire narrative. His descriptions of people and place are interesting and well done, and those descriptions often lead to philosophical tangents that really allow the reader to get a glimpse of what Steinbeck was all about.

It's a good little book and I am glad that I read it. I plan is to revisit some Steinbeck over the next couple of years, so I think these little insights into the man himself will prove helpful in the future.

Those accustomed to Steinbeck’s literary genius by way of the novel will find themselves humored by one of his best kept secrets—his love for biology. “The Log from the Sea of Cortez” joins Steinbeck’s well-known knack for adventure with the unexpected excitement of marine life study. While of an uncharacteristic topic, all of the typical notes of Steinbeck’s literary trade are present: a diverse and demanding cast of characters, authorial humor quippy enough to chuckle at, precision on the sentence level, and a lively setting.

Further to the events of the crew’s journey, Steinbeck adds an appendix paying tribute to his dear friend, Ed Ricketts. Those who read the final pages of this book will find themselves both wishing for a friend like Ricketts, and wishing for a friend like Steinbeck. Ricketts is remembered truthfully, fondly, and with equal parts sorrow and humor, mirroring the memorizes encapsulated from the preceding story’s journey.

This is an amazing, confounding, needless, valuable book. Steinbeck packs as much insight into this small book as he did fish aboard the Western Flyer. In terms of searing glances into human (and other animal) nature, there's nothing like it. In terms of traveling back into time; seeing hordes of young boys scamper about while collecting fish for the sun-burnt would-be scientists, it's pure joy.

I don't even mind that Steinbeck killed thousands and thousand of sea creatures. I mean, I do, but it was a different time and he a different person than me. But he gets on a high horse both about sheep hunters and about a Japanese expedition that's dredging the sea. In two paragraphs he goes from bemoaning the fact that "we in the United States have done so much to destroy our resources, our timber, our land, our fishes, that we should be taken as a horrible example and our methods avoided..." to spontaneously hunting manta rays with harpoons in the very next paragraph! Did some part of him realize they were dark mirrors to his own behavior? He must have known on some level, and the anger comes from scarcely suppressed cognitive dissonance.

That aside: this is a book that can and should be studied; not for sea life, which is ultimately rather incidental, but for the genius level assessment of human nature.

A fascinating tale of a journey by sea balanced with a healthy dose of introspection. A little slow to the point of being pedantic on occasion.

This was recommended to me because I read and loved The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin. Sadly, I must say it doesn't even compare. Steinbeck was not a scientist so of course, the science was lacking. It was kind of a weird little book. The stories about Ed Ricketts were entertaining at times, but all in all there were far too many philosophical wanderings for my taste.

(3.5 stars)
This book is impressive - Steinbeck's ability to conjure up a scene in the most pleasantly prosaic language serves as a constant reminder to the reader why he is considered to be one of the greatest American authors of all time. Uniquely for this book, out of all of the other works of Steinbeck I've read, he takes time to discuss philosophy: metaphysics, theology, teleology, etc. Most of the time they came up in the form of broader discussions on human nature and humanity's place in the larger macro-system constituted by all living things, but he occasionally dived into heady themes of meaning-making and the right ordering of things.

I found the book pleasant, and the philosophy was engaging and really fun to read once I got used to it. The drawback of this book is that it is a log, a kind of journal, of a scientific expedition. I respect the depth of detail, but as an uninitiate into the world of ecology and marine biology, the long passages describing the various fauna found in all of the various gathering spots became hard to follow. I ended up kind of glazing over them, as much as I tried to read them just as closely as the more interesting passages.

There was also a portion in the book which described the plot of Steinbeck's later novella "The Pearl" which I have read and which I really enjoyed reading. That was a fun little detail I noticed!

Overall, if you're a fan of Steinbeck's fiction, then you'll see a lot of the same writing style. However, there isn't the same narrative drive here as one might expect from a Steinbeck novel, so keep that in mind.

As much as I love Steinbeck, and travel writing, and marine biology, this just didn't satisfy me as much as I had hoped. When some facet of the collecting or an animals spins itself into an interesting anecdote, or bit of scientific knowledge, that part is great. When Steinbeck paints the mood of a specific place, or the people in it, that part is great. But the generic descriptions of the collection areas and the lists if fauna they collect is simply not engaging, and yet tends to dominate the first of each daily log. As to the philosophic musings that usually complete each of such logs, some hit and some miss. There are plenty of good parts, though, where Steinbeck's voice and ability rings through. There just aren't enough to tie this all together as a successful integrated read - but then I don't believe this was intended to be read in quite that way, so I really cannot complain.

In any event, do NOT skip the Appendix: "About Ed Ricketts", especially if you enjoy Cannery Row. Ricketts seems to have been a special person, and was certainly special to Steinbeck, and this mini-biography/maxi-eulogy is a stand-alone, wonderful tribute to the complexities of the man.

Not an easy read. The scientific discoveries are interesing but very repetitious (it is basically a detailed Log of the trip written by a marine biologist). Steinbeck shines through with observations of the crew, the beauty of the Gulf of California, interactions with the natives, and philosophical discussions he no doubt had with his friend and Cannery Row character Ed Ricketts. There are a lot of literary gems here, but it takes patience to find them.

This book is very bad. According to the blurb, it is a "magnificent blend of scientific research and riotous adventure". An adventure must involve some sort of dangerous, risky, or exciting events (look it up if you like). This recount of Steinbeck's trip down the Gulf of California, killing and bottling en masse the creatures he discovers in and around the coast, contains none of that. When he and his crew are not massacring sea life, they travel to a few different towns, say hello to the locals, and go on their way. Trust me, reading his descriptions of all this was more boring than my summary of it here suggests. But what about the scientific research?

On the last page of the book, Steinbeck writes, "Here was no service to science, no naming of unknown animals". That sounds about right. Steinbeck and his crew employ no serious method in their capture and slaughter of animals, and their observations seem to have been recorded very casually. Despite that, Steinbeck spends an enormous amount of time telling us in great detail about all the creatures he discovers (and kills). So he and his crew kill literally thousands (by Steinbeck's count) of animals just because, "[they] simply liked it" (again, final page of the book). But it gets worse.

Often when Steinbeck decides to grant us respite from his tedious descriptions of murdered sea life, he starts teaching us about philosophy, science, philosophy of science, anthropology, or some similar topic in which he likes to consider himself a man of knowledge. Much of what he says is wrong or doesn't make sense, and all of it is horrifically boring.

This book has almost no redeeming qualities. There is no story; no exciting events; no characterisation; and no interesting philosophy or science (to Steinbeck's chagrin). There is lots of killing of little creatures - and some jokes made about sting rays and other fish swimming off with harpoons lodged in their sides or having been ripped out of them - despite the fact that towards the end of the book Steinbeck complains about Japanese trawlers overfishing shrimp in the area.

The first sixty or so pages, about Ed Ricketts, are adequate, but are nowhere near entertaining enough to come even close to redeeming this steaming pile. The Log from the Sea of Cortez is a riotless non-adventure. Avoid at all costs.

An effortless read if you have any interest in marine biology. Steinbeck's nimble prose weaves between social commentary, biological observations, and rollicking adventure. If you enjoy this book, try Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals."