Tide

A spring tide of colour and historical anecdote laps over the more austere mudflats of the actual science. So much so that I find myself looking forward to the next piece of technical exposition as, like the gentle ebb of a neap tide, his cultural history of tides also slowly reveals and explains each successive advance in our understanding of them

Tom Whipple, The Times

A wonderfully enjoyable exploration of the mysterious rhythms of the sea. I loved the combination of literary, historical, scientific, and experiential accounts of the tides, each ebbing and then flowing to allow the others to wash up on the pages of this remarkable book.

Mark Miodownik, author of 'Stuff Matters'

Engaging and thoughtful... Like some of the most compelling biographers, Aldersey-Williams partly inhabits his subject

Literary Review on The Adventures of Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st Century

Exposes new facts and ideas every other page

Horatio Clare, Observer

Immensely engaging and continually makes one sit up in surprise

Richard Cohen on 'Periodic Tales', Sunday Times

Science writing at its best ... fascinating and beautiful

Matt Ridley on 'Periodic Tales'

This fascinating book deftly explores the dramatic history, critical importance, and scientific wonder of the tides. Hugh Aldersey-Williams is a marvelous guide who takes the reader on a sweeping and thought-provoking adventure into the heart of one of the most captivating, mysterious, and elemental forces of nature

Eric Jay Dolin, author of Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse

Aldersey-Williams is full of good stories and he knows how to tell them well

Graham Farmelo on 'Periodic Tales', Sunday Telegraph

Aldersey-Williams's corrective meshes a history of the science with tide-related technologies and tidally sculpted events. It's an eloquent ebb and flow

Nature

Imagine, if possible, a gently studious Bill Bryson crossed with an upbeat and relaxed WG Sebald. It is a superb book... a delight to read. It is profound and powerful, and should win prizes.

James McConnachie, Sunday Times

Prepare for a voyage with the best of companions - Hugh Aldersey-Williams is a storyteller supreme, and he's found a subject worthy of his talents

Edward Dolnick, author of The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World