Lethal Tides

What an eye-opening biography! Mary Sears never left the United States, but she was a key reason the World War II Pacific invasions were successful. This book does not take away from the sacrifices of the fighters or the hard strategic decisions and leadership of the commanders. It does show what science, combined with traditional fieldwork and creative library research, can do to design maps and provide information about tides, ocean depths, and coral reefs, thus enabling men, ships, and equipment to attack Japanese-held islands effectively.

This book is also an homage to teamwork by people, especially women and academics… show more.

Would the Allies have been successful in winning World War II without the contributions of women? Rosie the Riveters, code breakers at Bletchley Park, aviators who flew aircraft to and from the front, human computers at Los Alamos, and scientists that filled laboratory positions, all contributed to that success. But do we know their names? Do we understand the significance of their contributions?

This book highlights one woman’s contribution: Mary Sears, the chief US Navy oceanographer during World War II. Sexism kept her off marine voyages and forced her from academia so she became a military operative, joining the Navy.… show more.