Cousteau: The Captain and His World - Hardcover

Known best for his books, television specials and enviromental activism, Jacques Cousteau is also co-inventor of scuba-diving equipment, underwater vehicles and artificial islands. Yet at 79, he remains an elusive figure to the public. Munson ( America's Cup 1987 ) avers that Cousteau has rested on his laurels in recent years, drowning in his own legend, accepting compromises in the quality of his productions. While the films and books have increased the public's knowledge of the underseas world and the threats to it, neither Cousteau nor the Cousteau Society, according to Munson, has delivered on promises to protect the environment. The arguments presented cause the reader to conclude that although Cousteau is a man of great charm, a talented filmmaker and superb showman, he is not a scientist and less sensitive to environmental concerns than his public persona suggests. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This comes very soon after Axel Madsen's Cousteau ( LJ 12/15/86), and both cover much the same ground, although the tone of the two books differs greatly. Madsen, writing with the cooperation of Cousteau's family, provided a friendly yet frank portrait of the complex Cousteau. In contrast, Munson claims Cousteau's lawyers tried to block publication of his book, which is written in expose style and tries to show Cousteau as a showman and a man remiss in protecting the environment. Munson is very critical of what he feels are deceptive, staged filming techniques used in Cousteau's movies, yet he gets his information from Cousteau's own books, hardly the place Cousteau would put the information if he wished to conceal it. Madsen's book portrays the man behind the myth more evenhandedly and is better documented.
- Susan Klimley, Columbia Univ. Libs., N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.