Lethal Tides

Mary Sears and the Marine Scientists Who Helped Win World War II

By: Catherine Musemeche

Narrated by: Maggi-Meg Reed

"Magnificently researched, brilliantly written, Lethal Tides is immensely entertaining and reads like an action novel. Catherine Musemeche has brought to life the incredible work of the scientists and researchers who made such a remarkable contribution to America’s war effort in the Pacific theater during WWII.” —Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy, Ret.), #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed and The Hero Code

Lethal Tides tells the story of the virtually unknown Mary Sears, “the first oceanographer of the Navy,” whose groundbreaking oceanographic research led the U.S. to victory in the Pacific theater during World War II.

In Lethal Tides, Catherine Musemeche weaves together science, biography, and military history in the compelling story of an unsung woman who had a dramatic effect on the U.S. Navy’s success against Japan in WWII, creating an intelligence-gathering juggernaut based on the new science of oceanography.

When World War II began, the U.S. Navy was unprepared to enact its island-hopping strategy to reach Japan. Anticipating tides, planning for coral reefs, and preparing for enemy fire was new ground for them, and with lives at stake it was ground that had to be covered quickly. Mary Sears, a marine biologist, was the untapped talent they turned to, and she along with a team of quirky marine scientists were instrumental in turning the tide of the war in the United States’ favor.

The Sears team analyzed ocean currents, made wave and tide predictions, identified zones of bioluminescence, mapped deep-water levels where submarines could hide and gathered information about the topography and surf conditions surrounding the Pacific islands and Japan. Sears was frequently called upon to make middle-of-the-night calculations for last-minute top-secret landing destinations and boldly predicted optimal landing times and locations for amphibious invasions.

In supplying these crucial details, Sears and her team played a major role in averting catastrophes that plagued earlier amphibious landings, like the disastrous Tarawa, and cleared a path to Okinawa, the last major battle of World War II.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Catherine Musemeche (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Unknown history ofWar11

As a non-historical person what a great read. A behind view of unknown hero’s of WW11.

You can't land on a beach if you can't find one

This is another wonderful story of the forgotten aspects of WWII that contributed to the overall success in both The Atlantic and Pacific theaters. At the start of WWII many military US ocean charts barely had major islands, atolls, or land masses of any kind. Yet Germany and Japan had been studying the oceans for years and had extremely detailed maps and understandings of shipping lanes and the impacts to them by the ocean. This is the story of how America came to rely on experts like Mary Sears who were not even allowed on some research vessels because 'you are a woman!' Yet this is the story of how despite her past treatment by the government, she stepped up and made major contributions to parts of the war many have never considered.
Catherine's writing of Mary's journey and the impact America's success is touching and heroic and it leave you with respect and admiration for the sacrifices made both on the front lines, at bases, and back home.
The telling of how some leaders think they know everything about anything while others understand that the key to an entire military success is similar to any sporting event. You don't just take the field and win a game; rather your success is the result of dedicated focus and practice, but their are people behind the scenes who help mold that training that are the forgotten and true unsung heroes.
Mary Sears is one of those, and her's is an incredible wonderful story.

fantastic story about an unsung hero

The narrator was excellent except for the pronunciation of some of the island chains where the Marines fought battles. For those of us who have read extensively on those battles, your eyes will twitch every time one of the words is mispronounced. It will happen often.

Fascinating!

This book includes a lot of granular detail from Mary Sears' life all the way down to the science of oceanography and the things about it critical to World War II in the Pacific. But overall a very well written and well narrated book about an aspect of WWII I never knew about.