Peter Briggs (1) (1921–1975)

I always enjoy reading about exploits beneath the sea, whether fictional or scientific research. This book details the 'Glomar Challenger' research vessel that set out to prove the theory of Ocean spread due to continental drift. It is a little more deep (no pun intended) than the books I would normally read on the subject, and at times just seemed to be a constant barrage of figures rather than detailing the actual events that I wanted to know but the whole concept of the experiment was to gain facts and figures, so I can't really complain. The Challenger was a ship with an in built drilling mechanism that allowed core drilling of the sea bed many thousands of feet below the waves, by studying these samples scientists could date the material and work out the age of that particular ocean section. They hoped to prove that if the centre of the ocean floor was younger than the edges then that would mean it was formed more recently and therefore proof that the Earth's plates were moving.

Really well researched and for the most part explained in relatively layman terms, the day to day life of the people on board is explained and you really get a feel for what life must have been like, often people spending many months there. Obviously technology has moved on since the Glomar Challenger was launched in 1968 but it is still nice to look back and read about those original steps into the unknown.… (meer)