Norton, Trevor 1940-

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Norton, Trevor 1940-

(T.A. Norton, Trevor A. Norton, Trevor Alan Norton)

PERSONAL:

Born July 28, 1940, in Sheffield, England; son of Alan and Agnes Norton; married Win Marian Price, July 26, 1968; children; Rachel Jane and Paul Martin. Education: Liverpool University, B.S., 1963, Ph.D., 1966. Hobbies and other interests: Writing, photography, conversation, movies, climbing trees.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Port Erin, Isle of Man, Great Britain. Office—Port Erin Marine Lab, Port Erin IM9 6JA, Isle of Man, Great Britain. E-mail—Sm06@ liverpool.ac.uk.

CAREER:

Marine biologist, educator, and writer. Glasgow University, Glasgow, Scotland, lecturer, 1966-76, senior lecturer, 1977-81, titular professor, 1982; Liverpool University, Port Erin Marine Lab, Isle of Man, professor of marine biology, 1983-2005, professor emeritus, 2005—, director of Port Erin Marine Lab, 1983—.

MEMBER:

Marine Biology Association (council member), British Phycological Society (president, 1989-90), International Phycological Society (president, 1992-94).

WRITINGS:

(Compiler) Synopsis of Biological Data on Saccorhiza Polyschides, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome, Italy), 1970.

Stars beneath the Sea: The Extraordinary Lives of the Pioneers of Diving, Century (London, England), 1999, published as Stars beneath the Sea: The Pioneers of Diving, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2000.

(Consultant) Linda Sonntag, The Atlas of the Oceans, Copper Beech Books (Brookfield, CT), 2001.

Reflections on a Summer Sea, illustrations by wife, Win Norton, Century (London, England), 2001.

Underwater to Get out of the Rain: A Love Affair with the Sea (memoir), illustrations by Win Norton, Century (London, England), 2005.

Also contributor to The Ecology of Rocky Coasts, 1985, An Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland, 1986, Biology of the Red Algae, 1990, and The Exploitable Living Resources of the Irish Sea, 1990. Contributor to professional journals, including the Journal of Phycology and Aquatic Microbial Ecology.

SIDELIGHTS:

Trevor Norton is a marine biologist with an interest in diving. In Stars beneath the Sea: The Extraordinary Lives of the Pioneers of Diving, the author provides biographies of thirteen pioneers of underwater exploration, beginning with the first scientist to make underwater observations of the seas—the nineteenth century's Henri Milne Edwards. Among other profiles are J.B.S. Haldane, who developed the correct breathing mixture of oxygen and helium for deep diving, and William Beebe, who invented the bathysphere. Roland Green, writing in Booklist, called Stars beneath the Sea "accessible and funny; for adventurous teens and budding scientists." A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote: "Norton writes with a light touch and a wonderful feel for his material."

In Reflections on a Summer Sea, Norton tells the tale of a group of ecologists known for their eccentricity who established a privately financed laboratory in Ireland. In addition to his fellow biologists and ecologists, Norton also writes about many different kinds of sea life. Ann Skea, writing on the Eclectica Web site, noted that the author's "writing is often very funny and he describes some eccentric and funny characters, but he also writes poetically and lovingly about science." Skea added: "He is exceptionally good at making such seemingly dull things as sponges and seaweeds into objects of fascination."

Underwater to Get out of the Rain: A Love Affair with the Sea is the author's memoir of his travels around the world as he researches marine biology and other natural life. He writes extensively about natural history and about the various peoples who influenced the regions he visits. Colleen Mondor, writing in Booklist, called Underwater to Get out of the Rain a "witty and engaging memoir." A contributor to National Fisherman referred to the book as "part anecdote, part personal memory and entirely engaging." A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote that the author "engagingly holds forth on continental drift, the Bermuda Triangle, the strange juju of shipwrecks, the eroticism of the sea world."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Norton, Trevor, Underwater to Get out of the Rain: A Love Affair with the Sea, illustrations by Win Norton, Century (London, England), 2005.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2000, Roland Green, review of Stars beneath the Sea: The Pioneers of Diving, p. 1638; May 1, 2006, Colleen Mondor, review of Underwater to Get out of the Rain, p. 59.

California Bookwatch, August, 2006, review of Underwater to Get out of the Rain.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2006, review of Underwater to Get out of the Rain, p. 337.

Library Journal, May 1, 2000, Margaret Rioux, review of Stars beneath the Sea, p. 150; May 1, 2006, Judith B. Barnett, review of Underwater to Get out of the Rain, p. 116.

National Fisherman, May, 2006, review of Underwater to Get out of the Rain, p. 5.

Publishers Weekly, April 24, 2000, review of Stars beneath the Sea, p. 69; March 27, 2006, review of Underwater to Get out of the Rain, p. 6.