The Shell Book

In this striking book of hand-tinted photographs, Barbara Hirsch Lember turns her eye toward the world of shells. Choosing fourteen shells commonly found along the shores of the United States, she reveals the stunning beauty of each one, transforming the most ordinary into the extraordinary. Each shell is photographed close-up and accompanied by a short, infor-mation-packed description. Ms. Lember describes, for instance, how Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans used to make a rich purple dye out of a yellowish fluid secreted by the Cabbage Murex when it was boiled and treated. This dye was then used to color cloth worn by emperors and Roman senators. The Shell Book is a book for anyone who has ever walked along the beach and paused to pick up a shell at their feet.