This is the first nontechnical book in

decades about one of the greatest and

most fascinating forces of nature on

this globe. Yhe Gulf Stream--the

great gyrc that flows up the Atlantic

coast of the United States, across tile

North Atlantic, down its eastern side,

and through the Caribbean to the Flor-

ida Straits- is arguably the most

powerful oceanic engine in .the world.

It was an avenue for the firs~ explorers

to reach North America; it is tht path

for the migration of countless sea erea-

lures; it is a pump for oceanic nutrients

and pollutants; it is a nursery for the

most savage stortns. Yet most of what

has been written about it has been

addressed to scientists alone.

Scientifically defined, the Stream is

not a river in the sea, but like a river, it

has its own human community -- from

oceanographers to tuna fishermen,

from archaeologists hunting for clues

to the construction of Columbus s

caravels to Coast Guardsmen hunting

for drug smugglers, from climatol-

ogists seeking clues to global changes

in temperature and humidity to tanker

captains riding the great current

to Hatteras and beyond. For three

years, that community was William H.

MacLeish s home.