Hidden Figures meets The Imitation Game in this phenomenal true story of the virtually unknown Mary Sears. Known as “the first oceanographer of the Navy,” her groundbreaking oceanographic research helped lead the U.S. to victory in the Pacific theater during World War II.

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. They turned to Mary Sears, an oceanographer with continuously overlooked untapped talent who, along with a team of colorful and quirky marine scientists, became instrumental in turning the tide of the war in the United States’ favor.

The Sears team dove in and 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 – all which proved critical to the U.S. Navy in avoiding catastrophe and ultimately cleared a path to Okinawa, the last major battle of World War II.

Weaving together science, biography, and military history Lethal Tides is the gripping 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.

About the Author: Catherine “Kate” Musemeche is a graduate of the University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas and the University of Texas School of Law. She has been a pediatric surgeon for more than three decades. Musemeche’s first book, Small, was longlisted for the E.O. Wilson/Pen American Literary Science Award and was awarded the Texas Writer’s League Discovery Prize for Nonfiction in 2015. Her second book, Hurt, was named one of the top ten EMS books of the decade. She has also contributed to the New York Times’ “Motherlode” blog, KevinMD.com, Creative Nonfiction magazine and EMS World. She lives in Austin, Texas.

This program is sponsored by The Wayland Historical Society and the Wayland Free Public Library. Thank you! 

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