The Book Prize Index

The Sea Around Us

Rachel Carson

Published in 1951, The Sea Around Us is one of the most remarkably successful books ever written about the natural world. Rachel Carson's rare ability to combine scientific insight with moving, poetic prose catapulted her book to first place on The New York Times best-seller list, where it enjoyed wide attention for thirty-one consecutive weeks. It remained on the list for more than a year and a half and ultimately sold well over a million copies, has been translated into 28 languages, inspired an Academy Award-winning documentary, and won both the 1952 National Book Award and the John Burroughs Medal.

Nature & EnvironmentNature & Environment · medium confidenceNature & Environment81 signalsLlm Classifier: Nature & Environment -> Nature & EnvironmentOpen Library: Juvenile literature -> Arts & CriticismOpen Library: Politics and government -> Politics & GovernmentTravel, Exploration & PlaceOceans, Rivers & WaterNatural History & Animals

Award History

2 wins · 2 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
National Book Award for NonfictionMajor1952WinnerSecondary source
John Burroughs Medal1952WinnerSecondary source
View all award history (2)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    35 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 62%.