Half Mile Down (1934)


Voyage to the bottom of the Sea…

William Beebe…a man born the year after Custer was wiped out at the Little Big Horn and the United States Centennial proclaimed 100 years of freedom…achieved a very modern feat and descended deeper into the ocean than any of his predecessors…

Between 1930 and 1934, he descended (along with Otis Barton, the designer of the craft) in a round iron ball known as the “Bathysphere”.  They went down over 3000 feet, into the dark and primitive ocean depths…and made history.  From one era to another, from horse-drawn to combustion engines, hand cranked submersibles to modern submarines, and from shallow-water diving suits to deep sea…bathyspheres…

Read a first edition of Beebe’s book, and discover what lies beneath for yourself…


As a side note…the Bathysphere still exists, and if you’re near New York City…check it out at the Coney Island aquarium…