Mont Vernon, NH Author and Scientist Publishes Autobiography

"Skating on Thin Ice", a new book by Walter H. Adey, PhD, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.

How does the son of Newfoundland immigrants-raised in the "jack-of-all-trades" culture of Depression-era Boston end up building a nuclear particle accelerator in his basement and spending half a century as a titan of marine science?

In his gripping new memoir, "Skating on Thin Ice," Dr. Walter H. Adey reveals the "Sturm und Drang" behind a storied fifty-one-year career as a Research Scientist and Curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Far from a dry academic retrospective, the book explores a life lived at the margins of acceptability, where rapid movement and hands-on ingenuity were the only things preventing a breakthrough into failure.

An Unconventional Path to Discovery
Dr. Adey's journey is a masterclass in multidisciplinary thinking. His narrative follows a trajectory that is as daring as it is intellectual:
- The Basement Scientist: While a student at MIT, Adey constructed a functional cyclotron in his family basement, a feat that served as his bachelor's thesis.
- The Maritime Shift: Torn between his geophysics training and a deep-seated maritime ancestry, Adey bridged the gap by applying the rigors of hard science to the "squishy" world of marine biology.
- Innovation on a Shoestring: Adey's world-spanning research wasn't conducted from luxury liners, but from vessels he either built himself or repurposed from confiscated drug-running boats, manned entirely by student crews.

The title, "Skating on Thin Ice", draws from Adey's youth in exurban Boston. Just as the first skaters on a frozen pond must move fast enough to stay ahead of the undulating waves of thin ice, Adey navigated his career by constantly maneuvering between the academic establishment and his own rugged, inventive instincts.

About the Author
Walter H. Adey, PhD, is a renowned phycologist, ecologist, and inventor. After earning his PhD through a collaboration between Harvard and the University of Michigan, he spent over five decades at the Smithsonian Institution. His work has revolutionized our understanding of coral reefs and marine ecosystems through the application of hard-science techniques and the use of SCUBA.

About the Editor
Susan Kreml brings over four decades of expertise to this project. With an MS in Biology and Marine Ecology, she has been a premier freelance substantive editor since 1982, specializing in life sciences, conservation, and medical biology.

"Skating on Thin Ice" is a 712-page hardcover with a retail price of $216.00 (eBook $211.00). The ISBN is 979-8-89127-867-7. Published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For members of the press, to request a review copy or author interview, please visit https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/pages/media-requests or to buy the book, visit our online bookstore at https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/products/skating-on-thin-ice For more information on publishing services, please visit https://www.dorrancepublishing.com/