Who Was Jacques Cousteau [Paperback]

Jacques Cousteau is the most famous and beloved name in the world of deep-sea exploration. Cousteau discovered his passion in 1938, when he first used a pair of goggles to dive off the coast of France. During his time as a French naval officer, he carried out many deep-sea experiments and improved upon early diving equipment. Soon, Cousteau began filming his underwater excursions and offering the world a glimpse below the surface. The documentary television seriesThe Undersea World of Jacques Cousteaumade the man, his work, and his red cap famous throughout the world.Nico Medina is the author of two YA novels and two previous books in the Who Was...? series. He works at a publishing house in New York City and lives in Brooklyn.

Who Was Jacques Cousteau?

 
 
In 1920, ten-year-old Jacques Cousteau and his family were living in New York City.
 
Jacques and his older brother, Pierre-Antoine, liked playing stickball in the street outside their apartment on West Ninety-Fifth Street.
 
But besides stickball, Jacques was not a sports fan. He was skinny and sickly, and shy around other kids. Pierre-Antoine was his best friend.
 
That summer, the brothers were sent away to camp in Vermont. One day, while horseback riding, Jacques’s horse threw him to the ground. Jacques refused to ride for the rest of the summer.
 
Jacques was sent to the lake and ordered to remove leaves and branches from the water so the other boys could have a clean swimming space.
 
This so-called “punishment” would change Jacques’s life forever.
 
Jacques dived to the bottom of the lake and opened his eyes, hoping to see the underwater world around him. But the water was too muddy. It stung his eyes, and he could barely see past his own two hands.
 
Regardless, Jacques wanted to linger beneath the surface. He held his breath for as long as he could. He even trilã-