We specialize in hard to find items
All Categories
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Who Was Jacques
Product Description 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 series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau made the man, his work, and his red cap famous throughout the world. About the Author 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. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 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 tried breathing through a hollow reed (a long, sturdy piece of grass), but that didn’t work very well. Jacques felt free swimming in the water. He welcomed the opportunity to visit the lake every day that summer. As an adult, Jacques pioneered new techniques for diving, breathing, filming, and even living underwater. He outgrew his shyness to become a worldwide celebrity, best-selling author, Oscar-winning moviemaker, and television star who brought breathtaking images of ocean life to millions of people the world over. Chapter 1: On the Move On June 11, 1910, in a small French market town fifty miles from the Atlantic coast, Jacques Cousteau was born. (Say his name like this: zhock koo-STOW.) Soon after, Jacques’s parents, Daniel and Elizabeth, and older brother, Pierre-Antoine, returned to their home in Paris. Daniel was an attorney and personal assistant to an American millionaire living there. His job required him to travel with his boss constantly. The Cousteaus were on the move for much of Jacques’s early years. One of his first childhood memories was being rocked to sleep on a train. Although Jacques was weak and often ill, he was determined. On a family trip to Deauville, a fashionable seaside resort, Jacques learned to swim. He was only four. When World War I broke out in 1914, German soldiers invaded France. Daniel’s boss returned to America. Jacques’s father was out of a job. German forces surrounded the city. But the Parisians—with help from their British allies—fought back. Hundreds of taxicabs drove back and forth between the city and the front lines, delivering soldiers and supplies. The French government left Paris, moving France’s capital to the city of Bordeaux. The Germans never conquered Paris, but life in the city was difficult as the war raged on. Food, water, and electricity were rationed—people were allowed only a certain amount of each resource. German aircraft, called zeppelins, dropped bombs on the city. When Jacques was seven, he and his family moved b
