Book Description

All of us, at one time or another, find ourselves inexplicably drawn to the sea. For some, it's a place for reflection or romance. For others, it's the thrill of watching surf crash against a sandy white beach or studying the kaleidoscope of life among a tropical coral reef. This ability of the ocean to change our lives, to inspire us and to fascinate us is what led us to create Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul, a collection of stories from around the world that celebrate the magic of our ocean planet.

The sea, from the beginning of time, has inspired great art and amazing stories. Our relationship with the ocean lies deep within our consciousness and, in fact, is in each of us. Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul has captured some of these great stories to warm your heart and touch your soul. This book has amazing stories of swimming eye to eye with great whales, sharks and manatees, as well as legends of dolphins saving man.

So get ready to dive in with Jack, Mark and Wyland, the world's most acclaimed marine-life artist, as they guide you on a journey of discovery and stories that will lift your spirit and awaken your senses like the healing sea itself. At last, a Chicken Soup for the Soul book for ocean lovers like you!

Reviews (6)

Excellent!
This book is really excellent. I was in a diving trip in the islets of spratlys when i started reading this book. It really had my eyes fill with tears. The book not only did touch my heart but also my soul. Never did i regret buying this book!

The best book in the chicken soup series!!!
Wow! I received this book as a gift from a co-worker who knew I was a fan of the work of the artist Wyland. I had seen the Chicken Soup series for years, but found most of the stories to be a little too similar. This book was a VAST improvement and really deserves a look from anyone who thought the Chicken Soup series has burned itself out. I was particularly drawn to the story, "The Sea and the Wind that Blows," by E.B. White, the author of "Charlotte's Web." White, a long-time sailing aficionado, realizes for the first time that he is getting older and is becoming a risk to himself by sailing alone ... and must make a painful decision to give up his beloved pasttime. He ultimately decides that the point of life is to do what you love, and in so doing, decides to continue his sailing adventures, regardless of the consequences. It's a message for everyone who has ever considered giving up on something precious. The other stories are great too -- they come from around the entire world -- but are too numerous to explain in this review. This was simply a great gift that I will treasure as long as my paperback copy holds out.

soul finding
This is a warm and wonderful book filled with stories, poems and art that will fill your heart with gladness. I can relate to many of these stories as I am a diver and a snorkeler, but anyone with a love for the ocean or even just a love for nature and life will find this book a treasure. I am going to order 3 more copies to give to my daughters and a friend because I don't wish to part with my own copy.

A pleasant surprise
I'm not what you would call an "ocean lover" as the title of this book indicates, but my family and I used to visit the ocean on summer vacations in the gulf of Texas. I guess I had forgotten how wonderful those times were. But after reading Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul, it was like being there again, building sandcastles on the beach with my father and brother, sharing my dreams for the future with my mother and contemplating the vast sea in front of us. There are some terrific stories here, including some by well-known authors, and the Wyland paintings are beautiful, but it's the stories by people like me, everyday people, with such touching memories of the sea that make this book a dear gift, indeed.

Great book...
Also check out Captain Jon Explores the Ocean (also available from Amazon as well), a great tribute to the sea for the young and the young at heart. ... Read more

Book Description

Amazon.com

Frantic and entertaining in a guilty sort of way, Nights of Ice is like Endurance on steroids. The book presents eight true stories of disaster and survival involving commercial fisherman off the coast of Alaska (said to be one of America's most dangerous occupations). Included are tales of subzero temperatures, 100 mph winds, 60-foot-high waves, boats encased in ice and capsized, men trapped underwater, and other horrors. Author Spike Walker, who interviewed many of the survivors in compiling this book, is no stranger to such tales of the high seas; he worked as a commercial fisherman off the Alaska coast and wrote about it in Working on the Edge.

Nights of Ice begins promisingly enough but unfortunately gives way to a sensationalism that cheapens the whole affair: "At that moment, Bruce Hinman's past life flashed before his very eyes. Launched instantaneously through time, he watched the events of his life play out before him...they flashed and froze there in his consciousness, in a kind of nostalgic collage of all that had once mattered in his life." As a result, there are a lot of unintentionally funny moments. Despite its problems, though, Nights of Ice is fun to read, and lovers of true-adventure stories or those interested in the dangers of the Alaskan fishing industry should enjoy it. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Reviews (9)

entertaining subject--marginal writing
I read this on a trip to Alaska, so I got into it's "spirit" on location. The stories are quite entertaining, but when writers make junior-varsity comments and mistakes, it makes me wonder about the veracity of the actual stories:
1) Does everyone see their entire lives flash before their eyes when they are near death?
2) Some guy's one-year old child asks him if he is Santa Claus upon his return from an ordeal at sea. Clearly Spike has never spent time with a one-year old; not only can very few of them speak more than a word or two, but this one is so eloquent and knowledgeable that he thinks the old man is Kris himself!
3) The helicopter pilot makes it to a "small village airport" just before running out of fuel (which means it must have been between 5-10 minutes from the rescue locale since they only had 30 minutes of fuel left before the rescue attempt(hmmmm), but somehow a C-130 can get in and out of there to send them home while the chopper gets an inspection (hmmm hmmmm).
I'll leave it at that...

Nights of Ice ... Spike Walker is great read
Having lived my entire life in and around Seattle, In March 2001, I ventured North to Alaska to visit my daughter and her family. While there I picked up "Nights of Ice".

Spike Walker's subject matter is, first of all, relevant to anyone who has lived near the sea. The Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, as one non-fisherman said, "I can't drink it all and I'm damned sure I can't swim that far."

Life at sea in a boat, rolling and plowing through the next wave, gets into some folks blood. I'm sure it's that way with fishermen and women but the money don't hurt either. In any case its a perilous life.

Nights of Ice takes us along for a ride with people, real people, who have experienced the worst the sea has to offer. Walker's intimate knowledge of workin' the boats has us searching for lights in a "can't see your hand in front of your face" stateroom, attempting, frantically, to pull on the survival suit. We are terrified of the boat goin' down with us still on board. We gasp for air and our heart seems to stop when we hit the 37 degree water. We, along with actual survivors, use every ounce of strength and resource our bodies are able to muster in order to survive.

Nights of Ice and its individual, sometimes heroic, stories are an adventure in itself.

This book will make you shiver!
I enjoyed this book alot. All the stories deal with survival at sea in the waters off Alaska. The stories are kind of repetitive but if you like the first one you'll like the rest. The thought of finding one's self in the frigid Alaskan waters will make you pull an extra blanket on while you read. My only real complaint is that I would have liked more details on the fishermen involved (background, etc) so it wouldn't just have been names floating out there in the ocean. Overall, highly recommended adventure reading.

An excellent read if you like action.
Great book! Not quite up to the first book, "Working on the Edge", but great. The author spares the reader all the scientific, high-tech bs of the "Perfect Storm", and gets down and dirty.

Hard to put down!
I have heard that King Crab fishing was dangerous. Spike Walker lets you know exactly what it is really like. I have a whole new respect for those who bring in our King Crab! This book brought many a tear. ... Read more

Book Description

If humankind were given a mandate to do everything in our power to undermine the earth's functioning, we could hardly do a better job than we have in the past thirty years on the world's oceans, both by what we are putting into it-millions of tons of trash and toxic materials-and by what we are taking out of it-millions of tons of wildlife. Yet only recently have we begun to understand the scale of those impacts.

Defying Ocean's End is the result of an unprecedented effort among the world's largest environmental organizations, scientists, the business community, media, and international governments to address these marine issues. In June 2003, in the culmination of a year-long effort, they met specifically to develop a comprehensive and achievable agenda to reverse the decline in health of the world's oceans.

As conservation organizations begin to expand their focus from land issues to include a major focus on preservation of the sea, it is increasingly apparent that we have to approach marine conservation differently and at much larger scale than we have to date. What's also clear is the magnitude and immediacy of the growing ocean concerns are such that no one organization can handle the job alone.

Defying Ocean's End is a bold step in bringing the resources needed to bear on this vast problem before it is too late. It offers a broad strategy, a practical plan with priorities and costs, aimed at mobilizing the forces needed to bring about a "sea change" of favorable attitudes, actions, and outcomes for the oceans-and for all of us.

Book Description

Reviews (9)

Leaves a lot to be desired.
The author is a good writer, BUT, where in this piece of nonfiction are the index, bibliography, and footnotes. There are other books on the same subject that one should spend money on, not this one.

Outlaw Sea
Disappointed. Title is great, but content is lacking. Mostly an excruciating recap of some notable maritime tragedies rather than a discussion of the issues associated with governance of the seas, UNCLOS, inability of coastal states to manage their coastlines, flags of convenience, etc.

A Free Sea, and a Dangerous One
As Melville knew, we look to the sea as a symbol for freedom, and "freedom of the seas" is proverbial. But freedom at sea can lead to such manifestations as piracy, and not just in the swashbuckling days of yore; it could also lead to corporate irresponsibility and malfeasance. William Langewiesche's _The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime_ (North Point Press) collects and expands upon his previous magazine articles on this theme. All of us are dependent upon international trade, and few of us understand how it works or in what ways it is working badly or dangerously, unless we hear about a capsizing or an oil spill. There are a lot more of those than we hear about, and a lot more crime on the sea than even governments acknowledge. Langewiesche's book is a fine way for lubbers to get to know how traditional maritime freedom is endangering them.

Before World War II, ships were customarily built in a country, were registered in that country, flew the flag of that country, and sailed for the profit of businessmen in that country. Ironically, the United States began the current anarchical system in a pretense of neutrality during the pre-Pearl Harbor war, registering in Panama ships bringing needed supplies to Britain. The practice became widespread in the succeeding decades, with many ships now sailing under "flags of convenience." They might be registered in countries that have no navy and even no coastline, and the countries involved can get relatively small fees, which are actually almost pure profit. The countries don't pursue administrative niceties like taxes, labor laws, safety inspections, and so on, and the corporations which own the ships don't mind avoiding such things, either. Among the cases described here are a too-old ship (with full inspection documents) broken in half by stormy seas. Pirates can take advantage of the lax laws by making a ship disappear; capture, repaint, rename, and reflag the vessel, and it vanishes from the seas. Seas are big, ships leave no tracks, and patrol ships and aircraft can see only a tiny percentage of any hunting ground. Policing the oceans from such attacks is not now possible.

The longest episode in the book tells of the _Estonia_, a giant luxury ferry that sank in the Baltic in 1994, with a loss of 852 of 989 passengers and crew. A victim of faulty design, poor maintenance, or even a bomb (none of the extensive investigations afterwards has satisfied everyone), the narrative here of well-chosen characters trying to escape from the swiftly-sinking ship is fast and terrifying. The book ends with a part of the maritime business that few people ever consider: what happens to the worn-out ships? Salvaging used to be a thriving business in our country and others; reclaiming the metal and reusing it was good for profits and good for the environment. However, showing the same pattern of lack of regulation and reduction of the job to the cheapest source available, shipwrecking has gone to places like India, where poorly equipped and poorly paid workers are glad of the job, even if it means almost constant danger from the unplanned movement of heavy objects or the inhalation of poisons. The shipping industry, Langewiesche writes, is "not exactly a criminal industry, but it is an amoral and stubbornly anarchic one." This is a deeply disturbing book, written with cool detachment. Technology and international organizations have not made improvements in the way the vital global trade is conducted. Profits are more important than anything, the sea promises the freest of trading, no one seems to be learning from the lessons described here, and no one should expect these dangerous situations to be changed anytime soon.

Where civilization falls apart
William Langewiesche's excellent book could be seen on one level as just a collection of harrowing, if wonderfully told, sea stories. His writing, though vivid, is understated, and can carry as much freight, so to speak, in one or two sentences as some writers pack into entire chapter. Even on this very superficial level, this title is both riveting and educational reading.

But the deeper you look into this book, the more there is to uncover. I read it during a news cycle when the threat of seaborne terrorism was once again in the headlines, and it was certainly sobering to see how easily how ships in what one reviewer called "the low end of the shipping industry" can disappear almost at will from the world's seas, reappearing in a new port under a new name, with a new flag, and even a markedly different appearance.

Langewiesche's key point is that the world's oceans are an outlaw place -- in the original, literal definition of the word as outside the protection, or even beyond the reach, of law. On the high seas, each ship is to one or another degree, its own absolute monarchy. When crimes occur, where can they be prosecuted -- by whom, and under what authority? (The author's recounting of one memorable case where modern-day pirates were tried in India vividly proves his point.)

Law and order tend to break down at sea in another way too, as the sinking of the ferry Estonia made clear. As the ferry began to go under, Langewiesche tells how civilization fell apart under the simple and inescapable need for survival. Thieves even began stealing jewelry right off the bodies of their fellow passengers -- before themselves going to their deaths, appropriately enough. Disaster at sea provides horrible proof for how thin the veneer of civilized society really is.

All this makes for disturbing, as well as fascinating, reading. The ocean is a world where few humans feel at home, and fewer would be able to survive for any length of time if their comfortable ships or planes were taken away from them. William Langewiesche's understated but revealing book illuminates this world in a way that should replace romantic visions with a very sobering understanding of reality.

This is the best book I've read in a while.
How do you pronounce this man's name? He has a wonderful way with words and I think I am going to subscribe to the Atlantic Monthly just so I can read more of his writing. This book was really scary at times and I couldn't put it down. What I like most about the author is that he doesn't try to force his opinions on the readers. Or if he does, it isn't obtrusive. His description at the end of the shipbreaking yards in India are incredible and I would love to see pictures of them. ... Read more

Book Description

The authors of The Beach: The History of Paradise on Earth, the best-selling history of everyone's favorite place, are back with a breathtaking visual companion. From moody, craggy coastlines to serene swathes of turquoise water and white sand, Beaches is an astounding photographic survey of the ineffable allure of paradise on earth. This spectacular collection of images from renowned photographers, including Robert Misrach, Joel Meyerowitz, and Art Wolff, stirs the spirit, capturing the mutable beauty of sand, sea, and sky. Throughout, concise and poetic pieces of historic and scientific lore unveil little-known facts and curiosities. With an astonishing range of vision, Beaches evokes the idiosyncratic beauty of the world's most stunning coastlines. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A Retreat in Itself
The is a stunning book. The photos come from diverse parts of the globe and diverse coastal landscapes. At first, I was skeptical of the small-ish size. But the photos are very high quality and beautiful to look at. Maybe someday I'll get around to looking at the text?

Now and then, I pull the book off the shelf and flip through the photos -- an instant retreat to the shore. Great for anyone who loves the sea but can't be there very often.

BEACHES - A POEM
BEACHES -- the book [revised] When my eyes grow too dim to read, this book will be at hand to refresh my spirit, eyes, and memories.

Reminders of the beaches I have seen, and many not-seen scenes. I see familiar translucent jewel green waves and turquoise bays, ice blue coves in Oregon, huge translucent waves curving to meet the sea, another deep blue wave with incredible froth, like crystals suspended high above its majestic curve -- golden grassy sea shores, blazing sunsets -- also purple sunsets, one at Brighton pier, and other channel scenes -- rocky Brittany shores and White Dover cliffs, and curves and caves and coruscated sands. There is a tide pool like a giant blue eye with sun-bronzed eyelids -- white iceberg-rocks floating in a mirror-sea -- one real iceberg, a huge dollop of meringue reflected in a heliotrope bay --

An endless treasure.

Beyond the Most Beautiful Beach Scenes You've Seen
Review Summary: Take the most talented photographers in the world. Review thousands of their best color beach photographs. Select a few dozen. Fill in with intriguing, inspirational essays about the origin, geology, physics, terms, and biology of beaches plus describe great beach activities like surfing. The result is a stunning work that makes you wonder how come you've never seen a beach scene as beautiful as these. It's the most fun at the beach you can have without going out into the sun!

Review: "The beach, after all, is among the most challenging and rewarding of photographic subjects . . . ." The shifts between land, water, and sky are often subtle. The light has an enormous influence on the colors and the mood of the scene. Light changes swiftly. The activity of the waves changes even faster. In many cases, a photograph is capturing a unique and fleeting moment, almost like a snowflake about to melt on your hand, that could not otherwise be as fully appreciated. While the editing could have selected scenes built around the nostalgia of your own experiences at beaches, the book instead takes you around the world and to rare moments to see beaches as you will probably never see them in a lifetime, even if you visited these same sites. I was particularly impressed by the scenes of waves (which must have been taken from surf boards) and through rocks.

The editorial selection criteria were intriguing: To show "how the beach might see itself if it were to ponder its own face without the intermediary of the human eye." That concept would not have occurred to me, and I am sure I will think about all scenes in nature differently in the future as a result. I am sure you will, too. Next, the editors looked for "the most crystalline, intelligent, and evocative portrait . . . ." They also wanted the book to show a "shining range of visual sensiblities." This sense is nicely captured by looking at scenes from dawn to dusk, and from full sun to fog. Panoramas alternate with tight shots of a single element. The book is not limited to ocean beaches. Estuaries, rivers and lakes are also pictured. When in doubt, the book's editors seem to have selected the images with the highest levels of unusual color, along with stunning compositions from unusual angles.

My favorites in the book are Art Brewer's Talava Arches on Niue Island in the Cook Islands, A. Blake Gardner's shot of Padre Island National Seashore in Texas, Michael Ventura's image of Natural Arches in Bermuda, Craig Tuttle's Tide Pool at Bandon State Park and his shot of Ecola State Park both in Oregon, Ron Romanosky's beautiful Newport Beach, California, Daryl Benson's Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Peter Lik's Australian shots of Orpheus Island in Queensland and Twelve Apostles in Victoria, and Joe Cornish's North Yorkshire Coast in England.

After you have bathed in the beauty of these rare natural wonders, I suggest you think about other rare moments that you may never experience. What are they? How can you seek them out? Can others help you? One of the great wonders of books, videos, and recordings is that they can bring us into extended communion with sights, sounds, and feelings that we have not directly experienced.

Let choosing rare, rewarding moments be a guide to your fulfillment!

Simply beautiful
Seldom I come across a photographic book so vivid and inspirational. The layout, color, and organization as well as the printing quality of the book is of first grade. A truly must for nature photography lovers.

Breathtakingly beautiful
This book is gorgeous. The photographs are astonishing, and convey the authors' love of the beach. Only a couple photos features people, and they're way in the background. This is a good thing. (The book is not coffee-table size, but that's okay with me, because I can keep it with me in my bag for a mood-lifter every day.) The beaches are far more lovely, important, and lasting than we humans! I'm betting that many readers will be inspired to plan their next vacation to get near some of these beaches after viewing this book. Perhaps some will also be inspired to behave in an environmentally responsible manner in their lives. Let's preserve our planet's natural beauty while we still can! ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

"The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place." A book to be read for pleasure as well as a practical identification guide, The Edge of the Sea introduces a world of teeming life where the sea meets the land. A new generation of readers is discovering why Rachel Carson's books have become cornerstones of the environmental and conservation movements. New introduction by Sue Hubbell. (A Mariner Reissue) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Simply Beautiful
Having never heard of Rachel Carson except in relation to "Silent Spring", I was pleasantly surprised on first reading her writing in this book by the masterly and near-poetic elegance of her prose. Written in the 1950s, before nature documentaries allowed most of us to see the wonders of marine life with our own eyes, Carson's ability to introduce those wonders to us through evocatively-written description alone (with occasional illustrations) remains truly amazing. The problem is that a generation raised on visual stimuli would probably find it quite difficult to sustain enough patience to go through the whole book, since it does make substantial demands on one's sense of imagination. I found myself struggling by the time I had finished two chapters - even though each chapter is generally about a different kind of seashore (rock, sand, or coral reef), trying to visualise one fascinating organism after another just got rather tedious and confusing. My recommendation to other readers would be to maximise your enjoyment of this book by reading it at the seaside, or in conjunction with a relevant documentary on the Discovery Channel.

A Book to Read at the Beach
This is just the thing for the beach. Carson presents a fascinating introduction to the life which exists between high and low tide zone between Maine and Florida. The writing is clear and literate making the book accessible to non-technical types, such as myself.

Informative as a textbook, entertainment like a novel
I just finished this and I can't wait to read the rest of the author's work. Carson has a gift for describing the world around her and a command of the language that few seem to appreciate today. This is basically a natural history book written as if it where a novel. In "Edge of the Sea" she describes seashores, the environment and how it defines the animals and plants that a visitor will see. She concentrates on America's East Coast. The text left me with a longing to be there. Where modern writers would use pictures, Carson uses words. This book would be good (4 stars) for anyone who enjoys written imagery. If you already love the sea then it deserves 5.

A Book written By Rachel Carson
I thought this book was very mature and detailed. She is an excellent writer and I am doing a report on her! She was a wonderful person. And I enjoyed this very much. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1968, nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. It was a feat that had never been accomplished and one that would forever change the face of sailing. Ten months later, only one of the nine men would cross the finish line and earn fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the reward was madness, failure, and death.

In this extraordinary book, Peter Nichols chronicles a contest of the individual against the sea, waged at a time before cell phones, satellite dishes, and electronic positioning systems. A Voyage for Madmen is a tale of sailors driven by their own dreams and demons, of horrific storms in the Southern Ocean, and of those riveting moments when a split-second decision means the difference between life and death.

Reviews (22)

Nichols has done it again
I read Peter Nichols first book, "Sea Change" with complete facination. He is a great storyteller and a wise soul. He told that true story, of a rocky marriage, of life on a beloved boat and the ultimate demise of both, with grace and candor.

The new book, "Voyage for Madmen" is, again, a beautifully and honestly told true story. His knowledge of the sea and boats gives him the proper foundation to tell the harrowing tale of the Golden Globe race, but it's his ability to get inside the people involved that makes this a great read.

Nichols has done it again. Keep up the great work.

A non-sailor's view
One day I heard a couple of book reviewers on the radio rattle off a list of good books, and I jotted this title down. When I got the book, I was uncertain as to whether I would enjoy it. The only sailing I had ever done was out in SF Bay as a passenger whose assigned job was to stay out of the way.

But after reading the book, my view of sailing has changed. This book utterly grabbed me. I couldn't put it down and I relished every word.

While the book is a true story, it isn't just a documentary. It is full of stories and portraits of people who are more fantastic than fiction. I think that not knowing anything about the Golden Globe race kept me in greater suspense. This was a page-turner 'til the very end.

I applaud Peter Nichols and his writing style. I read Perfect Storm and found it sterile and unemotional. This book was just the opposite. It was invigorating, enriching and human.

Great writing . . . but the story isn't very compelling.
I hate to be a sour puss (in light of the glowing praises for this book), but I have to admit that this book really didn't do it for me. The writing is excellent . . . there's no doubt about that. However, the story wasn't very gripping or compelling. I just didn't feel the need to pick it up every time I saw it on the coffee table.

When I read the inside cover, I was left with the impression that all but one sailor survived. I thought this would be an entralling story about the peril of each lost sailor and the triump of the sole survivor. That's not the case. Only one *finished* . . . which is more then I can say about how I did with this book. I stopped reading it 2/3 of the way through. There aren't many books where I'll make a 2/3 investment in time only to skip the end.

There are plenty of other great sailing books about racing. "Close to the Wind" and "The Proving Grounds" were both excellent.

Kansan sails the seas
Excellent book, tho I quibble with cover blurb "Only one made it back," as it made me anticipate more deaths than occurred (is that morbid of me?). A true non-sailor, I found this story easy to follow and well-written, though a glossary of nautical terms and maybe a diagram of a sailboat with salient features labeled would have helped me understand it better. Even so, highly recommended!

Beyond The Ordinary
More than just a book, this is a chance to experience, to some degree, second hand, what the first single handed around-the-world sailors experienced. Peter Nichols writes brilliantly about a sailing race, one of the greatest ever really. I knew parts of the story, but this book puts it together and in prospective. Nichols is a gifted writer and is writing about something that he obviously feels passionate about, a perfect combination. There is a bio of each of the racers, good descriptions of the boats and notes from their logs. The story unfolds as the race progresses and has many shocking surprises in the end. Most importantly, you learn about the psychology and philosophy of the very different characters as they wrestle with the turbulent sea and the huge mental challenge they face. You don't have to be a sailor to understand or love this book. ... Read more

Book Description

With more than 750 illustrations, including 300 color photographs, this guide covers more than 1,000 species, such as shoreside plants, clams, shrimps, crabs, corals, seaweeds, sponges, and sea urchins, as well as all of the common seashore communities found from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Caribbean. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Good
This book arrived in a timely manner and was in good condition.

Trying to Hard
Where Kaplan's "Coral Reefs" manages to take a difficult field guide topic and conquer it, "Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores" Takes an impossible task and muddles it. I don't know what the people at Peterson's Field Guides was thinking! The topic is far to broad to include in one book, and Kaplan seems to try and make it broader. He includes coral reefs and things distinctly NOT on the shore as well as including topics already in other field guides. I do NOT want to belittle Kaplan (whom I enjoy) or Peterson's (who I think makes the best mass consumption field guides available) but unless you really need it, I would stay away from this book. It does win points for it's illustrations and Kaplan's knowledge and writing style.

Don't Leave Home Without It!
I have taken Kaplan's field guide to seashores to Florida Keys, the Bahamas, the USVI, The BVI, Bonaire, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Curacao, and have found the book to be indispensible. No matter which island, each seashore seemed familiar, and with a little judicious reading beforehand,I understood whatever natural phenomena I saw, from snorkelling in the shallows to walking the rocky shore to crawling around the red mangrove roots. I would no sooner leave this field guide home when I go to the Carribbean or Florida, than leave home my Michelin Guide to Europe when I go there. I recommend the Field Guide to Seashores to all nature lovers and snorkelers who want to make the best of their trip to the the Caribbean or Florida. ... Read more

Amazon.com

National parks, it has been said, are "the best idea America ever had." With the advent of national marine sanctuaries, the United States has taken this good idea underwater. Prominent marine biologist Sylvia Earle and underwater photographer Wolcott Henry take readers on a breathtaking grand tour of America's undersea parks in Wild Ocean. With big, gorgeous color photographs on nearly every page and enlightening text to enhance the reader's sense of each location, the book is a must-see for ocean enthusiasts. From the tropical splendor of coral reefs to the magnificence of northern rocky coasts, marine sanctuaries are national treasures, snatched from the jaws of pollution and development just in time to ensure that people will always have an opportunity to appreciate the ocean's beauty. Earle and Wolcott take you under the waves with whales, sea turtles, sharks, and other marine creatures to show how worthy these fragile environments are of protection and even expansion. The political message here is clear: these places are worth the taxpayers' money--see for yourself. Wild Ocean is an impassioned plea for preservation of America's seas. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beautifully illustrated - superb into to marine parks
THE definitive introduction to America's 'Parks Under the Sea'.

Beautifully illustrated with photographs from a virtual who's who of underwater/nature photography -- Wolcott Henry, David Doubilet, Frans Lanting, Gary Ellis, Stephen Frink, Norbert Wu ...

From the slow-moving Manatee in the caribbean waters off Florida to playful sea lions in the Channel Islands off the California coast, this book takes you on a whirlwind journey through what may be America's last and greatest wild places. Sylvia Earle's unique perspective as America's foremost underwater explorer makes her the ideal tour guide for this sweeping journey.

There's something here for everyone -- armchair travelers, experienced divers, nature lovers, adventurous spirits. The one book you really ought to own if you have an interest in exploring the vast wealth and staggering diversity of our national underwater heritage. More mysterious, more alluring, even more diverse than our National Park System, the National Marine Sanctuary System is the adventureland of tomorrow.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page and often find myself reaching to the bookshelf to "go back" to places that one day I hope I'll have a chance to visit. This book gets my highest recommendation. ... Read more

Book Description

One of the world's leading underwater archeologists recounts experiences from his 24 years as founder and head of the elite, award-winning Submerged Cultural Resources Unit (SCRU) team of the U.S. National Park Service-adventure writing at its best. In Submerged, Lenihan (the co-author with Gene Hackman of the novel Wake of the Perdido Star) takes the reader on a kaleidoscope of underwater experiences-to ancient ruins covered by reservoirs in the desert southwest, to the lower rings of hell to retrieve the bodies of drowned divers, to gripping accounts of personal survival in underwater caves, ships, and submerged buildings. Among the astonishing, often harrowing assignments he recalls:• The Isle Royale shipwrecks: Surveying ten large ships sunk from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries in the middle of the frigid and deep Lake Superior.• The USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor: Executing the largest mapping project ever conducted underwater, and his personal impressions as, the leader of the first expedition to explore and video the entire ship in 1983.• Investigating the hull of the HL Hunley, the first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship, in Charleston Harbor during the Civil War.• Resurveying of the ships sunk by atomic bombs at Bikini Atoll, including the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga/I> and Japanese battleship Nagato.

This fascinating book, written with a mixture of wonder, intensity, pathos, and humor, is not only a unique adventure book, but a work that records, in one volume for the first time, the historic and social significance of the underwater research programs conducted by this remarkable unit of the US National Park Service. Maps, 20 color photographs, index. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Takes You Places You'll Probably Never Go Underwater
An engaging, articulate,and suspenseful writer, Dan Lenihan shows the often daring and dangerous side of being an underwater park ranger. Not dry in the least, Submerged took me to eerie and beautiful underwater places I'd never have the courage to go myself but find fascinating. Often self-deprecating but never the egotist, Lenihan brought me into his inner circle to share the experience and the history of each place in wonderful detail. While they clearly had a lot of fun, Dan and his fellow rangers should be taken as seriously as the archaelogists on land uncovering Egyptian tombs or finding dinosaur bones. While many of the sites he discusses in Submerged are off limits to the public, Dan also wrote a handy Fodors book called "Underwater Wonders of the National Parks" which is a diving and snorkeling guide to areas open to the public. I'll be recommending Submerged to my diving and non-diving friends.

submerged, enlightening information, remarkable stories
Although I know little of underwater archeaology, I have done my share of contract land archeaology and am an avid sport diver. Mr. Lenihan gives bonechilling acounts of diving situations involving caves, polluted waters and other truly extreme variables. I have been a scuba diver here in San Diego for over thirty years and I have come with time to admit my limits. This man, wether crazy or not, has defied most the limits I am aware of, but you can't say he was clueless, he's still here to write this book. Being quite involved in the diving community for some time and also associated with some west coast based archaeologist, I have heard nothing but high regards for this mans reliability and profesionalism as an archaeologist.
I have read some of the reviews by other so called sport divers who are down on Mr. Lenihan. I am angered by their comments and dissappointed by their ethics treating ships. Essentially, they are treasure hunters and thier ethics are, "the gold I find while destroying sites for other divers is mine!" I fully admit that they know more about ship wreck diving than myself although I doubt Mr. Lenihan is in jeopardy of being overwhelmed by their "unselfish principles" or vast historical knowledge of the sites they desecrate. From the very positive articles I have read in such magazines as "Skindiver" or "Sportdiver" magazine, I am more willing to take them seriously. But thats just me. For anyone interested at all in the ethics of preservation or the insanity of adventure, wether you agree or not, this book will probably fullfill alot of those curiosities.

It's my new bible
I loved this book so much! I was truly saddened when i reached the end. Mr Lenihan obviously loves his job and brings these stories to life with vivid storytelling. I'm never letting this book leave my possesion.

Submerged: Adventures of America's Most Elite
Submerged: Adventures of America's Most Elite Underwater Archeology Team written by Daniel Lenihan has action-adventure throughout, underwater exploration with intrigue and full of information about early diving and salvage.

What I found interesting is that the author takes the reader in with easy going folksy prose and narrative. Which is easy to read with historical facts put in the text that blends the historical and technical details, thus giving the reder a good informative read.

An engaging adventure told of shipwrecks in U.S. parks and territorial waters gripping the reader, with well-constructed ending, preserving these sites important to our American heritage. These are truly professionals that tackle astonishing often harrowing assingments including the surveying the Isle Royale, shipwrecks in Lake Superior, exploring ther U.S.S. Arisona in Pearl Harbor, and Investigating the HL Hunley the first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship in Charleston Harbor during the Civil War.

All in all, this is a book of underwater adventures told with a flair that will keep you interested till the ending.

Historical Diving
I realy enjoyed Submerged. I found my self not being able to put the book down. Lenihan explains the importance of saving our submereged historical artifacts as well as those of other nations. I am a History Major as well as a Diver. This book has both of the two worlds. I would recomend this book to anyone interested in diving or history. ... Read more

Book Description

An award-winning photographer and his breathtaking pictures provide beautiful inspiration for anyone longing to dive into the deep blue sea and record the wonders of marine life. Everything is broken down into manageable, thematic sections, which cover the photographic basics before progressing to more advanced procedures. Capture the ocean’s infinite splendor with an array of underwater shooting techniques, advice on choosing a camera, suggestions for maintaining the equipment, and instructions for lighting in this watery world. You’ll find out how to deal with low visibility, learn essential photographic equations for calculating shutter speeds and exposures; understand the differences between various film stocks and what digital can do; and see how to use the flash effectively. So take the plunge—the results will be fabulous.
... Read more

Book Description

Each of the 690 identification pictures is a full-color photograph of a seashore creature. Arrangement by shape and by color makes identification quick and easy. 666 species are covered in full detail. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

If Frosted Flakes are grrrrrreat, this is so much better
I live in North Carolina and catch and keep a lot of Invertebrates we we go to the beach. So far, every Invert that we've caught has been in this book, easy to find and we found out alot about it by reading. Anyone who sees something cool at the beach often should get this book. In fact, it's a Must-Have.
Shredda Out

OK for the Basics
I think that all of North Americas sea shore critters can not be described in a single book. Certainly not in a book of this size. The publishers where quite bold in the scope and as such much information has been left out. That said let me tell you what is good about this book. The pictures are GREAT! Much better than looking at technical drawings. However, they are not better for identification. The descriptions of animal groups are excellent. For the person with little biological background this will go a good way toward explaining the complexities of ocean life. The method of identification, sorting by superficial appearance is handy, again for the inexperienced. To sum it up, if you want one book to carry during your first summer of beach combing get this one. If you need a companion for a marine zoology class stay away, unless you already have everything else.

Excellent
Anyone who has used the National Audubon's Field Guides knows just how great they are. This one is no exception. Great picture plates and acccurate descriptions of organisms. For the biologist to the beach hopper, this book is easy to use and very informative.

Great for Nature Watchers
I found out about Marine creatures in my Marine Bio. class, and I loved them, so I got this book to further my looking into their world, and it's great. A must have for any person interested in going to the seashore, and just watching what runs around in those tidepools and on the beach. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In October 1998, a wayward tropical storm blossomed into one of the most powerful hurricanes in modern history. When it finished its devastating course throughout the Caribbean, Hurricane Mitch had killed thousands of people, left hundreds of thousands more homeless, and destroyed whole towns. Journalist Jim Carrier turns up a small but telling incident: the disappearance of a 282-foot schooner called the Fantome. Guided by a young but accomplished English captain and manned by seasoned West Indian sailors, the cruise ship put into port in Belize to discharge its passengers, then set out to sea in an attempt to outrace a storm that, defying expectation, changed its course and in the end sent the Fantome and its crew beneath the waves. All that was terrible enough; added to it was the legal battle that awaited the crew's survivors, one that hung over the disaster "like a poisonous cloud." Following the Fantome's course hour by hour, Carrier covers all aspects of the incident thoroughly and sympathetically. His book makes a compelling companion to Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm as a fine reconstruction of a maritime tragedy, one that does honor to the unfortunate dead. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (24)

The Ship and the Storm
Jim Carrier's detailed description of the events leading to the tragic sinking of the Fantome and his insight into the lives of her crew, make this book a memorial to those sailors that were lost at sea when the Fantome disappeared during the 1998 hurricane named Mitch. This interesting and fact based account is a must for those that sailed on the Fantome for the pleasure of the sea and island adventures, and to all those interested in weather and it's effect on our lives.

The Imperfect Storm
A journalistic look at a cruise shipwreck caused by Hurricane Mitch, Carrier's book delves into the history of the Fantome, an old tall ship that sank with 30 men aboard due to bad luck and, in hindsight, a misplaced desire to save property at the expense of human life. Larded with too much inane chatter saved off the Internet while the drama played out, the book is further flawed by excess padding about the storm's aftermath on the obscure western Caribbean islands where the Fantome sailed. Too long by a third, the tale needed a sharper editor. Still, what Carrier conveys about the ship and its Miami-based company is compelling enough to make up for his reporter's tendancy to include too much unnecessary flotsam about what survivors dreamed as their loved ones died, what the dead men left as their last requests, and what the howling storm sounded like to the many British and American expats who dug holes in the ground to wait out Mitch on islands devastated by the Category 5 storm. What the book makes clear is how stupid the management of Windjammer Cruises was for not canceling the boat's final cruise before the storm got out of control. Evidently, there were many opportunities for the crew to anchor and let the storm possibly damage the ornate boat, but at least their lives would have been saved. Comparisons with "The Perfect Storm" are silly. Both books are interesting reads. So what if this one followed the bigger bestseller? It is overlooked, but should not be.

Good meteorological detail
This book was unique in that in went into detail on what went on in the minds and decisions of forecasters at the National Hurricane Center, as well as specific details on the meteorological events of Hurricane Mitch. I enjoyed the book's arrangement of detailed events aboard Fantome, with an intermittent change to events with Mitch, and events at the NHC and Windjammer management. Very suspenseful and detailed. Good sea adventure.

Amazing Grace
This book captured my attention and my heart for almost 6 hours last night- I could not put it down until 4am when I had finished. I had heard only in passing the name of the boat, but the author did such a good job illustrating the cruise and the crew that I felt like I had been onboard. Even if you aren't a sailor or a weather buff, read this book for the beautifully told personal insight into a tragedy that we all can learn from.

Good Balanced Account
Within the sail training (or "Tall Ship") community the loss of the FANTOME was a mixture of "there but for the grace of God go I" and "Windjammer Barefoot Cruises were always a bit seat of the pants". As stated in the book - The American Sail Training Association annual conference heard papers regarding hurricane prediction and the margins for error soon after the loss and there was much discussion.

For those in the "Tall Ship" industry, as opposed to the Cruise Industry, this book appears to lay to rest some myths and contains much in the way of new information. Jim Carrier has not written a scientific paper - his book would not have much appeal if he had, but at the outset he states his "standard" of evidence and then attempts to lay out as objectively as possible what he has learned. Conclusions are left entirely to the reader. His switching between the various authorities, locales, offices and the ship is skilfully done and keeps one aware of the background against which each group of people were working as hurricane Mitch developed.

It is a little unfair to say that Carrier doesn't do justice to the ruining of the Honduras economy. Against the story - which is really about the ship - he gives the shore side plenty of coverage.

The story is of high interest to a whole different audience than the "Perfect Storm" readers - though I am sure they will learn too.

Within the industry there was much debate about Windjammer Barefoot Cruises and their operational methods. Carrier does not get drawn in, he notes the distancing by other operators, presents the facts as he has been able to determine them and leaves the readers to draw their own conclusions.

As the Fantome's flag state did not carry out an inquiry this is probably as good an accident report as will ever be generated and from which you can draw your own lessons. If you are a casual reader with an interest - it is a skillfully told account of what happens when nature lets rip and is stronger than anything we can construct to resist it. ... Read more

Book Description

Bound for Blue Water is written and complied by J Russell Jinishian, an internationally recognized authority on contemporary marine art.Informative essays on fishing , commerce, yachting, military, and coastal marine art are written for the beginning enthusiast and the experienced collectoralike. Leading artists bring to life a picture of maritime America from the ports of New York and New England, to Miami, New Orleans, San Francisco and the Northwest. Portrayed here is every waterborne vessel from clipper ships and classic sailing yachts to early-twentieth-century seiners of Gloucester Harbor : from Hudson Bay and NewEngland whaling ships to tugs and ocean liners of the twentieth century; from Boston?s bustling T-Warf , to brigantines in the U.S> Exploring Expedition.Highlighting key movements and artists, this is the book that collectors and enthusiasts have been waiting for. ... Read more

Product Description

Jacques Cousteau's underwater adventures. With black and white photographs throughout the book ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Silent World
If you grew up watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau one night a week, you must read this book by Mr. Cousteau. I read the first chapter of this delightful little book in a diving collection and was instantly drawn to Cousteau's narrating style. Modest and touched with humor, he describes the creation of the aqualung (scuba) and his early exploits with it. Early photos of underwater creatures are amazing. My copy is from the late 1950s and I hold it carefully. It is a physical and figurative jewel to me.

An influence
I first read this book when I was about 15. I begged my mother to sign me up for a SCUBA class shortly after and I am still diving 25 years later. I have re-read it about 3 times since then and still keep a copy on my shelf. There is still something very captivating about the early days of diving and Cousteau's descriptions of the silent world. The explorers in his book indulged in a pioneering activity under the nose of the occupying Nazi regime and set in motion the evolution of underwater adventure that millions enjoy today.

The Silent World is easy and enjoyable to read. Most of the photographs are hard to see compared with the vast amount of underwater shots available today. However, when you consider the time period these photos were taken combined with the daring of these early pioneers, you can't help but be impressed.

This book produced an enjoyable influence on my life and I am sure it will on anyone willing to learn about the early history of underwater exploration.

Early account of the development of the aqua lung
This griping tale of the early period of under water exploration begins in late WW II and is set of the most part in the south of France and Mediterranean Sea. Most clearly it is not a NOVEL (see previous review). In it you will find Jacques' characteristic outlook in the germination stages. Especially interesting to observe is the beginnings of environmenal concerns in his misc. comments about mans impact on the health of the Mediterranean Sea. There are accounts of the effects of Coral dredging and drag netting clearing documenting the destructiveness of these technques coupled with descriptions of his own crew on his aboard the French Naval vessel he commanded harpooning of sea mammals for questionable "scientific" experiments.

All in all it is a good read for individuals interested in the history of exploration of new worlds by this sensitive innovative explorer. Not to be missed are the numerious accounts of early ship wreck exploration. My copy was published in 1953 and includes some of the earliest published color underwater shots. Highly recommended.

An amazing true story of heroes exploring blue space.
An adventure of heroic proportions. How mankind began the exploration of the underwater world and how Captain Cousteau and his team of aquanauts undertook a mission on the scale of the Mercury Seven Astronauts. Told by the men who went through the triumphs and the ordeals. This novel will provide a new understanding of how it all came about for those who scuba dive today. Some of Cousteau's team died in their brave efforts to investigate the mysteries of the deep for the rest of the world to see. Contains photographs of the liquid world taken with the first underwater cameras. ... Read more

Book Description

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 1998, and acclaimed as "a sparkling work of natural history. . . charming, grandly entertaining."

The most mysterious and elusive of all sea creatures, the giant squid--at least sixty feet long and weighing nearly a ton--is also one of the largest. Yet for all its magnificent size and threatening undersea presence, Architeuthis has remained a mystery. Until now.

In this marvelous and beautifully illustrated book, marine biologist, explorer, and artist Richard Ellis presents all that is known about the giant squid. Delving into myth, literature, popular culture, and science, he brings readers face to face with this remarkable creature. He also provides a thorough, compelling study of what is known and what is still to be discovered about this exotic animal that has never been studied alive. Interweaving his engrossing narrative with a wealth of fascinating illustrations and photographs, Ellis gives us the first comprehensive history of the only living creature that can truly be called a "sea monster."

* A Main Selection of the Newbridge Natural Science Book Club

"High-grade intellectual entertainment." --The Washington Post Book World

"Richard Ellis uses his exceptional gifts in images and words to evoke the wonder and mystery of the sea. The giant squid still reigns in that part of nature beyond human reach."--E. O. Wilson ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Didn't hold my interest
Before I start, let me point out that I've made several valiant attempts to read Ellis' books. I own "Imagining Atlantis" and recently lent out the one on sea monsters (the name escapes me). Based on the subject matter of each book, I feel like I should thoroughly enjoy reading them. These are the books I always imagine myself diving into and only coming up once in a great while for the bare necessities (food, shelter, sleep). Why oh why is it that I struggle through these books? I pick them up, read a few pages, and then find my mind wandering.

"Search for the Giant Squid" was, unfortunately, no exception. While the topic sounds fascinating, there is something in the way that Ellis presents it that is downright uninspiring. Now and again there were some areas that held my interest...but I was bored to tears when the book delved into squid researchers of the past. Understandably, there isn't a whole lot of solid information about Architeuthis, at least not enough to fill an entire book. So it makes sense that Ellis had to veer off the main topic a bit to flesh out the rest of the story. But it all felt a bit like a patchwork quilt at times and not very cohesive/coherent. To top it off, Ellis has a tendency to throw in a LOT of quotes and footnotes, making it difficult to read a single page without having to stop several times along the way.

All in all, the idea behind this book was a good one...but for whatever reason the book itself did not capture my interest as much as I expected.

a modern marvel and masterpiece!!!
this is quit easily one of the best books ever written! squids! what more can be said! smashingly brilliant! a must read. if you love squids as much as me (and i know you do), then you must purchase several copies of this magnificient tome.<br />

Oh, squid, oh squid...
I would have enjoyed the book had it been a simple narrative of the hunt for the giant squid or merely a popular science digest of all Ellis knows about the animal. But Ellis has contributed to a *cultural* history of the giant squid, which is much more interesting to me than the other options.
Dry, perhaps, but not dull, the chapter on models is a welcome subject in this context. Museum display brings his focus once again to how our own attitudes, expectations and desires influence how we see the world. This emotional dynamic should be understood, no matter how unpopular it is - especially when dealing with the reflecting surface of a mysterious natural phenomenon. The search for the giant squid is more than anything else a story of human desire for the unattainable, and this is what gives the inscrutable animal much of its sublime, ghostly charm.
Ellis' writing is a bit schizoid in style, and he does repeat himself a bit, but I actually find the effect weirdly compelling. The many curiously casual passages on naming and specimin statistics read like the encyclopedic enthusiasm of sports commentary, and the repeating scenario of finding the limp animal washed up on one beach or another eventually gains an interesting psychic resonance of a different kind. I might agree that it isn't the most elegantly crafted book, but it is where the seams show that I enjoyed it the most.