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Planet Ocean

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Planet Ocean

Planet Ocean

by Laurent Ballesta | Pierre Descamp

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 368 PAGES

Ballesta's exquisite photographic portraits celebrate the diversity of life under the sea, from bizarre Antarctic fish and odd benthic creatures to multi-colored reef beauties, turtles, sharks and rays. (OCE115, $40.00)

Atlantic

Atlantic

by Simon Winchester

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 475 PAGES

The subtitle tells it all. Yeoman Simon Winchester squeezes "Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories" into the capacious covers of this latest entertaining and digressive tale. (OCE156, $15.99)

Fishes of the Open Ocean

Fishes of the Open Ocean

by Julian Pepperell

  • REFERENCE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 370 PAGES

Big, authoritative and beautiful, this superb book includes descriptions, distribution maps, photographs, essays and 370 jaw-dropping illustrations of tuna, mackerel, billfish, sharks and rays, jacks and other pelagics by Dr. Guy Harvey, the reigning master of fish portraiture. (OCE154, $35.00)

The Wave, In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean

The Wave, In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean

by Susan Casey

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

In this gripping account of giant waves, Casey (The Devil's Teeth) weaves horrifying first-person reports of the 100-foot monsters with her adventures with elite surfers like Laird Hamilton and interviews with scientists and survivors. (OCE160, $15.95)

Four Fish

Four Fish

by Paul Greenberg

  • FOOD
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

From the Yukon River of Alaska, to the Mediterranean Sea, the fjords of Norway, the bays of Long Island Sound and way beyond, journalist Paul Greenberg interviews producers, fisherman and conservationists for this eyewitness report on the past and future of wild fish. He looks not only at what fish we catch and how we do it, but also proposes sensible alternatives to our current unsustainable interest in eating mostly sea bass, cod, salmon and tuna. (OCE161, $16.00)

The World Is Blue

The World Is Blue

by Sylvia A. Earle

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Former NOAA chief scientist, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and eloquent conservationist, Earle calls for swift action in this powerful handbook to fisheries, mining, exploration, climate change, oil drilling -- and the future of our oceans. (OCE144, $15.95)

Ocean, An Illustrated Atlas

Ocean, An Illustrated Atlas

by Sylvia Earle

  • REFERENCE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES

This National Geographic atlas features spectacular, cutting-edge maps of the sea floor, 200 color photographs, satellite images and timely commentary on exploration, global warming and conservation by Sylvia Earle and others. (OCE133, $65.00)

Ocean Soul

Ocean Soul

by Brian Skerry

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 264 PAGES

Whales, seals, fishes of all sorts, coral reefs and other marine habitats are all showcased in this stunning tribute to the world's oceans by National Geographic explorer Brian Skerry. (OCE178, $50.00)

Water Light Time

Water Light Time

by David Doubilet

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

The master of underwater photography presents 200 magnificent color photographs spanning the world's oceans and seas in this elegant, oversized collection. (OCE106, $35.00)

 

Breverton's Nautical Curiosities, A Book of the Sea


by Terry Breverton

  • REFERENCE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 384 PAGES

A lavishly illustrated resource that focuses on the unusual and obscure information often overlooked by more conventional compendiums. (OCE164, $19.95)

One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish, The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook


by Carole C. Baldwin

  • FOOD
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 300 PAGES

A collection of 150 clear, beautifully illustrated recipes by noted chefs featuring farmed and otherwise ecologically sound fisheries. (CON47, $36.00)

Dive Atlas of the World

Dive Atlas of the World


by Jack Jackson

  • SPORT
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 300 PAGES

With contributions by local experts, this oversized guide -- equipped with superb maps and hundreds of photographs -- highlights coral reefs and dive sites world wide. Edited and with spectacular underwater photography by Jack Jackson. (OCE152, $49.95)

The Hard Way Around

The Hard Way Around


by Geoffrey Wolff

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

Geoffrey Wolff captures all the drama and gumption of his audacious hero's life in this enchanting biography of Joshua Slocum, first man to complete a solo circumnavigation. A great admirer of Sailing Alone Around the World, Wolff includes long, affecting passages from Slocum's masterpiece, never out of print since its publication in 1909. (OCE159, $15.00)

Saved by the Sea, A Love Story With Fish

Saved by the Sea, A Love Story With Fish


by David Helvarg

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 284 PAGES

A biography and eye-opening report on the state of our oceans by the journalist and founder of the Blue Frontier Campaign, Helvig's organization working for ocean and coastal conservation in Washington D.C. (OCE167, $25.99)

Sea Change, Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat

Sea Change, Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat


by Peter Nichols

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER

With only a sextant, his instincts as a seasoned sailor and memories of his foundering marriage, Nichols sets out from England for Maine in his twenty-seven-foot, engineless boat, Toad. (ATL33, $16.95)

5 Easy Pieces, The Impact of Fisheries on Marine Ecosystems

5 Easy Pieces, The Impact of Fisheries on Marine Ecosystems


by Daniel Pauly

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER

This collection of five articles, which appeared in Science or Nature, includes expert commentary on the current state of our oceans by Pauly, co-author of the original 1995-2003 reports and former Director of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre. (OCE168, $25.00)

Albatross: Their World, Their Ways

Albatross: Their World, Their Ways


by Tui De Roy | Mark Jones | Julian Fitter

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES

The culmination of a storied career at sea as roving naturalist-photographers, this remarkable collection of 300 photographs of the ocean wanderers, both at sea and on the nest, is not just beautiful. It's also an authoritative survey of the natural history, status and conservation of the world's Diomedeidae. Anyone who has tried to photograph these magnificent birds in flight will appreciate the art, experience and perseverance of De Roy, Jones and Fitter. (BRD64, $49.95)

Deep Blue Home

Deep Blue Home


by Julia Whitty

  • SCIENCE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A series of intimate, interconnected essays, this latest by the adventurous, amphibious Julia Whitty (The Fragile Edge, The Queen of Tonga) finds her among the seabirds at Isla Rasa in the Sea of Cortez, sailing Newfoundland's Grand Banks, cruising to Bermuda on an oceanographic research vessel and among the sperm whales in Galapagos but her real interest, marvelously explained, are the great currents that connect the world's oceans. (OCE151, $14.95)

Moby-Duck

Moby-Duck


by Donovan Hohn

  • SCIENCE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES
  • NEW

Hohn's accidental odyssey into the fate of many thousand rubber ducks takes him into the world of oceanography, tides and currents, Arctic research and the shadowy realms of manufacture in China. It's a high adventure, harebrained perhaps, but compelling, especially for those of us who have spent time at sea; Hohn experiences some truly terrible weather. (OCE176, $16.00)

The Art of Diving

The Art of Diving


by Nick Hanna

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 272 PAGES

With hundreds of photographs and chapters on the lure of the underwater world, including where and how we dive, fish watching and meeting with remarkable creatures. (DIV53, $45.00)

The Unnatural History of the Sea


by Callum Roberts

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 435 PAGES

Roberts brings rigor and anecdote to this persuasive account of the decline of once abundant fisheries in the North Sea, Grand Banks, Chesapeake Bay and other waters. (CON40, $27.50)

The Wave Watcher's Companion

The Wave Watcher's Companion


by Gavin Pretor-pinney

  • SCIENCE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES

Subtitled "From Ocean Waves to Light Waves via Shock Waves, Stadium Waves, and All the Rest of Life's Undulations," this companion book to Pretor-Pinney's terrific Cloudspotter's Guide takes in all the many splendid permutations of the wave. (OCE157, $22.95)

The Whale

The Whale


by Philip Hoare

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A deeply engaging meditation on all things whale. Philip Hoare saves his special love and attention for the sperm whale -- not only via a beautiful literary analysis of Moby Dick -- but also by indulging in a childhood fantasy and actually swimming with the whales in the Azores. (BST144, $15.99)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.