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17 days and 14:15:35
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Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness
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Expected 6 May 25Win a free print copy of this book!
17 days and 14:15:35
50 copies available
U.S. only
Award-winning broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough and longtime collaborator Colin Butfield present a powerful call to action focused on our planet's oceans, exploring how critical this habitat is for the survival of humanity and the future of Earth.
Through personal stories, history and cutting-edge science, Ocean uncovers the mystery, the wonder and the frailty of the most unexplored habitat on our planet � and the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe. The book showcase the oceans' remarkable resilience: they are the part of our world that can, and in some cases has, recovered the fastest, if we only give them the chance.
Drawing a course across David Attenborough's own lifetime, Ocean takes readers on an adventure-laden voyage through eight unique ocean habitats, through countless intriguing species, and through the most astounding discoveries of the last 100 years, to a future vision of a fully restored marine world, even richer and more spectacular than we could possibly hope. Ocean reveals the past, present and potential future of our blue planet. It is a book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.
Through personal stories, history and cutting-edge science, Ocean uncovers the mystery, the wonder and the frailty of the most unexplored habitat on our planet � and the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe. The book showcase the oceans' remarkable resilience: they are the part of our world that can, and in some cases has, recovered the fastest, if we only give them the chance.
Drawing a course across David Attenborough's own lifetime, Ocean takes readers on an adventure-laden voyage through eight unique ocean habitats, through countless intriguing species, and through the most astounding discoveries of the last 100 years, to a future vision of a fully restored marine world, even richer and more spectacular than we could possibly hope. Ocean reveals the past, present and potential future of our blue planet. It is a book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.
400 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 24, 2025
5,321 people want to read
About the author
David Attenborough
157Ìýbooks2,502ÌýfollowersSir David Frederick Attenborough is a naturalist and broadcaster, who is most well-known for writing and presenting the nine "Life" series, produced in conjunction with BBC's Natural History Unit. The series includes Life on Earth (1979), The Living Planet (1984), The Trials of Life (1990), Life in the Freezer (about Antarctica; 1993), The Private Life of Plants (1995), The Life of Birds (1998), The Life of Mammals (2002), Life in the Undergrowth (2005) and Life in Cold Blood (2008).
He is the younger brother of director and actor Richard Attenborough.
Photo credit: photograph of David Attenborough at ARKive's launch in Bristol, England © May 2003
He is the younger brother of director and actor Richard Attenborough.
Photo credit: photograph of David Attenborough at ARKive's launch in Bristol, England © May 2003
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 18, 2025
Reading this book feels like watching a documentary and I loved every moment of it! I am a bit biased because I’ve always loved learning about animals and I have a fondness for whales!
The authors take us from coral reefs, to mangrove forests, the Arctic, and the Southern Ocean.
We see the interplay of different species of marine and terrestrial life as they navigate the challenges of their ecosystems.
The impact of human activities is integrated into several sections and the authors share many conservation efforts that have succeeded in protecting these ecosystems. I enjoyed the stories of community-led stewardship of these protected areas and the acknowledgment of indigenous practices.
The illustrations and photos are beautiful and David Attenborough shares stories from throughout his filming career which were very entertaining.
Overall I recommend this to anyone who wants to know what it’s like to swim through a kelp forest, enjoy the wonders of coral reefs, or descend to the midnight zone! I also recommend this to anyone who is interested in current initiatives to conserve and protect the ocean.
The authors take us from coral reefs, to mangrove forests, the Arctic, and the Southern Ocean.
We see the interplay of different species of marine and terrestrial life as they navigate the challenges of their ecosystems.
The impact of human activities is integrated into several sections and the authors share many conservation efforts that have succeeded in protecting these ecosystems. I enjoyed the stories of community-led stewardship of these protected areas and the acknowledgment of indigenous practices.
The illustrations and photos are beautiful and David Attenborough shares stories from throughout his filming career which were very entertaining.
Overall I recommend this to anyone who wants to know what it’s like to swim through a kelp forest, enjoy the wonders of coral reefs, or descend to the midnight zone! I also recommend this to anyone who is interested in current initiatives to conserve and protect the ocean.
March 15, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy of this book that looks at the Oceans of the world as experienced by a naturalist who has been spending time in them since the 1950's, detailing what he has seen, what we have learned, and how there still might be a chance to save them, maybe.
I was in the 7th Grade when I first shipped out to travel the Atlantic. My Earth Science teacher was young, loved to teach, loved to show science to her students, and had a father who worked at Woods Hole in Massachusetts, one of the premiere oceanographic Institutes. My teacher also never took no for an answer and was able to talk my school into sending 20 students on a two-day trip out into the Atlantic, where he dredged the bottom, ate kelp from the sea, and even saw a whale or two, or maybe the same whale twice. I don't have many fond memories of school, this is one of them. Surrounded by people who loved to talk about the water we were on, the importance of the ocean to life on Earth, and the problems we were facing. This was a long time ago, and those problems were probably nothing to the nightmares we are living with today. Plastic in the water, in the wildlife and ourselves. Climate change, melting ice caps, and a disappearing Gulf Stream. And ennui from everyone who can do anything, unless it is making a quick buck. However after reading this book, I feel maybe things aren't totally dystopian yet, maybe possibly. Especially when it comes from a man who has spent his entire life exploring the natural world, and at 98 years of age, seems to show no signs of stopping. Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness by Sir David Attenborough and Colin Butfield is a summation of a life in the water, what Attenborough has seen, the changes both good and bad, and the hope that that others are doing what they can, and that maybe things can change under the sea.
The book is entitled Oceans, but is about more than that. The book deals with under the sea, the creatures and other life forms, the land, even the birds that float in the air above. Divided in sections dealing with areas like Arctic, Mangroves, Coral Reefs and more, Attenborough discusses his first experiences with these area, and how they have changed over the years. Attenborough also discusses the basics of what oceans do, how the currents are created, how the waters pull in the heat, and carbon dioxide. There is a lot of discussions on whales, who have longer life spans than I ever knew, along with an underwater trip to the "Octopus Garden" a site that was found by luck where thousands of octopi use warm water escaping from volcanos under the sea to warm their eggs. The chapters also deal with groups, some indigenous, some people who have just had enough preserving the areas they can from England and kelp beds, to coral areas, to vast tracks of oceans off the Hawaiian islands. The book is curiously hopeful in many ways, though even Attenborough admits we have a lot to do.
A book that hooked me from the first whale story and right to the end. Based on the fact that I have seen quite a few of Attenborough's documentaries I shouldn't be surprised, but the writing here is quite good, very engaging, and welcoming. Attenborough can explain how currents are created in such a way that I was able to read it to my nephew and sound smart. In fact this is a great book for teens and up. Not just the fact that Attenborough at his age still wants to know more, but that at his age Attenborough still cares. One gets the feeling he knows that his time is getting shorter, but the natural world is too important, too beautiful to be ignored, or sold for pennies on the dollar. Everyone should have the opportunities he has had to see coral reefs under the sea. To watch an otter eat a clam. Little things that seem to trival, but when read seem so wonderful.
I loved this book, not just for the writing, but the hope. The fact that people are fighting to save their oceans, their culture, so others can see it and experience it. There is a lot of hope here, and in this age of declining everything hope is almost as rare as finding a sea animal without plastic in their bloodstream. There is so much I want my nephews to see. An ocean teeming with life, hope and a better tomorrow is a lot to ask, but I still want it for them anyway. Thank you Sir David Attenborough.
I was in the 7th Grade when I first shipped out to travel the Atlantic. My Earth Science teacher was young, loved to teach, loved to show science to her students, and had a father who worked at Woods Hole in Massachusetts, one of the premiere oceanographic Institutes. My teacher also never took no for an answer and was able to talk my school into sending 20 students on a two-day trip out into the Atlantic, where he dredged the bottom, ate kelp from the sea, and even saw a whale or two, or maybe the same whale twice. I don't have many fond memories of school, this is one of them. Surrounded by people who loved to talk about the water we were on, the importance of the ocean to life on Earth, and the problems we were facing. This was a long time ago, and those problems were probably nothing to the nightmares we are living with today. Plastic in the water, in the wildlife and ourselves. Climate change, melting ice caps, and a disappearing Gulf Stream. And ennui from everyone who can do anything, unless it is making a quick buck. However after reading this book, I feel maybe things aren't totally dystopian yet, maybe possibly. Especially when it comes from a man who has spent his entire life exploring the natural world, and at 98 years of age, seems to show no signs of stopping. Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness by Sir David Attenborough and Colin Butfield is a summation of a life in the water, what Attenborough has seen, the changes both good and bad, and the hope that that others are doing what they can, and that maybe things can change under the sea.
The book is entitled Oceans, but is about more than that. The book deals with under the sea, the creatures and other life forms, the land, even the birds that float in the air above. Divided in sections dealing with areas like Arctic, Mangroves, Coral Reefs and more, Attenborough discusses his first experiences with these area, and how they have changed over the years. Attenborough also discusses the basics of what oceans do, how the currents are created, how the waters pull in the heat, and carbon dioxide. There is a lot of discussions on whales, who have longer life spans than I ever knew, along with an underwater trip to the "Octopus Garden" a site that was found by luck where thousands of octopi use warm water escaping from volcanos under the sea to warm their eggs. The chapters also deal with groups, some indigenous, some people who have just had enough preserving the areas they can from England and kelp beds, to coral areas, to vast tracks of oceans off the Hawaiian islands. The book is curiously hopeful in many ways, though even Attenborough admits we have a lot to do.
A book that hooked me from the first whale story and right to the end. Based on the fact that I have seen quite a few of Attenborough's documentaries I shouldn't be surprised, but the writing here is quite good, very engaging, and welcoming. Attenborough can explain how currents are created in such a way that I was able to read it to my nephew and sound smart. In fact this is a great book for teens and up. Not just the fact that Attenborough at his age still wants to know more, but that at his age Attenborough still cares. One gets the feeling he knows that his time is getting shorter, but the natural world is too important, too beautiful to be ignored, or sold for pennies on the dollar. Everyone should have the opportunities he has had to see coral reefs under the sea. To watch an otter eat a clam. Little things that seem to trival, but when read seem so wonderful.
I loved this book, not just for the writing, but the hope. The fact that people are fighting to save their oceans, their culture, so others can see it and experience it. There is a lot of hope here, and in this age of declining everything hope is almost as rare as finding a sea animal without plastic in their bloodstream. There is so much I want my nephews to see. An ocean teeming with life, hope and a better tomorrow is a lot to ask, but I still want it for them anyway. Thank you Sir David Attenborough.
March 11, 2025
Anyone who has watched more than a couple of nature documentaries is likely familiar with the voice of Sir David Attenborough. His narrations tell the stories of countless teams of filmmakers and naturalists on their journeys around this planet, encountering wildlife that we can only see through their lenses. In this book, which I understand to accompany another documentary film, the esteemed naturalist and broadcaster and his co-author take a step away from the lands of our world and dive into the oceans. From a focus on a single blue whale, to exploring numerous ocean ecosystems, and finally to our impact on the oceans, this book reads like a spectacular docuseries. It paints the images that we could expect to see in eloquent words along with a few attractive illustrations and a handful of choice photos. The book is interesting and educational, providing information without boring the reader and creates both hope and a sense of warning. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this text and look forward to watching the associated film.
I received access to this ebook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Grand Central Publishing) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I received access to this ebook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Grand Central Publishing) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
April 3, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Edelweiss for furnishing advance copies of this book!
Here is a thoughtful and thorough exploration of various marine phenomena affected by climate change and human activity. Replete with a healthy balance of realism and optimism, as well as detailed sketches (and, in the back matter, color photographs) of the numerous creatures described throughout the text, Ocean furnishes a timely and reverent series of observations about the many aquatic universes beyond our immediate scope of vision.
Here is a thoughtful and thorough exploration of various marine phenomena affected by climate change and human activity. Replete with a healthy balance of realism and optimism, as well as detailed sketches (and, in the back matter, color photographs) of the numerous creatures described throughout the text, Ocean furnishes a timely and reverent series of observations about the many aquatic universes beyond our immediate scope of vision.
April 1, 2025
i really appreciate Sir Attenborough's many amazing nature documentaries so I was really excited to see that this book was coming out. and MY GOSH did it not disappoint. incredibly strong telling of very important issues. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.
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