After witnessing the birth of a seal, Ben forges a close bond with it, observing and sharing her life in the ocean.

Although he is on crutches, a boy goes to the beach with his grandfather, where they watch a seal being born, and over the following seasons, the boy and the seal develop a special bond.

Many people have lamented the pollution and outright loss of beaches along the coasts of California and Mexico, but very few people have fought on behalf of beaches as hardÑor as successfullyÑas Serge Dedina. Whether taking on an international conglomerate or tackling a state transportation agency, Dedina is truly an eco-warrior. In this sparkling collection of articles, many written for popular magazines, Dedina tells the stories as only an insider could. He writes with a firm grasp of facts along with an advocateÕs passion and outrage. Sprinkled with just the right mix of humor and surf lingo, DedinaÕs writing is Òweapons gradeÓÑsurfer speak for totally awesome. Dedina grew up in Imperial Beach, California, just north of the Mexican border, and he feels equally at home in Mexico and the States. An expert on gray whales, he eloquently describes the fight he helped to lead against the Mitsubishi Corporation, whose plan to build a salt-processing plant in the San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California would have destroyed the worldÕs last undeveloped gray whale lagoon. With similar fervor, Dedina describes helping to construct the unlikely coalition that succeeded in defeating a proposed toll road that would have decimated a legendary California surf spot. In between, he writes about the first surfers in Baja, the Great Baja Land Rush of the 1990s, TijuanaÕs punk music scene, the pop-culture wrestling phenomenon lucha libre, the reasons why ocean pollution must be stopped, and the way HBO took over his hometown. Anyone interested in whatÕs happening to our natural places or just yearning to read about someone really making a difference in the world will find this a book worth sinking their teeth into.

With grit, poetry, and humor, Peter Heller, acclaimed author of The River and The Whale Warriors recounts his remarkable journey of discovery—of surfing, an entirely new challenge; of the ocean’s beauty and power; of the strange surf subculture; of love; and, most of all, of how to seek adventure while crafting a meaningful life. Author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Dog Stars Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Literature Having resolved to master a big-hollow wave—that is, to go from kook (surfese for beginner) to shredder—in a single year, Heller travels from Southern California down the coast of Mexico in the company of his girlfriend and the eccentric surfers they meet. Exuberant and fearless, Heller explores the technique and science of surfing the secrets of its culture, and the environmental ravages to the stunning coastline he visits. As Heller plumbs the working of his own heart and finds joy in both love and surfing, he affords readers vivid insight into this fascinating world, with all of its perils and pleasures, its absurdity and wonder. Exhilarating, entertaining, and moving, Kook is a love story between a man and his surfboard, a man and his girlfriend, a not-so-old man and the sea.

After Eric Davis spent over 16 years in the military, including a decade in the SEAL Teams, his family was more than used to his absence on deployments and secret missions that could obscure his whereabouts for months at a time. Without a father figure in his own life since the age of fifteen, Eric was desperate to maintain the bonds he’d fought so hard to forge when his children were young—particularly with his son, Jason, because he knew how difficult it was to face the challenge of becoming a man on one’s own. Unfortunately, Eric learned the hard way that Quality Time doesn’t always show up in Quantity Time. Facebook, television, phones, video games, school, jobs, friends—they all got in the way of a real, meaningful father-son relationship. It was time to take action. As a SEAL, Eric learned to innovate and push boundaries, allowing him to function at levels beyond what was expected, comfortable, ordinary, and even imaginable, and he knew that as a father he needed to do the same with his son. Meeting extreme with extreme was the only answer. Using a unique blend of discipline, leadership, adventure, and grace, Eric and his SEAL brothers will teach you how to connect, and reconnect, with your sons and learn how to raise real men—the Navy SEAL way.

Duane's account of a year spent surfing in Santa Cruz, California. Interspersed with the narrative of days passed on the water are good-humored explanations of the physics of wave dynamics, the art of surfboard design, dexcriptions of the flora and fauna

Traces the achievements of female surfers and the impact they have had on the sport over the last one hundred years.

Retired Navy SEAL and professional photographer Darren McBurnett takes readers behind the scenes into the elite SEAL training program, BUD/S, in Coronado, California. Striking, beautiful, and haunting, Uncommon Grit takes a unique, unprecedented look at the toughest training in the military -- and the world -- from the vantage point of someone who lived through it. Retired Navy SEAL Darren McBurnett includes vivid descriptions of both the physical and mental evolutions that occur as a result of the immensely challenging SEAL training process. His stunning photographs, partnered with his compelling insights and sharp sense of humor, allow the reader to laugh, cringe, gasp, and even envision themselves going through this extraordinary experience.

A story about a white seal named Kotick who learns how to get along in his Arctic environment during his herd's first migration. For elementary grades.