“This bracing history charts the myths, the exploration, and the inhabitants of the all-too-real and wild circumpolar ocean to our south.” —The Sydney Morning Herald, Pick of the Week Unlike the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans with their long maritime histories, little is known about the Southern Ocean. This book takes readers beyond the familiar heroic narratives of polar exploration to explore the nature of this stormy circumpolar ocean and its place in Western and Indigenous histories. Drawing from a vast archive of charts and maps, sea captains’ journals, whalers’ log books, missionaries’ correspondence, voyagers’ letters, scientific reports, stories, myths, and her own experiences, Joy McCann embarks on a voyage of discovery across its surfaces and into its depths, revealing its distinctive physical and biological processes as well as the people, species, events, and ideas that have shaped our perceptions of it. The result is both a global story of changing scientific knowledge about oceans and their vulnerability to human actions and a local one, showing how the Southern Ocean has defined and sustained southern environments and people over time. Beautifully and powerfully written, Wild Sea will raise a broader awareness and appreciation of the natural and cultural history of this little-known ocean and its emerging importance as a barometer of planetary climate change. “A sensitive portrait of a complex ecosystem, from krill to blue whales, and of the ice, winds, and currents that are critical to the circulation of the world’s oceans.” —Harper’s “Wilderness seekers will rejoice in this stirring portrait . . . McCann deftly navigates both natural glories and archival complexities.” —Nature

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.

"Conservationist and National Geographic photographer Thomas Peschak shares more than 200 of his images and the stories behind them"--

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 hard—or as successfully—as 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 advocate’s passion and outrage. Sprinkled with just the right mix of humor and surf lingo, Dedina’s writing is “weapons grade”—surfer 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 world’s 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, Tijuana’s 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 what’s 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.

PBS’s successful animated show Wild Kratts joins the adventures of zoologists Chris and Martin Kratt as they travel to animal habitats around the globe. Along the way, they encounter incredible creatures while combining science education and fun. Boys and girls ages 4 to 6 will dive into this Step 2 Reader with the Kratt brothers as they activate their Creature Power Suits to swim with sharks, whales, and other wild sea creatures! Step 2 Readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories. For children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help.

Explores America's twelve marine sanctuaries, from the relics of lost ships at Monitor Marine Sanctuary in North Carolina to the huge underwater cliffs in Monterey Bay, California.

FELIMID MAC FAL IS BACK . . . WITH THE BEAUTIFUL PIRATE GUDRUN BLACKHAIR AT HIS SIDE! I am called Felimid mac Fal. I am a bard of the old blood, a lesser degree of Druid. Where I come from, bards have been known to sing armies to defeat or victory and kings off their thrones or on to them. Descended from the faery folk, the Tuatha de Danann, my line's been poets and harpers in Erin since the world was new, and magic's in our heart-marrow. She is called Gudrun Blackhair . . . as well as names a good deal less polite. She is the most dangerous pirate on the open seas, master of the enchanted ship Ormungandr, and the woman of my heart. If you wish to know more than that, ask the ballad, singers and gossip mongers at any tavern. Half of what you hear will be fact, half will be lies, and even I can no longer separate the two. Yet this story perhaps the strangest of them all, of shapeshifters and sorceresses and the sea-dwelling Children of Lir, is naught but the gods' own truth. . . . on my honor as a bard.

In this thrilling and candid memoir, world record-holding and controversial Big Wave surfer Garrett McNamara--star and subject of the HBO mini-series, 100 Foot Wave--chronicles his emotional quest to ride the most formidable waves on earth. Garrett McNamara set the world record for the sport, surfing a seventy-eight-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal in 2011, a record he smashed two years later at the same break. Propelled by the challenge and promise of bigger, more difficult waves, this adrenaline-fueled loner and polarizing figure travels the globe to ride the most dangerous swells the oceans have to offer, from calving glaciers to hurricane swells. But what motivates McNamara to go to such extremes—to risk everything for one thrilling ride? Is riding giant waves the ultimate exercise in control or surrender? Personal and emotional, readers will know GMac as never before, seeing for the first time the personal alongside the professional in an exciting, intimate look at what drives this inventive, iconoclastic man. Surfing awesome giants isn’t just thrill seeking, he explains—it’s about vanquishing fears and defeating obstacles past and present. Surfers and non-surfers alike will embrace McNamara’s story—as they have William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days—an its intimate look at the enigmatic pursuit of riding waves, big and small. Hound of the Sea is a record of perseverance, passion, and healing. Thoughtful, suspenseful, and spiritually profound, McNamara reveals the beautiful soul of surfing through the eyes of one of its most daring and devoted disciples.

Expand, inspire and invigorate your calligraphy practice today. Packed with fresh ideas for calligraphy techniques, styles and subjects, this book is a visual feast of inspiration for all abilities, whether you're new to calligraphy or looking to reinvigorate your practice. Boost your creativity with the help of more than 80 artworks by contemporary, international calligraphers, each demonstrating an interesting or innovative approach. Techniques include hot foiling, laser cutting and brush calligraphy, as well as general inspiration such as practising calligraphy on baubles, making calligraphy wrapping paper and customising your own tools. Explore both new and old methods and discover the basic skills to excel at this ancient art form. The art of calligraphy is the ultimate way to relax, restore and create beautiful pieces of art - and this book is sure to renew your creativity.

The story of a sea otter, from birth to adulthood, photographed on location in the wild by an award-winning American photographer, who specialises in work with newborn animals.The text will show all the aspects of the animal's life in the wild, accompanied by close-up pictures of the family group in its natural habitat.A spread at the back of the book will give further conservation information, including useful websites.