To borrow and slightly adapt a verse from The Little River Band‘s “Cool Change,”

Well I was born in the sight of water
And it’s there that I feel my best
The albatross and the whales they are my brothers

For me, this is not just a bit of poetic nicety. Having been born and raised in a town where the great mouth of the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, into a family whose history as well as economic and cultural existence was deeply connected to the fisheries and transportation made possible by both these great bodies of water, my childhood and youth was rich in time spent on boats, on docks, and on shorelines. I learned early, well, and first-hand the power and vastness of the sea, the richness of life held within it, the ways of its cycles, and – unfortunately – the damage that can be done to it by mankind. And while I continue to this day to be connected both heart and soul to it, I am often perplexed by how many people I meet, even those living near the ocean, are unfamiliar with the life and cycles of, as well as threats to, it.

For this reason I was particularly pleased to learn of the publication by Springer of The Ocean and Us. Edited by Farah Obaidullah, this collection of short, concise, and well-written essays penned (well, typed, more likely; can one even use the word “penned” in this sense anymore?) by over two dozen researchers and advocates in different areas of study and activity all applicable to the book’s title, provides the interested reader with a brief yet commendably effective introduction to their respective subjects. Beginning with climate and recently observed changes thereto,  and proceeding through aquaculture and fisheries, pollution, at-risk oceanic habitats, governance and regulation of maritime activities, and concluding with focused examinations of particular human-related activities such as tourism and the aquarium trade, the book provides a treasure-trove of information specifically crafted to inform the general reader about how we are all connected to the world’s oceans and how the choices we make – collectively as well as individually – can have significant positive or negative effects upon not only the seas but the planet itself and quality of our continued existence upon it.

Among the many contributing authors to The Ocean and Us are such noteworthy scholars as Dr. Helen Scales, whose chapter on the deep sea brought quickly back to my mind her 2022 book The Brilliant Abyss; Exploring the Majestic Hidden Life of the Deep Ocean and the Looming Threat That Imperils It, and Dr. Ceri Lewis, whose chapter “Plastic and the Ocean” presents one of the most concise introduction to the problem of marine plastic pollution I’ve yet read anywhere. Other particularly note-worthy contributions include Dr. Stacy Baez‘ chapter “Blue Carbon,” a concept with which I was previously wholly unfamiliar, Dr. Lindy Weilgart‘s eye-opening (well, perhaps more appropriately “ear-opening”) “Ocean Noise Pollution,” and editor Farah Obaidullah’s own “Fish Crimes (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing),” which examines some of the darkest aspects of the fishing industry specifically, as well as in part more broad areas of maritime commerce.

While The Ocean and Us is a book explicitly written for a readership that is assumed to be largely unfamiliar with the subject areas it encompasses, even those who may consider themselves well-informed and knowledgeable regarding the state of the various aspects of science pertaining to the oceans as well as modern maritime economics, legal structures, and management will very likely find something with which they were previously unfamiliar in it. However as it is published by Springer, a firm most commonly associated with the publication of high-level academic papers, journals, and books, it might logically be assumed that even though written as an introduction that it is still beyond the ken of many people. To this I can unequivocally state that it is clearly not, to the point that this very matter is itself taken up at the beginning of the book in a “Note to the Reader.” The conventions that make academic works challenging and too often unpleasant for the non-specialist to read have been abandoned in this work. There are no inter-textual parenthetical citations breaking the flow every nine words, no specialist jargon, and any potentially unclear terms are immediately defined and explained. Each chapter concludes with a short citation of references for those interested and a particularly handy list of a few works recommended for further reading on that topic.

Due to the focus of many modern bookshops on more commercial works from more popularly-focused publishers, you might not find a copy of The Ocean and Us as easy to obtain as other new works from non-academic publishers would be. However, make the effort to find one as it is very much worth doing so in order to gain the knowledge that this book can impart. Place a special order for it with your local bookshop or order a copy directly from Springer Link, and – as always – recommend that your local or school library acquire a copy for their collection as well. The worlds oceans are not only the ancient source of life for every living creature on the planet, they are a vital element in the ongoing myriad cycles of life upon it today, and what we do to harm or to protect them will have an effect on us all today and to the generations to come. Acquiring an understanding of the ocean and how we are interconnected should therefore be incumbent upon us all, and this book is an excellent source by which to begin or improve such an understanding.

Title: The Ocean and Us

Author(s): Farah Obaidullah, editor, et. al.

Publisher: Springer

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Electronic

Pages: 370 pp., 3 b/w illustrations, 146 illustrations in colour

Hardcover: ISBN 978-3-031-10811-2, published 3 February 2023

Softcover: ISBN 978-3-031-10814-3, published 3 February 2024

eBook: ISBN 978-3-031-10812-9, published 2 February 2023

In accordance with Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, it is disclosed that the copy of the book read in order to produce this review was provided gratis to the reviewer by the publisher.