Ocean

'Eminently readable' – The TLS Books of the Year, 2024 Ocean is an ambitious history of the pre-Columbian Atlantic Ocean, a story that begins with the formation of the mid-Atlantic ridge some 200 million years ago and ends with the Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century, which provided a template for the methods used by the Spanish in their colonisation of the New World. John Haywood argues that the perception that Atlantic history begins with the first voyage of the celebrated Genoese navigator is a mistaken one, and that the seafaring and shipbuilding skills that enabled European global exploration and expansion did not arrive fully formed in the fifteenth century, but were learned over centuries and millennia in the Atlantic and its marginal seas. The pre-Columbian history of the Atlantic is the story of how Europeans learned to master the oceans. It is, therefore, key to understanding why it was Europeans, and not any of the world’s other seafaring peoples, who ‘discovered’ the world. Ocean is informed by the author’s extensive travels in and around the Atlantic Ocean, crossing Newfoundland’s Grand Banks, the Sea of Darkness and the weed-covered Sargasso Sea to make landfall at locations as diverse as Vinland, Greenland, the Faroes and the Cape Verde Islands. Populated by a heterogeneous and multi-ethnic cast of seafarers, fishermen, monks, merchants and dreamers, this is an in-depth history of a neglected subject, fusing geology, geography, mythology, cosmology, developing maritime technologies and the early history of exploration to narrate an enthralling and intriguing story that lies at the very heart of Europe’s modern history and its relationship with the rest of the world. A history on a grand scale, Ocean offers the reader a feast of historical storytelling that will appeal to readers of David Abulafia, Simon Winchester and Michael Pye.

'Eminently readable' – The TLS Books of the Year, 2024 Ocean is an ambitious history of the pre-Columbian Atlantic Ocean, a story that begins with the formation of the mid-Atlantic ridge some 200 million years ago and ends with the Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century, which provided a template for the methods used by the Spanish in their colonisation of the New World. John Haywood argues that the perception that Atlantic history begins with the first voyage of the celebrated Genoese navigator is a mistaken one, and that the seafaring and shipbuilding skills that enabled European global exploration and expansion did not arrive fully formed in the fifteenth century, but were learned over centuries and millennia in the Atlantic and its marginal seas. The pre-Columbian history of the Atlantic is the story of how Europeans learned to master the oceans. It is, therefore, key to understanding why it was Europeans, and not any of the world’s other seafaring peoples, who ‘discovered’ the world. Ocean is informed by the author’s extensive travels in and around the Atlantic Ocean, crossing Newfoundland’s Grand Banks, the Sea of Darkness and the weed-covered Sargasso Sea to make landfall at locations as diverse as Vinland, Greenland, the Faroes and the Cape Verde Islands. Populated by a heterogeneous and multi-ethnic cast of seafarers, fishermen, monks, merchants and dreamers, this is an in-depth history of a neglected subject, fusing geology, geography, mythology, cosmology, developing maritime technologies and the early history of exploration to narrate an enthralling and intriguing story that lies at the very heart of Europe’s modern history and its relationship with the rest of the world. A history on a grand scale, Ocean offers the reader a feast of historical storytelling that will appeal to readers of David Abulafia, Simon Winchester and Michael Pye.

** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ** 'Gripping... the wildlife is so fantastical that the images on the page feel like works of the imagination.' Evening Standard 'THIS IS THE STORY OF OUR OCEAN AND WE MUST WRITE ITS NEXT CHAPTER TOGETHER. FOR IF WE SAVE THE SEA, WE SAVE OUR WORLD. AFTER A LIFETIME OF FILMING OUR PLANET, I'M SURE THAT NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT.' From the icy seas of our poles to remote coral islands, David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on planet earth. Now, with long-term collaborator Colin Butfield, he shares the story of our last great wilderness - the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe. Dive into eight unique saltwater habitats, swim through kelp forests, mangroves and coral reefs and down almost 11,000 feet to the deepest corners of the most unexplored ecosystem on our planet. Experience a journey of wonder and discovery, populated by green turtles and blue whales; clownfish and bioluminescent jellyfish; the vampire squid and the 'head-less chicken monster' - a strange form of sea cucumber that lives at the very bottom of the ocean. With the warmth, intelligence and awe that characterises all of David Attenborough's landmark series, Ocean shows us a world which is both desperately fragile yet astonishingly resilient, with an extraordinary capacity to repair itself. It's not too late to restore our most vital habitat. If we treat it with respect, our marine world will be even richer and more spectacular than we can imagine. A book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.

** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ** 'Gripping... the wildlife is so fantastical that the images on the page feel like works of the imagination.' Evening Standard 'THIS IS THE STORY OF OUR OCEAN AND WE MUST WRITE ITS NEXT CHAPTER TOGETHER. FOR IF WE SAVE THE SEA, WE SAVE OUR WORLD. AFTER A LIFETIME OF FILMING OUR PLANET, I'M SURE THAT NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT.' From the icy seas of our poles to remote coral islands, David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on planet earth. Now, with long-term collaborator Colin Butfield, he shares the story of our last great wilderness - the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe. Dive into eight unique saltwater habitats, swim through kelp forests, mangroves and coral reefs and down almost 11,000 feet to the deepest corners of the most unexplored ecosystem on our planet. Experience a journey of wonder and discovery, populated by green turtles and blue whales; clownfish and bioluminescent jellyfish; the vampire squid and the 'head-less chicken monster' - a strange form of sea cucumber that lives at the very bottom of the ocean. With the warmth, intelligence and awe that characterises all of David Attenborough's landmark series, Ocean shows us a world which is both desperately fragile yet astonishingly resilient, with an extraordinary capacity to repair itself. It's not too late to restore our most vital habitat. If we treat it with respect, our marine world will be even richer and more spectacular than we can imagine. A book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.

** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ** 'Gripping... the wildlife is so fantastical that the images on the page feel like works of the imagination.' Evening Standard 'THIS IS THE STORY OF OUR OCEAN AND WE MUST WRITE ITS NEXT CHAPTER TOGETHER. FOR IF WE SAVE THE SEA, WE SAVE OUR WORLD. AFTER A LIFETIME OF FILMING OUR PLANET, I'M SURE THAT NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT.' From the icy seas of our poles to remote coral islands, David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on planet earth. Now, with long-term collaborator Colin Butfield, he shares the story of our last great wilderness - the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe. Dive into eight unique saltwater habitats, swim through kelp forests, mangroves and coral reefs and down almost 11,000 feet to the deepest corners of the most unexplored ecosystem on our planet. Experience a journey of wonder and discovery, populated by green turtles and blue whales; clownfish and bioluminescent jellyfish; the vampire squid and the 'head-less chicken monster' - a strange form of sea cucumber that lives at the very bottom of the ocean. With the warmth, intelligence and awe that characterises all of David Attenborough's landmark series, Ocean shows us a world which is both desperately fragile yet astonishingly resilient, with an extraordinary capacity to repair itself. It's not too late to restore our most vital habitat. If we treat it with respect, our marine world will be even richer and more spectacular than we can imagine. A book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.

** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ** 'Gripping... the wildlife is so fantastical that the images on the page feel like works of the imagination.' Evening Standard 'THIS IS THE STORY OF OUR OCEAN AND WE MUST WRITE ITS NEXT CHAPTER TOGETHER. FOR IF WE SAVE THE SEA, WE SAVE OUR WORLD. AFTER A LIFETIME OF FILMING OUR PLANET, I'M SURE THAT NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT.' From the icy seas of our poles to remote coral islands, David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on planet earth. Now, with long-term collaborator Colin Butfield, he shares the story of our last great wilderness - the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe. Dive into eight unique saltwater habitats, swim through kelp forests, mangroves and coral reefs and down almost 11,000 feet to the deepest corners of the most unexplored ecosystem on our planet. Experience a journey of wonder and discovery, populated by green turtles and blue whales; clownfish and bioluminescent jellyfish; the vampire squid and the 'head-less chicken monster' - a strange form of sea cucumber that lives at the very bottom of the ocean. With the warmth, intelligence and awe that characterises all of David Attenborough's landmark series, Ocean shows us a world which is both desperately fragile yet astonishingly resilient, with an extraordinary capacity to repair itself. It's not too late to restore our most vital habitat. If we treat it with respect, our marine world will be even richer and more spectacular than we can imagine. A book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.

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 earth's future. 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--the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate, and creates the air we breathe. This book showcase the oceans' remarkable resilience: they can, and in some cases have, 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, countless intriguing species, and the most astounding discoveries of the last 100 years, to a future vision of a fully restored marine world--one even more spectacular than we could possibly hope for. 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.

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 earth's future. 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--the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate, and creates the air we breathe. This book showcase the oceans' remarkable resilience: they can, and in some cases have, 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, countless intriguing species, and the most astounding discoveries of the last 100 years, to a future vision of a fully restored marine world--one even more spectacular than we could possibly hope for. 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.

A colourful visual journey from the shoreline to the ocean’s depths to celebrate the sheer diversity of life beneath the waves. Three quarters of the ocean has never been seen by humans. Drawing on the recent success of Trees , this companion book explores our oceans, taking readers on a deep dive through the different depth zones – from the shoreline and surface, via the sunlight zone, the twilight and midnight zones and into the great abyss – to chart the richness and diversity of life found in our seas. Each chapter, centred on a different depth zone, begins with a comprehensive introduction, before exploring 15–25 visual themes, from the smallest living things to the largest and the familiar to the little-known. A final chapter on the oceans and us reveals the visual history of human interaction with the deep blue, from discovery and mapping to current issues of the environment and preservation. Stunning photographic content – from microscopic images of tiny individual critters to corals of every hue and the abstract patterns of fish scales – is shown along with a wide range of stunning archival illustrations and specially commissioned infographics that convey complex data in a simple and elegant way. With frequent news stories about the threat to marine life posed by climate change and human behaviours, the oceans are an important subject, and the preservation of biodiversity is crucial for the future of our planet. This book draws attention to the importance of life in our oceans to provide a positive message about the need to preserve it.

A colourful visual journey from the shoreline to the ocean’s depths to celebrate the sheer diversity of life beneath the waves. Three quarters of the ocean has never been seen by humans. Drawing on the recent success of Trees , this companion book explores our oceans, taking readers on a deep dive through the different depth zones – from the shoreline and surface, via the sunlight zone, the twilight and midnight zones and into the great abyss – to chart the richness and diversity of life found in our seas. Each chapter, centred on a different depth zone, begins with a comprehensive introduction, before exploring 15–25 visual themes, from the smallest living things to the largest and the familiar to the little-known. A final chapter on the oceans and us reveals the visual history of human interaction with the deep blue, from discovery and mapping to current issues of the environment and preservation. Stunning photographic content – from microscopic images of tiny individual critters to corals of every hue and the abstract patterns of fish scales – is shown along with a wide range of stunning archival illustrations and specially commissioned infographics that convey complex data in a simple and elegant way. With frequent news stories about the threat to marine life posed by climate change and human behaviours, the oceans are an important subject, and the preservation of biodiversity is crucial for the future of our planet. This book draws attention to the importance of life in our oceans to provide a positive message about the need to preserve it.