What to Read on World Oceans Day

Today is World Oceans Day. To celebrate we’ve compiled this reading list of some of our ocean related titles.

Ribbon of Sand: The Amazing Convergence of the Ocean and the Outer Banks By John Alexander, James Lazell

“Leaves the reader with a clear sense of place and an understanding of the forces of wind and water.”—Publishers Weekly

“This is a guidebook to be taken along when exploring this fragile place that deserves to be preserved.”—Booklist

“A beautifully drawn picture of ‘the resiliency and self-correcting mechanism of the natural order’ at work on the Outer Banks.”—Outer Banks Magazine

Surfing the South: The Search for Waves and the People Who Ride Them by Steve Estes

“Combining history, travelog, and memoir . . . a valuable gift.”—Journal of Southern History

“The author’s contribution to the literature of surfing history in particular is a substantial one . . . Estes’s book carves out a little cove of quiet, contemplative ethnographic-historical examination that speaks to the myriad ways southern residents of the United States have engaged with and made meaning of their connections with water, American empire, and surfing culture.”—H-Environment

Gulf Stream Chronicles: A Naturalist Explores Life in an Ocean River by David S. Lee

“An informative work about an intricate ecosystem, written with an obvious love for the region and a naturalist’s eye for what makes it unique.”—Foreword Reviews

“David Lee has written an enthralling account of the world of the deep sea, its creatures, and their stunning adaptations to that world. An utterly fascinating and deeply necessary work.”—Lawrence Earley, former editor of Wildlife in North Carolina

How to Read a Florida Gulf Coast Beach: A Guide to Shadow Dunes, Ghost Forests, and Other Telltale Clues from an Ever-Changing Coast by Tonya Clayton

“Clayton loves her subject and respects her readers. Her prose is clear, sinuous and delightful. Her transformation of scientific information into an accessible guide for the beachloving non-specialist is a total success.”—Florida Weekly

“With a conversational style and more than a hundred illustrations How to Read a Florida Gulf Coastmakes coastal science accessible.”—Coastal Care

The Gulf Stream: Tiny Plankton, Giant Bluefin, and the Amazing Story of the Powerful River in the Atlantic by Stan Ulanski

“Ulanski is a scientist but doesn’t write like one. His book is jam-packed with facts, but they are so gracefully integrated into the text that it’s only when you come up for air that you realize you’ve been learning all along.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Ulanski takes readers on a dizzying trip within, afloat and around the Gulf Stream. . . . This multifaceted treatment of ‘the blue god’ offers something for almost every kind of ocean lover.”—Publishers Weekly