Callum Roberts is the author of The Unnatural History of the Sea, a Washington Post Book of the Year and winner of the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award. A professor of marine conservation at the University of York, he consulted on the Blue Planet series and the IMAX film The Wild Ocean and is a frequent keynote speaker at environmental conferences (including Mission Blue, TED and the Skoll foundation). He advised and was featured in The End of the Line, a documentary on the global fishing crisis and appeared in the National Geographic documentary America Before Columbus. He is on the board of Seaweb and provided the scientific basis for the creation of the world's first high seas protected network.
"One of the world's most prominent and articulate marine
scientists, Callum Roberts gives us an updated, comprehensive, and
engaging account of the ongoing crisis beneath the waves, and how
we humans can turn the situation around. Despite the frightening
litany of problems facing the seas, Roberts is optimistic that we
can and will mend our ways so that marine resources will be there
to help support planet Earth."
--Christian Science Monitor
"Told with both scientific accuracy and narrative skill. .
. . I know of no other volume that treats such divergent ocean
issues as overfishing, decreasing pH, plastic pollution and
biogeographic shifts with this much accuracy and acumen. Each
chapter is edged with fascinating details about the life of the
sea. At the heart of this book is a deep love of the ocean and a
profound concern for its viability as a resource for us all."
--Stephen Palumbi, Nature
"Roberts is that precious pearl: a practicing scientist who not
only knows his field inside out, but also understands how to write
compelling, persuasive non-fiction. . . . To use the vernacular of
his book, he has trawled and plundered these experiences to craft
the nearest thing we are ever likely to get to an all-encompassing
manifesto for sustainable marine management."
--The Guardian "Callum Roberts has done it again. From
showing us the past with the wisdom of a Dickens character in his
earlier book, he now leads us toward the future in The Ocean of
Life. It's a book so fine, I wish I'd written it!"
--Carl Safina, author of Song for the Blue Ocean
"The urgency of Callum Roberts' message - that we have very little
time to save the oceanic environment on which our existence depends
- is in no way undermined by the entertaining and
brilliantly-written nature of his writing. This is simply a
fascinating book, taking in everything from the elemental
formations of the oceans to the denizens that inhabit them; from
minute plankton to the great whales - and everything that threatens
them, and us. Roberts imparts his vast knowledge with a consummate
talent for colorful narrative and devastating facts. His book will
be required reading for anyone who cares about the oceans--not
least because, as well as underlining the scale of the problems, he
offers us the hope of real solutions."
--Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan, or The Whale
"The enormity of the sea's troubles, and their implications for
mankind, are mind-boggling. Yet it is remarkable how little this is
recognised. . . . There is a dearth of good and comprehensive books
on a subject that can seem too complicated and depressing for any
single tome. Callum Roberts, a conservation biologist, has now
provided one."
--The Economist "The eminent marine biologist Callum Roberts
weaves his personal passion for the oceans through the enchanting
story of the evolution of the planet's water... Blending science
and observation, he issues a compelling call to move from the
catastrophic path we are on. Like Rachel Carson's seminal book
Silent Spring, which catalyzed the environmental movement, The
Ocean of Life is eloquent and authoritative.
-- David Suzuki, host of "The Nature of Things" "Those of us
who worry about the future of our oceans could do a lot worse than
take up this single refrain, Listen to Callum Roberts!. Shouted in
the ears of the world's leaders, it might just make a difference.
Meanwhile we should all read Ocean of Life, a thrilling narrative
of oceanic natural history and a vital call to action"
--Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef, broadcaster and author of
The River Cottage Cookbook "An engrossing survey of the
relationship between man and the sea for readers living through the
greatest environmental changes in 65 million years. . . . Roberts's
meditation will have readers gasping aloud with wonder, even as the
sobering truth of humans' profound interdependence with the sea
provokes concern."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) 'For anyone who
loves the sea, Ocean of Life is a wake-up call, an urgent alert'
--Daily Mail
'At the heart of this book is a deep love of the ocean and a
profound concern for its viability as a resource for us all'
--Nature
'An impressive history ... one of this book's strengths is the many
solutions Roberts outlines.'
-- Financial Times
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