Beached

Winner of both the Royal Palm Literary Award for Book of the Year and the Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Mystery

Marine biologist and scuba diver Meredith Cavallo’s life unravels after she finds a plastic-wrapped bundle floating on the waves off Key Largo. Curious, she pulls it onboard and finds herself sucked into a maelstrom involving an obscure legend, an 18th century shipwreck, and a modern pirate who’ll resort to murder to claim the booty first.

Thrust into the hunt for a ship with no historical record, Mer plunges into the world of nautical archaeology. But for a woman accustomed to dealing with facts, deciphering secrets proves difficult—and everyone she encounters harbors their own skeletons. A sinister betrayal sends her reeling, and even with the help of a crusty former marine salvager, a fiery professor, and her friends on the island, Mer realizes she’s in over her head. Determined to outwit the man who wants her dead, she’s certain of only one thing—treasure is trouble.

“Beached is a non-stop mystery thrill ride.” —The Big Thrill Magazine

“Browning incorporates fact with fiction...to seamlessly create a fast-moving story filled with suspenseful danger and double-dealing chicanery.” —The Key West Citizen

“As an avid diver myself, you don’t find many books that accurately convey the diving experience. [Mer Cavallo] books are great action adventure novels with fast pacing and great character development.” —M. Wheat

Note: This is the 2nd book in the series, but can be read as a standalone.

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Below the Edge of Darkness

A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean to understand bioluminescence—the language of light that helps life communicate in the darkness in this “thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure” (The NY Times Book Review). 

Widder’s childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist was almost derailed in college, when complications from surgery caused temporary blindness. A new reality of shifting shadows drew her fascination to the power of light—as well as the importance of optimism. 

As her vision cleared, Widder found the intersection of her two passions in oceanic bioluminescence, a little-explored scientific field within Earth’s last great unknown frontier: the deep ocean. With little promise of funding or employment, she leaped at the first opportunity to train as a submersible pilot and dove into the darkness. 

Widder’s 1st journey into the deep, in a diving suit that resembled a suit of armor, took her to down to 800 feet. Turning off the lights, she witnessed breathtaking underwater fireworks: explosions of bioluminescent activity. Concerns about her future career vanished. She only wanted to know: “Why was there so much light down there?” 

Below the Edge of Darkness takes readers deep into our planet’s oceans as Widder pursues her questions about one of the most important and widely used forms of communication in nature. In the process, she reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviors and animals, from microbes to leviathans, many never before seen. Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosystem. 

A thrilling adventure story as well as a scientific revelation, Below the Edge of Darkness reckons with the complicated and sometimes dangerous realities of exploration. Widder shows us how when we push our boundaries, discovery and wonder follow.

“Edith Widder’s story is one of hardscrabble optimism, two-fisted exploration, and groundbreaking research. She’s done things I dream of doing.” —James Cameron

(A special thank you to Neal Klemens for the suggestion.)

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Into the Deepest and Darkest

Ever wondered what it's like to dive to 100 meters, to be waiting alone in the dark, your only way back to safety a thin nylon line snaking away from you, up and up and up into the darkness and down and down and down into the blackness? Not a sound but your own breathing. Minutes ticking away. How long you can wait for your friend?

This book tells the story of more than 12 years of extreme deep cave diving, culminating in the setting of four Guinness Book of records for deep diving around the world.

From the foreword: “14 minutes to descend, 31 decompression stops to look forward to. My first decompression stop was at 190 metres. My first support diver only met me at 120 metres. I had to endure 12 hours and 20 minutes of decompression in rough seas. In the end, I had done something no one else ever had. I’d dived to 321.85 metres on open circuit scuba and returned to tell the tale. In the process, I’d breathed 90,000 litres of gas and had 15 backup divers working in relays to support me. This is the incredible place that over 12 years of ever deeper cave diving and exploration had brought me and my dedicated support team.

I have seen the author of this book go from a novice open water diver to become one of the most experienced technical diving instructors in South Africa. Joseph Emmanuel was with me for almost all my record breaking dives over the years. This book is his personal account of those expeditions. The book is about more than just diving. It’s about trust, and friendship, and faith in other people’s ability. It’s about determination to see a goal achieved. It’s about relationships and communication, logistics and planning. It’s about a journey that began more than 10 years ago and a destination that as explorers we will never really reach.” —Nuno Gomes, holder of two world records in deep diving including the cave diving record from 1996 to the present

(A special thank you to Matthew David for the book suggestion.)

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Into the Drowning Deep

New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant returns with a novel that takes us to a new world of ancient mysteries and mythological dangers come to life.

The ocean is home to many myths, but some are deadly. . .

Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. This time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek the truth. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. But for scientist Victoria Stewart, this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. However, the secrets of the deep come with a price.

Into the Drowning Deep is an irresistible thriller with the “heady brew of fascinating science, visceral horror, and, of course, the hubris of mankind in the face of the awesome unknown” (Kirkus).

“The perfect eerie October read. The writing is so lush and beautiful, while the story is filled with action and fast paced.” —Meltotheany

”Engrossing and adrenaline-fueled.”―Shelf Awareness

“Entertained and enraptured from the first page to the last.” ―Bookriot

”Absolutely delivers ... Best-selling author Mira Grant is one of today's best authors of the genre, and Into the Drowning Deep takes its place among her best work.” ―Vulture

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Master and Commander

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize

The classic first novel of the treasured Aubrey/Maturin series, widely considered “the best historical fiction ever written” (New York Times).

Ardent, gregarious British naval officer Jack Aubrey is elated to be given his first appointment as commander: the fourteen-gun ship HMS Sophie. After a heated first encounter that nearly comes to a duel—Aubrey and a brilliant but down-on-his-luck physician, Stephen Maturin, strike up an unlikely rapport. On a whim, Aubrey invites Maturin to join his crew as the Sophie’s surgeon. And so begins the legendary friendship that anchors this beloved saga set against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.

Through every ensuing adventure on which Aubrey and Maturin embark, from the witty parley of their enemies and lovers to the roar of broadsides as great ships close in battle around them, O’Brian “provides endlessly varying shocks and surprises—comic, grim, farcical and tragic.… [A] whole, solidly living world for the imagination to inhabit” (A. S. Byatt).

“A few books work their way… onto [bestseller] lists by genuine, lasting excellence—witness Patrick O’Brian’s sea stories.” —Ursula K. Le Guin, noted author

“I love these books.… They will sweep you away and return you delighted, increased and stunned.” —NPR

“[O’Brian’s] Aubrey-Maturin series is a masterpiece. It will outlive most of today’s putative literary gems.” —The New York Times

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The Sunken Gold

On January 25, 1917, HMS Laurentic struck two German mines off the coast of Ireland and sank. The ship was carrying 44 tons of gold bullion in order to finance the war effort. Britain desperately needed that sunken treasure, but any salvage had to be secret since they dared not alert the Germans to the presence of the gold. Lieutenant Commander Damant was the most qualified officer to head the risky mission. Wild gales battered the wreck into the shape of an accordion, turning the operation into a multiyear struggle of man versus nature. As the war raged on, Damant was called off the salvage to lead a team of covert divers to investigate and search through the contents of recently sunk U-boats for ciphers, minefield schematics, and other secrets. The information they obtained, once in the hands of British intelligence, proved critical toward Allied efforts to defeat the U-boats and win the war. But Damant had become obsessed with completing his long-deferred mission. His team struggled for five more years as it became apparent that the work could only be accomplished by muscle, grit, and persistence.

Using newly discovered sources, Williams provides the first full-length account of the quest for the Laurentic's gold. More than an incredible story about undersea diving adventure, The Sunken Gold is a story of human persistence, bravery, and patriotism.

”Williams has uncovered one of the greatest stories of WWI, a tale of U-boats, lost treasure, and the tenacious diver determined to recover it at all costs. Simply put, this book is a real gem.” —James M. Scott, noted author

”A wild and wooly tale of pressurized goats, black arts, and maritime gold, all beautifully told … I devoured it in two thrill-filled nights.” —James Nestor, noted author

(A special thank you to Frank Dougherty for the book suggestion.)

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Coming Back Alive

When the fishing vessel La Conte sinks suddenly at night in 100mph winds and record 90ft seas during a savage storm in January 1998, her five crewmen are left to drift without a life raft in the freezing Alaskan waters and survive as best they can.

150 miles away, in Sitka, Alaska, an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter lifts off from America's most remote Coast Guard base in the hopes of tracking down an anonymous Mayday signal. A fisherman's worst nightmare has become a Coast Guard crew's desperate mission. As the crew of the La Conte begin to die one by one, those sworn to watch over them risk everything to pull off the rescue of the century.

Spike Walker has been hailed by James A. Michener as “masterful.” In Coming Back Alive, Walker has crafted his most devastating book to date. Meticulously researched through hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the survivors, this is the true account of the La Conte's final voyage and the relationship between Alaskan fishermen and the search and rescue crews who risk their lives to save them.

“Coming Back Alive is everything the genre demands: exciting, harrowing, and maddeningly suspenseful.” —Portland Oregonian

“Reminiscent of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm and Frederic Stonehouse's The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Highly recommended!” —Library Journal

“Junger intrigues you, Greenlaw enlightens you. Walker will scare you half to death...Walker describes seven of the most intense hours I have read about.” —National Fisherman's Journal

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The Last Dive

Spurred on by a fatal combination of obsession and ambition, Chris and Chrisy Rouse, an experienced father-son scuba diving team, hoped to achieve wide-spread recognition for their outstanding and controversial diving skills by solving the secrets of a mysterious, undocumented, WWII German U-boat that lay only a half day’s mission from New York Harbor.

The Rouses found the ultimate cost of chasing their personal challenge: death from what divers dread the most—decompression sickness, or “the bends.” In this gripping recounting of their tragedy, author Bernie Chowdhury, himself an expert diver, explores the thrill-seeking, high-risk world of deep sea diving, its legendary figures, most celebrated triumphs, and notorious tragedies.

Written by Sea Gypsy Bernie Chowdhury, a technical diver who was also a close friend of the Rouses. This is a heart-stopping read about local diving that’s not to be missed.

“Superbly written and action-packed, The Last Dive ranks with such adventure classics as The Perfect Storm and Into Thin Air.” —Tampa Tribune

“A suspenseful tale [that] amounts to one long nail-biter...will leave even surface-dwellers gasping for air.” — Philadelphia Enquirer

(A special thank you to Lisa McIntyre for the book suggestion.)

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The Island of Sea Women

“A mesmerizing new historical novel”(O, The Oprah Magazine) about female friendship and devastating family secrets on a small Korean island.

Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as “baby divers,” they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility—but also danger.

Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook find it impossible to ignore their differences. The Island of Sea Women takes place over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.

“This vivid…thoughtful and empathetic” novel (The New York Times Book Review) illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge and the men take care of the children. “A wonderful ode to a truly singular group of women” (Publishers Weekly), The Island of Sea Women is a “beautiful story…about the endurance of friendship when it’s pushed to its limits, and you…will love it” (Cosmopolitan).

"Lisa See is a New York Times bestselling author, a thorough researcher and a wonderful storyteller. In this novel, she seamlessly weaves history, tradition and culture into a heartfelt story about love and forgiveness. It’s an unforgettable read.” —Toronto Star

“A stupendous multigenerational family saga, See’s latest also provides an enthralling cultural anthropology highlighting the soon-to-be-lost, matriarchal haenyeo phenomenon and an engrossing history of violently tumultuous twentieth-century Korea. A mesmerizing achievement.” —Booklist, starred review

“On an island off the South Korean coast, an ancient guild of women divers reckons with the depredations of modernity from 1938 to 2008 in See's latest novel…. See did extensive research with primary sources to detail not only the haenyeo traditions, but the mass murders on Jeju beginning in 1948, which were covered up for decades by the South Korean government… It is a necessary book.” —Kirkus Reviews

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Lagoon

An award-winning novelist of African-based science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism, Nnedi Okorafor is known for weaving African cultures into creative settings and memorable characters.

After word gets out on the Internet that aliens have landed in the waters outside of the world’s fifth most populous city, chaos ensues. Soon the military, religious leaders, thieves, and crackpots are trying to control the message on YouTube and on the streets. Meanwhile, the earth’s political superpowers are considering a preemptive nuclear launch to eradicate the intruders. All that stands between 17 million anarchic residents and death is an alien ambassador, a biologist, a rapper, a soldier, and a myth that may be the size of a giant spider, or a god revealed.

“Chaotic, enthralling, and moving fluidly from character voices to oral-style narration to gut-punchingly beautiful prose.” —NPR Books

“Lagoon is a wonderfully contemporary look at how people react when confronted with the unknown on a massive scale, with all the personal character changes and challenges one could hope for. I loved reading Lagoon and it’s definitely going on my reread circuit.” —Fantasy Faction

“Lagoon mixes a traditional trope of SF—first contact with visitors from the stars—with African magical realism to create a lyrical, poetic mash-up examining social deprivation, religious excess and the power of story on our lives.” —The Guardian

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The Girl Beneath the Sea

Coming from scandalous Florida treasure hunters and drug smugglers, Sloan McPherson is forging her own path, for herself and for her daughter, out from under her family’s shadow. An auxiliary officer for Lauderdale Shores PD, she’s the go-to diver for evidence recovery. Then Sloan finds a fresh kill floating in a canal—a woman whose murky history collides with Sloan’s. Their troubling ties are making Sloan less a potential witness than a suspect. And her colleagues aren’t the only ones following every move she makes. So is the killer.

Stalked by an assassin, pitted against a ruthless cartel searching for a lost fortune, and under watch within her ranks, Sloan has only one ally: the legendary DEA agent who put Sloan’s uncle behind bars. He knows just how deep corruption runs—and the kind of danger Sloan is in. To stay alive, Sloan must stay one step ahead of her enemies—both known and unknown—and a growing conspiracy designed to pull her under.

“Distinctive characters and a genuinely thrilling finale…Readers will look forward to Sloan’s further adventures.” —Publishers Weekly

“Mayne writes with a clipped narrative style that gives the story rapid-fire propulsion, and populates the narrative with a rogue’s gallery of engaging characters…[A] winning new series with a complicated female protagonist that combines police procedural with adventure story and mixes the styles of Lee Child and Clive Cussler.” —Library Journal

“The Girl Beneath the Sea continuously dives deeper and deeper until you no longer know whom Sloan can trust. This is a terrific entry in a new and unique series.” —Criminal Element

“Wall Street Journal bestselling author Andrew Mayne is the absolute master of creating gutsy characters who thrive in extreme circumstances. I found myself almost gasping as I followed Sloan into the fantastical and shadowy underwater world. But I was careful to remember the first rule of scuba diving: never hold your breath.” —Liz Pearsons, Thomas & Mercer Publishing Editor

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Bending Atmospheres

A memoir of a young man’s dream of space flight and deep diving, Bending Atmospheres is a dazzling adventure recounting daring, heroic professionals learning to work at undersea pressures to 1,000 feet sea water and in the vacuum of orbital space traveling at 18,000 miles an hour. Readers are taken through the early development of deep diving tri-mix, nitrox and neon diving gas mixtures and decompression tables, to early diving in the treacherous North Sea, National Geographic expeditions seeking famed sunken treasure, and methods used to train astronauts for space walks to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

“Bold, daring, exciting adventures—fraught with danger befitting James Bond—are at the heart of this valuable contribution to the literature of how humans developed techniques, protocols, and different breathing gas mixtures for survival, working, and exploration in both the deep sea and space environment by one of the men directly involved in those developments.” —Bernie Chowdhury, noted author of The Last Dive

“If you are in the diving world Bending Atmospheres is a MUST-READ book. If you are a technical diver, it is even more of a must-read. Everything we do today in advanced and technical diving is because of Glenn Butler, Dr. Bill Hamilton, Dave Kenyon, and Hans Schreiner. For Glenn to put this incredible story to print makes is all the more special.” —Joel Silverstein, Diving Technologist

“This is an engrossing story about discovery, adventure success and failure from the man who personally experienced the events. The way that the narrative is constructed from snippets from from the author's past interwoven with more contemporary events is interesting and gives a window on his past as well as his work in the present. I recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in deep sea diving, space exploration and hyperbaric therapies.” —D Bertels

”Extremely entertaining and refreshingly personal, highly recommended!” —Susan Joiner

“The cast of charters that Glenn worked with, the included technical information, and how technology developed for underwater gets used in the space program is an intriguing story. Very few people know this part of history. I could not put this riveting book down.” —Larry Cohen

(A special thank you to Glenn Butler for the suggestion.)

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The Brilliant Abyss

A golden era of deep-sea discovery is underway. Revolutionary studies in the deep are rewriting the very notion of life on Earth and the rules of what is possible. In the process, the abyss is being revealed as perhaps the most amazing part of our planet, with a topography even more varied and extreme than its Earthbound counterpart. Teeming with unsuspected life, an extraordinary interconnected ecosystem deep below the waves has a huge effect on our daily lives, influencing climate and weather systems, with the potential for much more—good or bad depending on how it is exploited. Currently, the fantastic creatures that live in the deep—many of them incandescent in a world without light—and its formations capture and trap vast quantities of carbon that would otherwise poison our atmosphere; and novel bacteria as yet undiscovered hold the promise of potent new medicines. Yet the deep also holds huge mineral riches lusted after by many nations and corporations; mining them could ultimately devastate the planet, compounded by the deepening impacts of ubiquitous pollutants and rampant overfishing.

Eloquently and passionately, Helen Scales brings to life the majesty and mystery of an alien realm that nonetheless sustains us, while urgently making clear the price we could pay if it is further disrupted. The Brilliant Abyss is at once a revelation and a clarion call to preserve this vast unseen world.

“[Scales] has an astonishingly big, profoundly important story to tell and wisely gives it the pace and care it deserves . . . Extraordinary . . . It’s all so marvelous, astonishing, remarkable and compelling that readers can’t help but embrace Scales’s vision of a majestic and mysterious world mostly unsullied by humans . . . An important, powerful and hypnotizing tale of the deep, one that can’t be recommended enough . . . Scales is a brilliant writer.” —Winnipeg Press

“[A] beguiling journey into the ocean’s deep, a wondrous landscape full of mystery and adventure . . . Scales offers crisp, engaging prose, linking everything together in an accessible, entertaining manner.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Thanks to modern technology, especially unmanned submersibles, abyssal research is experiencing a golden age. Helen Scales, a marine biologist who is also a gifted storyteller, takes the reader on several expeditions that rely on these devices, and describes the bizarre life forms that have recently come to light.” —Natural History Magazine

(A special thank you to Neal Klemens for the suggestion.)

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War of the Whales

Winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award: “Horwitz’s dogged reporting…combined with crisp, cinematic writing, produces a powerful narrative.

Six years in the making, War of the Whales is the “gripping detective tale” (Publishers Weekly) of crusading attorney, Joel Reynolds, who stumbles on one of the US Navy’s best-kept secrets: a submarine detection system that floods entire ocean basins with high-intensity sound—and drives whales onto beaches. As Reynolds launches a legal fight to expose and challenge the Navy program, marine biologist Ken Balcomb witnesses a mysterious mass stranding of whales near his research station in the Bahamas. Investigating this calamity, Balcomb is forced to choose between his conscience and an oath of secrecy he swore to the Navy in his youth.

“War of the Whales reads like the best investigative journalism, with cinematic scenes of strandings and dramatic David-and-Goliath courtroom dramas as activists diligently hold the Navy accountable” (The Huffington Post). When Balcomb and Reynolds team up to expose the truth behind an epidemic of mass strandings, the stage is set for an epic battle that pits admirals against activists, rogue submarines against weaponized dolphins, and national security against the need to safeguard the ocean environment. “Strong and valuable” (The Washington Post), “brilliantly told” (Bob Woodward), author Joshua Horwitz combines the best of legal drama, natural history, and military intrigue to “raise serious questions about the unchecked use of secrecy by the military to advance its institutional power” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

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Under Pressure

Most incidents and accidents are down to “human error.” Unfortunately, “human error” is normal and we can't get rid of it. However, we can reduce the likelihood of one of those, “Oh s***t moments” if we have an understanding of human factors and develop our non-technical skills.

This is a globally-unique book containing decades of research and practice from high-risk domains translated into the world of recreational and technical diving.

“Utilizing case studies of actual diving incidents, alongside examinations compiled by other high-risk industries, Under Pressure seeks to remove the stigma surrounding the mistakes divers make, illuminate that errors are a critical part of our collective learning process, and that despite the level of one's experience, not a single one of us is infallible. Regardless of your current experience as a diver, the use of non-technical skills and understanding of the human factors affecting both your choices and those made by others around you will positively impact your own underwater performance, and hopefully make your own diving safer.” —Richie Kohler, shipwreck explorer, author, and filmmaker

“Under Pressure is a must read for every diver and every instructor, to become more aware than you thought you could be so that your learning, processing and instinct come together to contribute to the best outcome when you’re faced with critical decisions which need to be made quickly and while under pressure. Even more important though, the knowledge contained within this book will help you avoid being in a situation where you need those skills!” —Ellen Cuylaerts, award winning underwater photographer and conservationist

“Gareth's work is a breath of fresh air in an industry that seems hell bent on taking the fast lane to mediocrity… Skill requirements are designed to breed complacency and promote the normalization of deviance that leads to accidents. Throughout the book are examples of scenarios that did not have to happen in the first place. As well as others that initially were not the fault of the diver, but their response was less than optimal... Gareth analyzes these events and the reactions to them in detail… Applying these lessons to the readers own dive... this work has the potential to save lives.” —Jim Lapenta, recreational and technical instructor, and author

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Swimming with the Dead

Murder runs deep in this thrilling underwater investigation series featuring CSI Diver Hannah Sampson…

Hannah Sampson knows terror. Unseeable, unknowable predators that lurk in the deep. She’s a cop, an expert diver, and leader of the Denver Underwater CSI team. For Hannah, diving is nasty business in polluted lakes and frigid reservoirs where no one is ever found alive.

When her police commissioner's son is found dead pinned under the submerged wreck of a cargo ship, Sampson is summoned to the sun-drenched beaches of the British Virgin Islands to investigate. She is fully prepared to face unknowable dangers beneath the crystal-clear waters of an idyllic paradise. But the possibility of murder runs deeper and darker than the sea itself.

Whatever the victim was looking for, he found. Whatever he found was the death of him. Now, Hannah must discover for herself what lies beneath—a secret that could literally take Hannah's breath away.

Written by an avid scuba diver based in Colorado.

“Hannah Sampson is a cop, but with a twist. She’s in charge of the Denver Police Department’s dive and recovery team—retrieving evidence and investigating underwater crime scenes. For her, diving is a job, not recreation. Swimming with the Dead reminded me of the early Kay Scarpetta mysteries by Patricia Cornwell. I remember thinking when I read the first Scarpetta that it was going to make a great, long-lived series . . . the writing smooth, the heroine strong and yet vulnerable, the whole concept intriguing. . . . Ditto for Swimming with the Dead. I think it may be an even better series.” —Mystery News

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The Soul of an Octopus

Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction and “Book of the Year” from Huffington Post, American Library Association, and Library Journal

A New York Times bestseller, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.

In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food.

Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

“Journalistic immersion... allows Montgomery to deliver a deeper understanding of the 'other,' thereby adding to our understanding of ourselves. A good book might illuminate something you knew little about, transform your world view, or move you in ways you didn't think possible. The Soul of an Octopus delivers on all three.” —New Scientist

“Charming and moving...with extraordinary scientific research.” —The Guardian

“The Soul of an Octopus is an astoundingly beautiful read in its entirety, at once scientifically illuminating and deeply poetic, and is indeed a worthy addition to the best science books of the year.” —NPR

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The Outlaw Ocean

A riveting, adrenaline-fueled tour of a vast, lawless, and rampantly criminal world that few have ever seen: the high seas.

There are few remaining frontiers on our planet. But perhaps the wildest, and least understood, are the world’s oceans: too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these immense regions of treacherous water play host to rampant criminality and exploitation.

Traffickers and smugglers, pirates and mercenaries, wreck thieves and repo men, vigilante conservationists and elusive poachers, seabound abortion providers, clandestine oil-dumpers, shackled slaves and cast-adrift stowaways–drawing on five years of perilous and intrepid reporting, often hundreds of miles from shore, Ian Urbina introduces us to the inhabitants of this hidden world. Through their stories of astonishing courage and brutality, survival and tragedy, he uncovers a globe-spanning network of crime and exploitation that emanates from the fishing, oil, and shipping industries, and on which the world’s economies rely.

Both a gripping adventure story and a stunning exposé, this unique work of reportage brings fully into view for the first time the disturbing reality of a floating world that connects us all, a place where anyone can do anything because no one is watching.

“The Outlaw Ocean is enriched by Urbina’s gifted storytelling about the destruction of marine life and the murder, crime, and piracy that make the seas so dangerous for those who make their living on them.” —The National Book Review

“This body of work is a devastating look at the corruption, exploitation, and trafficking that thrive on the open ocean… The writing is straightforward but clever… Eerie and beautiful.” —Outside

“The Outlaw Ocean is an outstanding example of investigative journalism, illuminating some of the darkest corners of a world we often don’t think about… what he found ranges from horrible to shocking and from unfair to unbelievable… a magnificent read… proof that outstanding writing is still one of the best tools we have to get to know the world we live in.” —NPR

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Life and Adventures of Frances Namon Sorcho

Published in 1888, this 24-page “little book” written by Captain Louis Sorcho of the Great Deep Sea Diving Company provides a peek into the life and adventures of the “Only Woman Deep Sea Diver in the World.”

Excerpt: ”To the average individual unacquainted with the art of deep sea diving and the mysteries of the ocean away down beneath its surface, divers are sort of superhuman creatures often read about but seldom seen. How they exist in the ocean's depths, the queer costume they are compelled to wear, the strange sensations they experience, the wonderful sights they see, the desperate risks they take, and the manner in which they work beneath the water, have, heretofore, all been a sealed volume to the general public.

In presenting this little book to our patrons, it is our object to enlighten them on these subjects, and give them some idea, at least, of the life of a diver.

See here a woman, who has braved the thousand deaths that await the diver; who has calmly, yet courageously, ventured in the ocean's depth, with only the fishes and the thousands awaiting the day when the sea shall give up its dead for companions; kept herself in perfect control and invaded the mystic depths as a conqueror, mistress alike of element and herself.

Mrs. Sorcho is the only woman deep sea diver in the world, and is the only woman alive today who has ever donned a submarine armor and descended into the ocean's depths to work.”

(A special thank you to Neal Klemens for the book suggestion.)

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Solaris

Psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives on a research station orbiting Solaris to study an extraterrestrial intelligence, which takes the form of a vast ocean. But his fellow scientists appear to be losing their grip on reality, plagued by physical manifestations of their repressed memories. When Kelvin’s long-dead girlfriend suddenly reappears, he is forced to confront the pain of his past while living a future that never was.

Is this sentient ocean a massive neural center seeing into the deepest recesses of human minds and then bringing their dreams to life? If so, why?

Long considered a classic, Solaris serves as a canvas for discussion of our mind’s limitations and the nature of cognition.

“A virtuoso storyteller… Stanisław Lem’s imagination is so powerful and pure that no matter what world he creates it is immediately convincing because of its concreteness and plentitude, the intimacy and authority with which it is occupied... read Lem for yourself. He is a major writer, and one of the deep spirits of our age.” —The NY Times

“A fantastic book.” —Steven Soderbergh, filmmaker

“[Lem’s] writing [has] a unique place on a Venn diagram in which the natural sciences, philosophy, and literature shade into one another with mutually intensifying vividness and fascination.” —The New Yorker

“A novel that makes you reevaluate the nature of intelligence itself.” —Anne McCaffrey, noted author

Note: The direct Polish-to-English translation by Bill Johnston is the one that is recommended. The Kilmartin-Cox translation which was translated into English from a French translation is generally considered second-rate. Even the author himself, who read English fluently, repeatedly voiced his disappointment about the Kilmartin-Cox translation.

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