The number of books encompassed by the many natural history series published by Reaktion Books and distributed by University of Chicago Press is truly impressive. From Animal and Botanical through Kosmos and Earth, scores upon scores of volumes (Animal alone, by my count, presently contains ninety-nine books) take up a wide range of topics that will keep an interested naturalist reading for years.
Presenting accessible explanations of well-observed tidal processes, as well as more recent discoveries from the deep ocean and coastal seas, the authors carry on the well-established tradition of the now over 600-volume Very Short Introductions series in providing their readers with the opportunity to enlighten themselves about this fascinating subject.
There had never before been anything like the 1870s voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger. From late 1872 to 1876, with the full support of the British navy, and specially refitted as a floating scientific laboratory staffed by some of the empire’s finest naturalists, it sailed the oceans of the planet solely for the purpose of discovering more about what was in them and how the systems they contain function and inter-relate with one another.
As one who grew up on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, I am rather fond of the planets seas and all the wonders they contain. I’ve also spent a bit of time near the Atlantic Ocean, had some fleeting encounters with the Indian Ocean, and seen the Arctic Ocean from the windows of many a jet airplane. However when it comes to the Southern Ocean, I am absolutely without a star to steer by – and so are, according to the preview of Joy McCann’s forthcoming book “Wild Sea; A History of the Southern Ocean,” most others as well.