Having recently added a copy of a much desired new edition of a textbook on the subject of astrobiology, my mind was primed and receptive for a recent note on Princeton’s social media channels pointing out that in addition to both hardcover and paperback editions of Dr. Kevin Peter Hand’s 2020 published book “Alien Oceans; the Search for Life in the Depths of Space,” they also have the book available in audio format, unabridged and read by the author, through their Princeton Audio imprint.
If you’ve been reading The Well-read Naturalist for very long, you’ve likely discovered that one of my favourite authors presently writing on the subject of marine biology is the very aptly-named Dr. Helen Scales. From her “Spirals in Time” and “Poseidon’s Steed” to her “Eye of the Shoal” and “The Brilliant Abyss,” I’ve found myself repeatedly delighted by both what I’ve learned as well as how much I enjoyed learning it through her lively and superbly wrought writing. Now to these she has added a new book to share her knowledge and love of the sea and the creatures within it with her readers: “Around the Ocean in 80 Fish & Other Sea Life.”
As with so many things in life, “it’s the little things” that so often make it all possible. And when it comes to the life in the the Earth’s oceans, the little things that in fact do make it all possible are the tiny crustaceans we commonly know as krill. However despite how readily to many of us the image may come to mind of these tiny creatures being essentially ubiquitous free-range whale chow, most of us actually don’t know nearly as much about them as we might think we do.
When I recently called up the Very Short Introductions section of the Oxford University Press website to check if any interesting natural history themed volumes were visible on the horizon, I found myself quoting that iconic, charismatic leader of the O.W.C.A., Major Francis Monogram, in exclaiming “Good googly moogly!”