The Saltwater Wilderness

By Glenn Vanstrum

This book plunges the reader into the heart of the sea. It is an elegantly-written account of one photojournalist's experience studying marine natural history and ecology. Illustrated with classic black and white photography, and annotated with references to classic marine literature, this book takes the reader from California to New Guinea, Fiji, Palau, and Tonga, to the Caribbean, to Alaska, and back again. Along the way, a quest to shed light on marine limits, symbiosis, and biogeography ties the adventures together. It will appeal to anyone who snokels, swims, scuba dives, surfs, studies marine biology, or loves the sea.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195159373
• ISBN13: 9780195159370
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Adventures and Serious Scholarship

This is a meticulously researched book that reflects the author's deep commitment to the ocean environment. At the same time Dr. Vanstrum describes his adventures while surfing and diving all over the world. It's a fun, serious book.Relying on interviews and communications with some of the foremost authorities on coral reefs (Dr. Richard Grigg) and ocean fisheries, Dr. Vanstrum makes a compelling case for the establishment of meaningful marine reserves in this country.It is a shame that costs prevented the publication of Dr. Vanstrum's marvelous photographs in color. I have seen the originals in color and they are breathtaking. Even the black and whites reflect the skill and commitment of a superb photographer. For a sample of his photography in color I would recommend a visit to his Web site: www.Vanstrum.net.

Wealth of ocean information

This book is really well researched and presented in a very entertaining way. The author has a vast wealth of experience and understanding about the intricate balances of the ocean. If you've ever wanted to know, "what's down there?" or "what's so great about the oceans?" this is the book for you. I've been interested in the ocean and its life, and this book satisfies my curiosity.

Substantial and delightful

Vanstrum has written a book that balances scientific substance with the sheer delight of scuba diving. The 18 chapters of The Saltwater Wilderness are set mainly as trips to exotic places (like Fiji, Tonga, and Palau) and the author is masterful at conveying the human and humane character of the people and places he visits. But what makes this book different from many of its peers is that Vanstrum uses his knowledge of marine science to highlight the amazing things he sees beneath the waves in a way that makes them even more extraordinary. For example, in chapter 8 the image of a seven foot barracuda floating over a brain coral (in Honduras) becomes a meditation on evolutionary history and in the process helps explain why THAT fish is stationed exactly over THAT coral. In one of my favorite chapters (13) I learned that for the millions of bacteria living in every liter of sea water, the ocean does not behave as a liquid, but more like viscous honey. Meaning? Where surfers see big waves crashing on underlying rocks, the microscopic bacteria riding those waves feel nothing of the kind--they live in a still place. It is this skillful contrasting of scales of both time and place that makes Vanstrum's book a very satisfying read.

The Saltwater Wilderness

This is a personal account of youthful excitement plus much mature information. Worthy of a scholar, a scientist and a surfer-diver.