11 Books Like Future of the Oceans

This is a refreshing and very contemporary account of the changing face of our oceans. Despite the nearly five decades I have dedicated to ocean research, Helen Scales’ book provided me with new, intriguing insights and a wealth of fascinating factoids. More importantly, I welcome her positive and optimistic outlook for the future, following a candid assessment of just how much we have already affected a world we know so little about.

The oceans have changed many times in the geological past through natural Earth processes, and they will continue to adapt to whatever we impose. However, Helen argues with cogent elegance that we could still mitigate our worst excesses and work collectively for an environmentally sustainable ocean future.   

This is an enthralling tale of first-hand research at sea, of perilous work in the ‘screaming 60s’ around Antarctica, and the sheer delight and humility gained from making new discoveries in a world so few have ever seen and where exploration is still in its infancy.

I have experienced exactly that thrill and awe. My own research specialty is the deep ocean–the shape of the seafloor and the stories of sediment swept in to cover it. Alex Rogers is a leading specialist in marine biology, so I was intrigued to read his account of The Deep. Most importantly, Alex explores the ocean’s impact on all our lives, the dramatic effects of our use and abuse of the seas, and of what we might do to mitigate unnecessary damage in the future. Thought-provoking!

This utterly beautiful introduction to the ocean world–in all its power, mystery, and intrigue–captivates me every time I open it. The photography is stunning, jumping out from large-format double spreads, and the illustrations are eminently informative. It brings to life the startling richness of the marine world, from microplankton to baleen whales, from top predators to camouflage specialists. It explains tides and waves, coral reefs and hydrothermal vents, water chemistry, and ocean zones.

Personally, I love the spreads that focus on ocean art. At home, I always have a large coffee-table book that I can dip into. Because I loved the style, scope, and up-to-date science of this one, I agreed to play a very small part as a specialist contributor. But that does not influence my recommendation.

Beyond the intrigue of scientific study, for me, the sea has always been a place of living poetry – sparkling, changing, and dramatic in equal measure. This mesmerising poetry collection by Nobel Laureate, Pablo Neruda, together with his Stones of the Sky, is an all-time favourite of mine.

In August 1991, I sat on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, across from Neruda’s oceanside home in Chile’s Valparaiso, and watched the most vivid, enchanting colours of a setting sun, fuelled by atmospheric ash still lingering from Mt. Pinatubo’s violent eruption many weeks before in the Philippines. Neruda’s poetry captures such earth and ocean dramas with such vibrancy. For poets and scientists alike, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

In this book the people and families of a human penal colony on a water-covered alien world are driven from their homes and into open waters after offending the indigenous alien species.

Out in the planet-wide ocean on a flotilla of ships, they encounter bizarre creatures and odd experiences. As the community falls apart, individuals come together, but ultimately, they will find that the planet itself is guiding them towards total unity.

This book will make you consider the bond between all living creatures, the need for forgiveness and progress forward, and succumbing to what is inevitable.

Eduardo Galeano examines Simón Bolivar’s famous question of whether Latin America will ever know happiness by documenting how exploitation has led to social inequities and political instability. Another question I have grappled with is just as complex to answer, but Galeano does it. Why has Latin America suffered so many military dictatorships?

Recent political developments in the United States resemble the instability and unprincipled rhetoric that caused democracies to fall all over the southern continent. 

Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t put it down! There have been times in my life when I was desperately searching for peace, but instead felt confused, frustrated, hopeless, and questioning my faith. This book is the story of Jennifer’s journey to find peace and how she found it, through a vital, inspiring personal relationship with Jesus. And she helped me, as her reader, to find that same kind of wonderful relationship with Him!  

I love the originality of this book—who ever would have thought to write about the geology of hell but a geologist? As a big-time nerd, I loved the deep dive into science, mixed with the stories and legends of people around the world.

For anyone wishing to learn sleight of hand, this is the place to begin.

What makes the book so good are the more than 1500 illustrations combined with carefully written text. The book is loaded with more performance material than you’ll ever use, but so what?

The variety of magic taught is astonishing.  Bill—a noted sculptor as well as a magician—became a dear friend long after he had written this book. 

My wife and I once went to a magic convention with Bill and his wife Yvonne. The moment we walked into the main hall, he was surrounded by adoring fans who recognized him from his goatee and turtleneck and had grown up with his book by their bedside.    

Daniel Arnold’s book describes his journey to climb 15 of the Sierra’s most prominent peaks by their first-ascent routes—and mostly using similar gear to the first-ascent party. As a Sierra mountaineer and backpacker, his writing immediately captivated me because he wove his adventure together with that of the first ascent party. His careful historical research drew me back in time, providing context for why each climber was pursuing the summit, their personalities and passions, and, importantly, how well (or poorly…) documented the Sierra’s topography was at the time of their explorations. My mind kept wandering into the past, imagining a time when I didn’t have ready access to detailed maps and thinking how different Sierra exploring once was.