In Ocean of Life, Callum Roberts shows how the oceans have changed - from prehistoric times to today. His focus is on man-made changes, dealing with such topics as overfishing, destructive fishing methods, plastic and chemical pollution, winds and currents, excessive noise, dead-zones, disease, farm-fish etc. The book is however, not all doom and gloom. Roberts dedicates the last quarter of his book to methods that may work to restore or at least diminish the negative effects humans have on ocean life - provided people are willing to implement them. This is a well-written, articulate, interesting and engaging book, with short chapters covering specific topics. What happens to the Oceans is relevant to everyone on this planet, and this book provides an eye-opening summary of the importance of the Oceans and how humans have and can effect them for good or ill. ( )

The Ocean of Life is a compelling, comprehensive account of man's relationship with the sea, and how it is standing at the brink of collapse. Warming and increasing acidification would be bad enough for the denizens of the waters, but man's pollution and incessant appetite for seafood only make things worse. If there's an issue you've been wondering about involving sealife, there's probably a chapter about it here. Also appreciated is the first appendix, which discusses what seafood you should eat and how to figure out if it is really sustainable.

We've been avoiding difficult decisions about the oceans and our actions for too long, The Ocean of Life is an excellent introduction to what we've done and what we must do in the future to ensure that life in the oceans will endure for future generations. Highly recommended. ( )

I just read the beginning of this book and it is scary about the direction our world is going need to get it back out and read more when I can handle it! ( )

A very well written book about a very tough subject.

Roberts manages to convey the crisis of the oceans that is almost on us with sparkling clarity. He doesn't over complicate the subject, but writes with an urgency and a passion.

The chapters are quite gloomy when you consider how bad the seas are. He covers the amount of rubbish, in particular plastics that are in the sea, the steady acidification due to the water absorbing carbon dioxide relentlessly. He covers the scandalous trade in sharks fin, and the devastation that bottom trawling and by catch is having. Grim, very grim.

But in all the bad news, there is some hope. More nations are starting to set aside marine reserves, and he details how even a small reserve can have a massive change to a far wider area.

A must read for those interested in the state of the largest wilderness on the planet. ( )