The global ocean is the single biggest feature of the surface of the planet earth. It accounts fro two thirds of earth’s surface, and over eighty percent of its habitable zone. However, because most of the marine environment is extremely inhospitable to humans, for the much of history we have not been aware of the full extent of life in the seas. Within the last century or so, with the advent of the more robust and sophisticated technology, we’ve been able to get a better idea of this vast realm. This short book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to start getting a better idea of what marine life is all about.

The book is organized around the several major global marine habitats: coastal oceans, polar regions, tropics, etc. Each one of the regions is described in as much of a detail as this short format allows for. One of the virtues of this book is that it takes a very comprehensive view of its subjects, and information in each chapter is intertwined with the rest of the book. The book is very readable and accessible, especially if you have at least some predilection for biology or science in general. The book is aimed at the general audience, and no specialized background aside from the standard high school or middle school life sciences is necessary. One of this book’s stronger features is that it keeps stressing the fragile nature of many marine habitats, and the impact that human population and human activity have had on those. We are all still very much dependent on the resources that we get out of the Oceans (and that even includes people who don’t like seafood), and reading a book like this one can enable one to be better informed about this huge part of our global environment.