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Wild Sea : A History of the Southern Ocean
Flowing completely around the Earth and unimpeded by any landmass, the wild and elusive Southern Ocean reaches from the seasonally-shifting icy continent of Antarctica to the southern coastlines and islands of Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa. In Wild Sea Joy McCann interweaves the fascinating environmental and cultural histories of the Southern Ocean -- long neglected by writers and historians -- drawing from sea captains' journals, whalers' log books, explorers' letters, scientific reports, ancient beliefs and her own voyage of discovery. In a hybrid space where science, technology, culture, imagination and myth converge, Wild Sea explores a little-known ocean and its emerging importance as a barometer of planetary climate change.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2018
30 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 19, 2019
We still to know so little about the oceans and the relationship with the wind and the impact with climate. This book will help correct some of those gaps, but if will also show the appalling carnage inflicted on whales, seals and other creatures in the Antarctic over such a long period which almost caused the extinction of many species, such is man's greed and stupidity. In reading about climate change and the crises the world is facing from it, I have become increasingly interested in world climate and what causes it and a recommend this book as a good source of information in that regard.
March 4, 2021
You know, not my favorite book in the world, but I am glad I read it. This was a book club choice and this certainly isn't my normal reading. I found the beginning portions of each chapter McCann wrote utterly stunning but struggled to stay engaged through all the history. With that said, I think this book is excellent in depth, research and connecting both to our current climate state.
McCann does a great job of telling the story of the Southern Ocean and I will say she captured my imagination and peaked my interest in a number of ways. I have absolutely NO regrets having read this book. It is worth reading. If this is they type of book you normally enjoy, I think Wild Sea will far exceed your expectations. If it's not your norm, I hope you can still share in the incredible value in this book.
McCann does a great job of telling the story of the Southern Ocean and I will say she captured my imagination and peaked my interest in a number of ways. I have absolutely NO regrets having read this book. It is worth reading. If this is they type of book you normally enjoy, I think Wild Sea will far exceed your expectations. If it's not your norm, I hope you can still share in the incredible value in this book.
September 10, 2020
"We need to use our imagination to engage with this environment, but how can we imagine a place that is so inaccessible and volatile?"
I'd suggest this book is an awe inspiring way to go about it.
I'm staggered by how much I've learned in only 200 pages of content in this brilliant, beautifully written book.
The 7 chapters are titled, Ocean, Wind, Coast, Ice, Deep, Current, Convergence.
Each Chapter begins with a few beautiful pages of a description of the authors own voyage into the Southern Ocean and is complemented by a few of her own photos in the image section.
This is a very important part of the world for all of us, but especially Australians are touched in some way by it. Many millions of us are in Australia because our ancestors were carried by the Roaring Forties to our shores; We flock to the coast and boats on whale watching trips to see the migration from the Southern Ocean of these awe inspiring beings; Those of us who have popped the odd Omega 3 pill have probably shared in the bounty of krill that inhabit the Southern Ocean; The Southern Ocean has a huge effect on our climate and so will effect our food production, water supply and economy with climate changes.
This book provides not just a history but highlights the importance of understanding our oceans, however remote and unknowable they may be seen by us.
"Oceans challenge us to think differently about our planet. Everything is interconnected and fluid, with masses of water moving around the globe on a scale that defies the imagination. Our inability to experience first hand the three-dimensional ocean environment - mostly beyond the reach of any light - profoundly shapes how we think about it"
This book has brought much to light for me about the Southern Ocean and I'm profoundly grateful.
Highly recommended.
I'd suggest this book is an awe inspiring way to go about it.
I'm staggered by how much I've learned in only 200 pages of content in this brilliant, beautifully written book.
The 7 chapters are titled, Ocean, Wind, Coast, Ice, Deep, Current, Convergence.
Each Chapter begins with a few beautiful pages of a description of the authors own voyage into the Southern Ocean and is complemented by a few of her own photos in the image section.
This is a very important part of the world for all of us, but especially Australians are touched in some way by it. Many millions of us are in Australia because our ancestors were carried by the Roaring Forties to our shores; We flock to the coast and boats on whale watching trips to see the migration from the Southern Ocean of these awe inspiring beings; Those of us who have popped the odd Omega 3 pill have probably shared in the bounty of krill that inhabit the Southern Ocean; The Southern Ocean has a huge effect on our climate and so will effect our food production, water supply and economy with climate changes.
This book provides not just a history but highlights the importance of understanding our oceans, however remote and unknowable they may be seen by us.
"Oceans challenge us to think differently about our planet. Everything is interconnected and fluid, with masses of water moving around the globe on a scale that defies the imagination. Our inability to experience first hand the three-dimensional ocean environment - mostly beyond the reach of any light - profoundly shapes how we think about it"
This book has brought much to light for me about the Southern Ocean and I'm profoundly grateful.
Highly recommended.
September 16, 2018
I simply love the subject matter, and have a bit of an obsession with all things Antarctic. Any book that is specifically on the subject of The Great Southern Ocean would be on my shelf automatically. I love the extensive Bibliography because it points me in the direction of further reading.
January 22, 2020
Finished: 22.01.2020
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: C+
#AWW2020
Conclusion:
My Thoughts
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: C+
#AWW2020
Conclusion:
My Thoughts
December 23, 2018
Great non-fiction read on the history and current state of the Southern Ocean, including stats/info right up til 2018. I love the sea and everything in it, so I loved this and was saddened by it in basically equal measure.
June 12, 2021
A natural history plus human history of the Southern (aka Antarctic) Ocean. Oddly organized: the chapters have one-word titles such as Water, Ice, Land etc, yet many topics such as seal and whale hunting are spread out over multiple chapters. Shockingly, early on the author touches on the Shackleton expedition, one of the great human stories in the Antarctic, only to apparently drop the story after the loss of his ship Endurance. But much later in the book she returns to relate Shackleton's voyage of hundreds of miles in a small boat to South Georgia to fetch help for the rest of his men.
There's lots of good information in the book, but the telling is disjointed and somewhat frustrating.
There's lots of good information in the book, but the telling is disjointed and somewhat frustrating.
February 18, 2021
An excellent telling of the story of the great southern ocean, its animals, it’s Islands, it’s history and it’s currents. A great read especially if you have been there or are likely to go to the Antarctic or South Georgia.
May 30, 2018
The Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean by Joy McCann (NewSouth Publishing)
https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/book...
"Unimpeded by any landmass, the mysterious Southern Ocean flows completely around Earth from west to east between the seasonally shifting icy continent of Antarctica and the coastlines and islands of Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa.
Weaving together sea captains’ journals, whalers’ log books, explorers’ letters, scientific research and ancient beliefs with her own voyage of discovery, Joy McCann reveals the secrets of a little-known ocean and its importance as a barometer of climate change.”
I could not resist reviewing this book when I first saw it because for me it suggested the best that non-fiction books have to offer; a new slant on something familiar, a well-researched but easy to digest read and, a meeting of apparently ‘odd’ bedfellows: the discipline of history and the nature of the Southern Ocean. I have never thought about an ocean as having a history - it is quite an anthropomorphic concept, no? I had no idea there was such a discipline as environmental history - how brilliant!! I wonder what does the Southern Ocean thinks about being written about in this way? I imagine she appreciates the attention.
Using the best of her expertise as a respected historian and researcher, McCann asks us to think about the Southern Ocean as more than just a “remote scientific laboratory or as a source of food or prosperity” (p.198). She suggests that “in rendering the Southern Ocean as a space for industry and science, we have become curiously disengaged from this wild, little-known sea” (p.198). Referring to classic sea stories, Moby Dick (Herman Melville) & Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne) she asks the reader, “”But where are the ocean stories for the twenty-first century? More particularly, where are the Southern Ocean stories?” (p.199). McCann argues, quite convincingly, that in the way literary fiction engaged people’s minds with the might and majesty of the oceans, today it is documentary series like the BBC’s Blue Planet, and research projects like hers - resulting in these cross-disciplinary popular history books, which might offer a way to reengage humanity in a fight for the life of these vital environmental icons.
A wonderful book club book, or text to spark dinner table conversation. A great book to pack when bushwalking or camping - endless campfire discussions will ensue.
https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/book...
"Unimpeded by any landmass, the mysterious Southern Ocean flows completely around Earth from west to east between the seasonally shifting icy continent of Antarctica and the coastlines and islands of Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa.
Weaving together sea captains’ journals, whalers’ log books, explorers’ letters, scientific research and ancient beliefs with her own voyage of discovery, Joy McCann reveals the secrets of a little-known ocean and its importance as a barometer of climate change.”
I could not resist reviewing this book when I first saw it because for me it suggested the best that non-fiction books have to offer; a new slant on something familiar, a well-researched but easy to digest read and, a meeting of apparently ‘odd’ bedfellows: the discipline of history and the nature of the Southern Ocean. I have never thought about an ocean as having a history - it is quite an anthropomorphic concept, no? I had no idea there was such a discipline as environmental history - how brilliant!! I wonder what does the Southern Ocean thinks about being written about in this way? I imagine she appreciates the attention.
Using the best of her expertise as a respected historian and researcher, McCann asks us to think about the Southern Ocean as more than just a “remote scientific laboratory or as a source of food or prosperity” (p.198). She suggests that “in rendering the Southern Ocean as a space for industry and science, we have become curiously disengaged from this wild, little-known sea” (p.198). Referring to classic sea stories, Moby Dick (Herman Melville) & Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne) she asks the reader, “”But where are the ocean stories for the twenty-first century? More particularly, where are the Southern Ocean stories?” (p.199). McCann argues, quite convincingly, that in the way literary fiction engaged people’s minds with the might and majesty of the oceans, today it is documentary series like the BBC’s Blue Planet, and research projects like hers - resulting in these cross-disciplinary popular history books, which might offer a way to reengage humanity in a fight for the life of these vital environmental icons.
A wonderful book club book, or text to spark dinner table conversation. A great book to pack when bushwalking or camping - endless campfire discussions will ensue.
March 25, 2022
An interesting coincidence. This book came in the mail while I was listening to the unabridged version of Moby-Dick (25 hours). I split my reading of this superb book (evening read) while listening to Moby-Dick during the day.
Other than old stories of polar expeditions and whaling - we know so little of this Southern Ocean. The pulse of our planet.
In ‘Wild Sea’ Joy walks us through the history of scientific research and the plunder of this ocean’s wildlife. With chapters named ‘Ocean’, ‘Wind’, ‘Ice’, etc., she starts each chapter with her own experience and then weaves in both, scientific research history and the ravages and plunder by humans over the centuries.
A horde of Ahabs killing whales and seals indiscriminately for over a century to the awe felt by those who first glimpsed that distant sea, Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner comes to mind.
“And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.
And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken—
The ice was all between.
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!”
A snippet from the book: (Nimrod expedition was probably around 1839)
“During the Nimrod expedition a year or so earlier, the Adélies had won over everyone with their human-like antics. David wrote, ‘They are the dearest, quaintest, and most winsome birds imaginable.’ They would come running up to the men, waving their flippers as if to signal for them to wait, and occasionally tripping over in their haste. Shackleton’s expedition artist, George Marston, would mimic their movements then lead them in a procession over the ice, issuing orders as they copied him with a series of military-like manoeuvres that brought roars of laughter and applause from the men and, no doubt, confusion to the penguins. Such interactions between humans and penguins may have been heart-warming in any other context, but in reality most ended with the animals being slaughtered either to supplement the men’s diet with fresh meat or to be preserved as specimens. Some of the expeditioners felt the incongruity of the situation. Scott reflected, ‘It seems a terrible desecration to come to this quiet spot only to murder its innocent inhabitants and stain the white snow with blood; but necessities are often hideous.’
Sigh!
Other than old stories of polar expeditions and whaling - we know so little of this Southern Ocean. The pulse of our planet.
In ‘Wild Sea’ Joy walks us through the history of scientific research and the plunder of this ocean’s wildlife. With chapters named ‘Ocean’, ‘Wind’, ‘Ice’, etc., she starts each chapter with her own experience and then weaves in both, scientific research history and the ravages and plunder by humans over the centuries.
A horde of Ahabs killing whales and seals indiscriminately for over a century to the awe felt by those who first glimpsed that distant sea, Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner comes to mind.
“And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.
And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken—
The ice was all between.
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!”
A snippet from the book: (Nimrod expedition was probably around 1839)
“During the Nimrod expedition a year or so earlier, the Adélies had won over everyone with their human-like antics. David wrote, ‘They are the dearest, quaintest, and most winsome birds imaginable.’ They would come running up to the men, waving their flippers as if to signal for them to wait, and occasionally tripping over in their haste. Shackleton’s expedition artist, George Marston, would mimic their movements then lead them in a procession over the ice, issuing orders as they copied him with a series of military-like manoeuvres that brought roars of laughter and applause from the men and, no doubt, confusion to the penguins. Such interactions between humans and penguins may have been heart-warming in any other context, but in reality most ended with the animals being slaughtered either to supplement the men’s diet with fresh meat or to be preserved as specimens. Some of the expeditioners felt the incongruity of the situation. Scott reflected, ‘It seems a terrible desecration to come to this quiet spot only to murder its innocent inhabitants and stain the white snow with blood; but necessities are often hideous.’
Sigh!
September 4, 2020
Saatusesepp viib mu läbi maakera teisele poole? Kui tore! Aga nõid, nagu ma olen, ei viitsinud kaevama hakata ja niisiis ilmusin ma keset metsikuid laineid suure pauguga õhust välja ilmudes. Vesi oli külm. Jõudsin mõelda, et siia ma nüüd surengi, sest lained käisid üle pea ja solgutasid mind endaga kaasa. Aga mul vedas! Mind märkas üks teaduslaev ning korjas mu peale. Nad ütlesid, et ma olen Uus-Meremaast lõuna poole jäävas meres. Mõtlesin, et nad sõidavad sinna riiki, kus ma alles ühe raamatuga käisin, aga ei! Nemad teatasid, et jätkavad oma reisi Lõuna-Jäämeres. Niisiis ei olnudki mul midagi muud teha, kui hoovusega kaasa minna ja alluda metsikule merele.
Isegi praegu, kui ma silmad sulgen, kuulen lainete loksumist ja tunnen, kuidas laev kõigub. See reis ei unune mul ealeski, sest need lained!! Kohati tõusevad lained Lõuna-Jäämeres isegi 20 meetri kõrgusteks. Vesi on nii külm, et korraks merre kukkunud madrus on veest välja pääsedes pooleldi jääpurikaks külmunud. Metsik, halastamatu koht on see ookean, mis moodustub India, Vaikse ja Atlandi ookeani lõunapoolseimatest osadest. Aga ilusaid asju on seal teate ka. Vaalad, pingviinid - olendid, kes on seotud lõunapoolkera rahvaste mütoloogiaga ja kellega on kohalikel ka spirituaalne kontakt. Mitte, et Lõuna-Jäämeres palju rahvast elaks ja oleks. See on ikkagi karm koht, mis piirneb ühest küljest Antarktisega. Lund ja jääd on nii palju, et mul tekkis tõsine tahtmine suu lahti teha ja täiest kõrist hakata laulma laule filmist "Lumekuninganna ja igavene talv 2".
Nüüd on taas hea kodus olla, kus väljas on pea kolmkümmend kraadi sooja ja paistab kõrvetav päike (andke andeks eestimaalased, kui teis tekib kohutav kadedus ka sellise ilma järele). Aga sellest raamatureisist kontidesse jäänud külm ei kao vist küll eal. Ma armastan pingviine ja vaalasid. Mul on hirm, mis neist kliima soojenemise tagajärjel võib saada. Tore oli ka reisil teisi teadlasi kohata - mõned tulid isegi kaugest ajaloost kohale, et mulle oma retkedest rääkida. Nii armas neist.
Ma soovitan kõigil vettesattunutel ka merest lugeda - merealune maailm on suurem, kui me üldse teame. Ja see on tõeliselt lummav. Visake mind veel kord tunmatus kohas vette!
January 13, 2020
An informative book for those that don't know much about the Southern Ocean. From early exploration to rabid exploitation to conservation. After working for the Australian Antarctic Division for 10 years, having visited sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and two Australian Stations, and been involved in the Antarctic Treaty, I was aware of most of the history. At least one significant missing reference is E. Lucas Bridges "Uttermost Parts of the Earth".
March 30, 2021
This was an interesting survey of the history of the southern ocean. It is particularly good on the voyage of the Challenger and also the general history of sealing and whaling and the devastating effect on those populations. The sections on the early exploration of the area I found a little disjointed, but perhaps that is understandable given that this was not the author's only subject.
July 24, 2018
Kylie Bookclub 2019
September 6, 2019
Excellent book that covered all of my questions about the Southern Ocean. Every chapter has details on the history and current state of this ocean.
April 5, 2023
A captivating read about the Southern Ocean. You gain a better understanding of the ocean as a system and regulator of global climates and ecosystems.
Read
October 13, 2024Antarctic Ocean
July 29, 2020
Wild Sea is a gripping piece of environmental history that charts our entanglement with the frigid waters of the circumpolar ocean at the bottom of the world. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2019...
June 19, 2019
If you’re a nonfiction fan this is a winner.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews