In observance of the U.N. Ocean Conference just wrapping up in Nice, France, Yale Climate Connections has devoted this month’s bookshelf to books and reports about humanity’s long relationship with Earth’s oceans. In addition to the 12 titles presented with covers and descriptive blurbs, readers will find short listings for books from previous monthly “shelves” – and for one forthcoming title. A total of 21 in all.
The list begins with three overviews: a slightly older title by renowned marine biologist Sylvia Earle, a Smithsonian coffee table book, and the newest offering from naturalist and documentarian David Attenborough. The short notes that follow these entries explain that Sylvia Earle has been an inspiration for novelists, like Richard Powers, and for scientists/activists, like Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Christina Rivera, who have followed her out to – and into – the sea.
The next three titles explore different parts or aspects of the ocean: the open ocean, the abysses, and the uncanny opportunities it provides for spiritual reflection.
They are followed by books that focus more closely on the interconnections between the oceans and climate change. Two books then examine “the ocean economy,” both in miniature – what’s happening to the lobster fishery in the Gulf of Maine – and planet-wide.
The list ends with a National Academies of Sciences report on the next decade of ocean research. Commissioned before the 2024 election, it nevertheless stresses the importance of continued funding for the many diverse efforts to understand how the climate we are changing is altering the ocean on which we depend in ways we still don’t fully comprehend.
As always, the descriptions of the titles are adapted from copy provided by their publishers. If two dates of publication are listed, the second is for the release of the paperback edition.
Ocean: A Global Odyssey by Sylvia A. Earle (National Geographic 2021, 512 pages, $65.00)
World-renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle–affectionately called “Her Deepness”–guides readers with her lyrical style and inspiring wisdom, describing the evolution, beauty, and impact of our ocean; the challenges it faces, such as climate change, plastic, and overfishing; and the myriad ways we can help protect it. This engaging story of the ocean celebrates dozens of ocean champions and visionaries, explores the ocean’s origin and the nature of water, and features a gallery of wondrous creatures that illustrate the spectacular diversity of life in the sea, from sponges, kelp, and zooplankton to whales, sharks, and sea turtles. More than 100 maps and diagrams, including seafloor and political maps of all Earth’s seas and oceans, elucidate Dr. Earle’s lively narrative.
Editor’s note: Writer Richard Powers modeled one of the lead characters in his 2024 novel, Playground (W.W. Norton 2024, 400 pages, $29.99), on Sylvia Earle.
See also My Oceans: Essays on Water, Whales, and Women by Christina Rivera (Northwestern University Press / Curbstone Books 2025, 272 pages, $24.00 paperback). Marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson touches on her love for the ocean in her contributions to All We Can Save and What If We Get It Right?; an ocean memoir may be in the works.
The Ocean Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Oceans by Melissa Hobson (Smithsonian/Dorling Kindersley 2025, 320 pages, $40.00)
Earth owes its identity as the blue planet to the vast oceans of water that cover almost 70 percent of its surface. Home to an abundance of marine life and vital in regulating Earth’s climate, the oceans are also the scene of daring exploits of exploration, intense rivalries between trading empires, and global warfare. Combining arresting photography; rich illustrations; and engaging, expertly written text, The Ocean Book showcases the landscapes; plants and animals; and captivating human stories of the world’s oceans. Whether you’re interested in blue whales, the El Nino climate oscillation, the search for the Northwest Passage, the sinking of Titanic, or pirates, this is the perfect exploration of the ocean realm.
See also Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean Floor Ecosystem by Melissa Stewart, Illustrated by Rob Dunlavey (Random House Studio 2023, 40 pages, $18.99).
Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness by David Attenborough & Colin Butfield (Grand Central Publishing 2025, 400 pages, $34:00)
Drawing a course across David Attenborough’s lifetime as naturalist and documentarian, Ocean takes readers on an adventure-laden voyage through eight unique ocean habitats, countless intriguing species, and the most astounding discoveries of the last 100 years, to a future vision of a fully restored marine world—one even more spectacular than we could possibly hope for. Ocean reveals the past, present and potential future of our blue planet. Covering almost 70 percent of its surface, home to an abundance of marine life, and vital in regulating Earth’s climate, the oceans are also the scene of daring exploits of exploration, intense rivalries between trading empires, and global warfare. Almost a century in the making, there has never been a book more urgently needed than Ocean.
See also At Every Depth: Our Growing Knowledge of the Changing Oceans by Tessa Hill and Eric Simons (Columbia University Press 2024, 280 pages, $32.95)
Into the Great Wide Ocean: Life in the Least Known Habitat on Earth by Sönke Johnson (Princeton University Press 2024, 248 pages, $24.95)
The open ocean, far from the shore and miles above the seafloor, is a vast and formidable habitat that is home to the most abundant life on our planet. Into the Great Wide Ocean vividly describes how life in the water column of the open sea contends with a host of environmental challenges, such as gravity, movement, the absence of light, and crushing pressure, while catching food without becoming food, finding a mate, and forming communities. Into this account, biologist Sönke Johnsen weaves stories about the joys and hardships of the scientists who explore this mysterious realm. Into the Great Wide Ocean reminds us that the rules of survival in the open ocean are the primary rules of life on Earth.
The Abyss Stares Back: Encounters with Deep-Sea Life by Stacy Alaimo (University of Minnesota Press 2025, 256 pages, $27.95 paperback)
As we see the catastrophic effects of the Anthropocene proliferate, advanced technologies also grant us greater access to the furthest reaches of the world’s oceans. Pondering the implications of this strange paradox, Stacy Alaimo explores the influence this newfound intimacy with the deep sea might have on our broader relationship to the nonhuman world. The Abyss Stares Back analyzes a diverse range of scientific, literary, and artistic accounts of deep-sea exploration. She shows how these depictions of the deep seas are enmeshed in colonial histories and racist constructions. Alaimo argues that our increasing devastation of the deep sea realm underscores our ethical obligation to protect the biodiverse life in the depths. When the abyss stares back, it demands recognition.
See also The Book of Sea Monsters: Leviathans of Literature by Prema Arasu (Adlard Coles 2025, 224 pages, $35.00)—out in September.
If the Ocean Has a Soul: A Marine Biologist’s Pursuit of Truth Through Deep Waters of Faith and Science by Rachel Jordan (Tyndale House Publishers 2025, 304 pages, $18.00 paperback)
For marine biologist Rachel Jordan, both science and Scripture are means of knowing creation and Creator. In If the Ocean Has a Soul, Rachel considers the natural world through a spiritual lens, meshing marine biology with biblical truths in a keen and current take on faith and science. Readers will lose themselves in the shadows of an underwater labyrinth; hear spiritual wisdom from a great-grandmother coral the size of a Volkswagen Beetle; and fall in love with Porky, the pudgy porcupinefish greeting visitors at the Windjammer shipwreck. And along the way, you’ll see how the promise of restoration unfolds in both physical and spiritual ways. Rachel’s thoughtful scientific and theological insights encourage us to know the Creator of the sea and everything in it.
See also The Ocean’s Menagerie: How Earth’s Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life by Drew Harvell (Viking Books 2025, 288 pages, $32.00).
Planet Aqua: Rethinking Our Home in the Universe by Jeremy Rifkin (Polity Books 2024, 360 pages, $29.95)
For too long we have misjudged the very nature of our existence. We believe we live on a land planet when the reality is that we live on a water planet, and now the Earth’s hydrosphere is rewilding in the throes of a changing climate. Jeremy Rifkin calls on us to rethink our place in the universe and realize that we live on Planet Aqua. He takes us on a new journey into the future where we will need to reassess every aspect of the way we live – how we engage nature, govern society, conceptualize economic life, educate our children, and even orient ourselves in time and space. The next stage in the human journey is to rebrand our home and to learn how to readapt to the waters of life. This major new work aims to redefine the very core of our existence on Planet Aqua.
Megalodons, Mermaids & Climate Change: Answers to Your Ocean and Atmosphere Questions by Ellen Prager and Dave Jones (Columbia University Press 2024, 248 pages, $24.95 paperback)
With humor, easy-to-understand language, and fun illustrations, marine scientist Ellen Prager and meteorologist Dave Jones use frequently asked and zany questions about the ocean and atmosphere to combat misinformation and make science engaging and understandable for all. From dangerous marine life, coral reefs, and the deep sea to lightning, hurricanes, weather forecasting, the Sun, and climate change, they reveal what’s fact, what’s fiction, and how to find science-based answers. This book is perfect for anyone curious about the world around them, educators, science communicators, and even scientists who want to learn about and explain topics outside their expertise.
See also The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works by Helen Czerski (W.W. Norton 2023/2024, 436 pages, $19.99 paperback).
The Ocean as a Solution to Climate Change: Updated Opportunities for Action by O. Hoegh-Guldberg et al (High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy 2023, 160 pages, free download)
The ocean regulates our climate and can significantly buffer the worst impacts of climate change, absorbing human-induced carbon dioxide emissions and heat from the atmosphere. However, with sea surface temperatures breaking records, seawater becoming increasingly acidic, oxygen levels depleting and sea levels rising, the ocean is telling us enough is enough. This report demonstrates that the ocean can provide solutions that are viable and ready-to-implement to help ‘correct the course’ on climate change. Policymakers, governments, and civil society groups must include ocean policy in climate action. What’s needed now is action to deliver these solutions and significant levels of investment to make it possible – before we run out of time.
The Lobster Trap: The Global Fight for a Seafood on the Brink by Greg Mercer (McClelland & Stewart 2025, 320 pages, $26.99)
Lobster has been a phenomenal success story, with a commercial fishery that has generated enormous wealth and fueled global appetites for one of the world’s most recognizable luxury foods. But overfishing and climate change are pushing lobster toward a cliff. By 2050, it’s expected that warming ocean waters in the Gulf of Maine will cut lobster populations by two thirds. The economic upheaval expected to follow the decline of lobster will devastate coastal communities in both Canada and the U.S. Greg Mercer takes readers on a global journey inside this precarious moment for the lobster industry. Along the way, he explores lobster’s remarkable history, the gold-rush mentality that surrounds it, and asks what the future holds for this precious shellfish.
The Ocean Economy to 2050 by Claire Jolly et al (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2025, 136 pages, free download)
If the ocean economy were a country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world. However, climate change and other intensifying pressures on marine ecosystems are degrading its economic potential. The Ocean Economy to 2050 provides groundbreaking data, analysis, and insights to support policymakers in fostering a sustainable and resilient ocean economy, emphasising the urgent need for science-based decision-making and improved ocean governance. The report underscores the need to phase out harmful practices and combat illicit activities—the so-called “dark ocean economy.” It also highlights the critical role of transitioning to cleaner energy and harnessing digital technologies to mitigate environmental impacts, address climate change, and enhance the productivity of ocean industries.
Forecasting the Ocean: the 2025-2035 Decade of Ocean Science by Committee for the Decadal Survey (National Academies Press 2025, 164 pages, $25.00 paperback)
Understanding and anticipating change in the ocean, and how it will affect marine ecosystems and humans, has never been more urgent. At the request of the National Science Foundation, this report provides advice on how to focus investments in ocean research, infrastructure, and workforce to meet national and global challenges in the coming decade and beyond. The report also sets out an overarching challenge for research: establish a new paradigm for forecasting the state of the ocean at scales relevant to human well-being. Accomplishing this challenge is dependent on continued funding for basic research and it will require an integrated approach takes full advantage of emerging technologies, expands the workforce, and leverages resources through partnerships with governments, industry, academia, and other stakeholders.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
