SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION

No matter where we live, 'we are all ocean people,' Helen Scales observes in her bracing yet hopeful exploration of the future of the ocean. Beginning with its fascinating deep history, Scales links past to present to show how prehistoric ocean ecology holds lessons for the ocean of today.

In elegant, evocative prose, she takes us into the realms of animals that epitomize current increasingly challenging conditions, from emperor penguins to sharks and orcas. Yet despite these threats, many hopeful signs remain, in the form of highly protected reserves, the regeneration of seagrass meadows and giant kelp forests and efforts to protect coral reefs.

Offering innovative ideas for protecting coastlines and cleaning the toxic seas, Scales insists we need more ethical and sustainable fisheries and must prevent the other existential threat of deep-sea mining. Inspiring us all to maintain a sense of awe and wonder at the majesty beneath the waves, she urges us to fight for the better future that still exists for the ocean.

"In elegant prose the author offers a manifesto of hope: providing answers to global problems while inspiring a sense of awe at the majesty that has long existed beneath the waves" - The Times

"Authoritative and entertaining...a passionate look at how saving the seas is an essential part of saving ourselves...The author's writing is lucid and compelling, featuring a nice mix of personal experience and convincing scientific data" - Kirkus Reviews

"Written by a highly articulate expert in the field, [it is] so comprehensive and insightful that it will be a long time before it's surpassed" - New Statesman (on THE BRILLIANT ABYSS)

"Stylish, eloquent . . . Enthralling and richly expressed and highlights how closely our lives depend on the deep" - Guardian (on THE BRILLIANT ABYSS)

"It is, indeed, weirdness all the way down, and Scales's bestiary is a wonderful introduction to its variety...Scales's enthusiasm for her subject is matched by a gift for visual evocation" - Daily Telegraph (on THE BRILLIANT ABYSS)

"Scales's great gift is for transmuting our awe at the wonders of the deep sea into a kind of quiet rage that they could soon be no more" - New York Times Book Review (on THE BRILLIANT ABYSS)