pacific ocean

Cartoons and facts combine to explain what it was like to be a cabin boy on a whaling ship in 1819, discussing the realities of life aboard ship, the catching and processing of the whale, being shipwrecked, and coming home again.

Tells of the author's fight to raise awareness and solve the problem of plastic marine debris. Eriksen writes of his voyage from Los Angeles to Hawaii aboard his homemade 'junk raft,' and recounts the efforts to fight corporate influence and demand that plastics producers take responsibility. Eriksen also provides concrete, actionable solutions to reduce plastics and microplastics in the oceans.

Michael Cosgrove had a beautiful family, a successful career, and a lovely home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At the age of sixty he decided to leave it all behind and sail around the world. In his attempt to avoid the inevitable, growing old, weak, and frail, Cosgrove did the unthinkable. He broke his budget to outfit the boat, refused to read the manuals, and sailed dangerously. In the midst of his terror he tried to keep his dream of doing something grand alive.

Sophie works as a field biologist and naturalist specializing in birds aboard a ship bound for deep ocean waters to study, paint, and record sightings of whales, leaping manta rays, and other marine life.