Plastiki: An Adventure to Save Our Oceans

by David de Rothschild

Explorer, global green leader, and eco-TV host David de Rothschild recounts the extraordinary journey of the Plastiki, an innovative and mostly untested sixty-foot catamaran that floats on 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles. It was a voyage that took de Rothschild and a five-person crew 10,000 miles from the U.S. to Australia, sailing through rarely traveled, dangerous waters, risking their lives to call attention to our fragile oceans. Their exploration included urgent study of ocean pollution, island nations threatened by rising seas, damaged coral reefs, and the acidifying ocean itselfand their discoveries are a call to action. Packed with exciting narrative, images, maps, journal entries, plans, and sketches, this is the only firsthand account of what may be the most important adventure of our time.

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, Travel, Nature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 16, 2011

About the author

David Mayer de Rothschild (born 1978) is a British adventurer and environmentalist and head of Adventure Ecology, an expedition group raising awareness about climate change. He is a member of the Rothschild family, the youngest of three children of Victoria Schott (born 1949) and Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (b. 1931) of the Rothschild banking family of England.[1] His middle name "Mayer" is taken from the name of the founder of the Rothschild family banking empire, Mayer Amschel Rothschild.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ma...

Reviews

[heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book appeals to me on several levels.

As a materials engineer, I loved the beginning chapters in which David explained his mission statement for Plastiki, and how his team worked to develop a boat design, based on biomimicry no less, AND DEVELOPED NEW ENGINEERING MATERIALS specifically for the build. What I liked most was how they stuck to their principles that the materials must come from plastic waste and must be recyclable after Plastiki is retired from sailing. Engineering heroes!

The book then progresses towards their journey on Plastiki from San Francisco Bay USA to Sydney Australia to raise global awareness of our plastic waste crisis. This is when the novice sailor in me gets interested in the minutiae of daily life on the trimaran, while the nature lover in me gets depressed over the ocean pollution the team encountered crossing the Pacific.

Although the writing style in this book is not much to fall for (I kinda suspect a ghostwriter or two actually wrote the book), and the interview pieces with the Plastiki crew too short and unsatisfactory, I totally recommend this slightly outdated book. I mean it's now 2018 and our problem with plastic is bigger than ever. The international community needs to be more aware that this has been around for decades and requires drastic immediate solutions.

This book reads more like a magazine special on Plastiki and plastic pollution. The chapters are sandwiched by opinion pieces, interviews with the crew, and interesting (alarming? Depressing?) factoids. Lengthy texts are occasionally broken by colorful infographics and gorgeous photos of the crew sailing on Plastiki. This is an informative coffee table book, digital style. I'm glad to have given this book a try.

[Ms. S........... · Rating 3 out of 5]

He says that if we stop immediately producing new plastic and just recycle the existing plastic, that we'd be able to clear out the five toxic plastic islands in the middle of the oceans...so why don't we??

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book about an ambitious project. Making a boat from plastic bottles? I was intrigued. The writing style was good, it felt adventurous. I will not spoil anything, but if you're interested in the environment and especially the plastic soup, check this out.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plastiki suffers from Webpage Syndrome. Books shouldn't and can't be structured like a website. Disparate images and information hurt a narrative flow that's important even in nonfiction. It also suffers from a lack of citations, which is really bad for nonfiction. Really. No good.

[Allen Childers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful and awe inspiring book about awareness & adventure. Imagination and stubbornness seem to be all you need to accomplish anything.I hope people pick up this book and think before they purchase another bottled water. Before they chuck it the garbage what else could it do?

[Lump · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars for content, 1 or 2 stars for reading like a pamphlet or middle school textbook.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mostly hysterics with some fallacies thrown in as reason. So the reader should become a believer and give money to the authors' foundations of choice. Even better: let the government tax them more so the "explorers" will have more money to explore.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a similar experience reading Plastiki as I did reading Sylvia Earle's, Sea Change, almost 12 years ago. I need to be much more conscious about my choices as a human on this planet. It sickens me to realize what impact our lives are having on the environment, particularly, the oceans. I am now trying to figure out how to cut my plastic consumption again and stick to it. I have to take responsibility for contributing to the five garbage patches in the ocean. What happened to this one-time environmentally conscious twenty-to-thirty year old?

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read about an Eco-adventure across the Pacific Ocean, although some of the nonlinear storytelling was a little confusing. The stats about our oceans are truly horrifying. I liked the tips on how to help out, even in small ways. I also like the idea that plastic isn't evil, it just needs to be re-looked at with potential for repurposing instead of disposable, unbiodegradable waste. Inspiring adventure!

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a polished version of Poppa Neutrino (see Alec Wilkinson's: The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino), and a great eco-adventure.

Really well-laid out book with great photos & charts, &, of course, a good message.

[Valpal · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Teachers, scientists, explorers, and the like are heroes who walk among us every day and deserve more than a passing mention at the bottom of the newspaper."-Phillipe Cousteau
My favourite quote from this brilliant and inspiring book.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hurray for one person can do a lot and one boatful of people can inspire many to 'put the clamps on' at the supermarket in order to help save fish and the ecosystem in general. We can do it, if we try. Reading this book is a zooming start.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the end, didn't read the whole thing, but did scan through it. Loved the pictures. Loved the concept. Just didn't have time to read it in depth before it was due back at the library.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, inspired look at how much plastic we consume, the trash in our oceans, and how a boat made of 12500 plastic soda bottles sailed from California to Australia in 120 days.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about how I'm killing the planet and hurting the oceans.

[John Radford · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years old now but the message about the dangers to our planet from plastic is still relevant and still problematic.

[Cecily Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and challenging