What do you think?
Rate this book
Ocean Beach: Fog, Fauna, and Flora
A charmingly illustrated nature guide to Ocean Beach and the coastal ecology of San Francisco.
Grab your beach blanket and your puffy jacket (this is San Francisco, after all) and get ready to see Ocean Beach like never before. Longtime local surfer and scientist Eddy Rubin celebrates this magical sandy stretch through stories of its animals and plants and the natural and human forces that have shaped this coastal environment. From sand dollars and seaweed to the snowy plovers in the dunes, and stretching out to the seals and whales offshore, Rubin profiles twenty-nine local flora and fauna with wonder and curiosity. To explain the why and how, he also teaches readers about the weather and geological forces that have created this unique sandy ecology. Lifetime lovers of Ocean Beach and new neighbors alike will delight in Rubin's guide, brought vividly to life by more than forty full-color artworks by illustrator Greg Wright. With this guide, Rubin invites readers to explore the place where ocean and land meet, to learn from surfers and fishermen about what's out in the waves, and to protect this shared expanse of sandy shoreline.
Grab your beach blanket and your puffy jacket (this is San Francisco, after all) and get ready to see Ocean Beach like never before. Longtime local surfer and scientist Eddy Rubin celebrates this magical sandy stretch through stories of its animals and plants and the natural and human forces that have shaped this coastal environment. From sand dollars and seaweed to the snowy plovers in the dunes, and stretching out to the seals and whales offshore, Rubin profiles twenty-nine local flora and fauna with wonder and curiosity. To explain the why and how, he also teaches readers about the weather and geological forces that have created this unique sandy ecology. Lifetime lovers of Ocean Beach and new neighbors alike will delight in Rubin's guide, brought vividly to life by more than forty full-color artworks by illustrator Greg Wright. With this guide, Rubin invites readers to explore the place where ocean and land meet, to learn from surfers and fishermen about what's out in the waves, and to protect this shared expanse of sandy shoreline.
160 pages, Hardcover
Published August 12, 2025
2 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 12, 2026
A great book if you ever find yourself walking along San Francisco's Ocean Beach, the westernmost point of the city that meets the Pacific Ocean, this would be a great companion book to have with you. For anyone else, it's still a cute collection of what you'll find in nature when in the area. From understanding how basic currents work, what some of the animals and plants you'll find are, and what they look like, this book has got it all. The illustrations give this book a sort of charm that feels native to San Francisco.
If you want to learn a little bit more about what you'll find in Ocean Beach, this is a fun diversion before you head out there yourself.
If you want to learn a little bit more about what you'll find in Ocean Beach, this is a fun diversion before you head out there yourself.
February 20, 2026
Oh my god!!! Sand dollars are actual creatures!!! My beachcombing shame aside, I found this sweet quick book made science so digestible that I couldn’t stop eating up the info on OB’s plants and animals.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews