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Blowfish's Oceanopedia: 291 Extraordinary Things You Didn't Know About the Sea
A New Scientist Gift Pick 2017From luminous squid to invisible plankton, from sandy shorelines to the bone-crushing pressure of the deep, marine conservationist Tom "The Blowfish" Hird takes us on an incredible journey revealing what lurks beneath the waves. A treasure chest of fascinating facts, full-colour photos and vintage line drawings, Blowfish's Oceanopedia is a stunningly beautiful guide to all we know about our oceans and the weird and wonderful creatures that inhabit them.
- GenresNonfiction
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 2, 2017
There's always the worry with books that could be classified as 'nature' that they don't really contain any science - they end up more like tourist guides of the natural world. This is fine if that's what you're looking for, but not doing the popular science job. Thankfully, Tom Hird's Blowfish's Oceanopedia is significantly more than a 'isn't nature wonderful?' book - though Hird's boundless enthusiasm for his topic does occasionally take us into 'gee whizz, wow' mode.
Unless you are already a marine biologist (which I certainly am not), you will indubitably learn a lot reading through Hird's collection of bite-sized oceanic and fishy facts. We begin with some information on the sea itself, the nature of waves and the like, then move on to the main course of the assorted denizens of the deep. I certainly had plenty of 'Oh, really? I didn't know that,' moments.
Unfortunately, though, there is a big drawback from the format that Hird has chosen. I read the first few pages thinking 'Okay, these are introductory bits - he'll start writing properly soon,' but it never happens. It should have been obvious from that Oceanopedia title - this isn't a continuous book, it's an encyclopaedia, though arranged by topic rather than alphabetically. Apart from a very few articles that lead on one to another, each, roughly page-long piece, is standalone. Now, encyclopaedias are all very well - and some people do claim to enjoy reading them end to end. But for most of us, a collection of short articles with no connection and no flow, makes for limited reading pleasure. (And because it's not alphabetic, you can't even look something up easily.)
As I've mentioned, there's plenty of content, though I did find Hird's regular remarks along the lines of 'this involves maths, which is too boring to talk about' irritating. While we're on the topic of irritation, I do slightly worry about a grown man who calls himself Blowfish - single word pseudonyms are silly in rock stars and downright bizarre in science writers. As far as I can tell, the biology stuff is all spot on. The physics might be a little less sound - Hird tells us that the Sun and the Moon exert a similar control of the tides. If he believes this I'll happily swap him the Sun's pull in pounds sterling for the Moon's pull, as the Moon's effect is about 2.1 times as strong.
So it's an absolutely fine book as a collection of short, fact-based articles - a tasty smörgåsbord if you enjoy that approach. But if you want any kind of narrative flow - something you would expect from Hird's exuberant storytelling in media appearances - you will be a little disappointed.
Unless you are already a marine biologist (which I certainly am not), you will indubitably learn a lot reading through Hird's collection of bite-sized oceanic and fishy facts. We begin with some information on the sea itself, the nature of waves and the like, then move on to the main course of the assorted denizens of the deep. I certainly had plenty of 'Oh, really? I didn't know that,' moments.
Unfortunately, though, there is a big drawback from the format that Hird has chosen. I read the first few pages thinking 'Okay, these are introductory bits - he'll start writing properly soon,' but it never happens. It should have been obvious from that Oceanopedia title - this isn't a continuous book, it's an encyclopaedia, though arranged by topic rather than alphabetically. Apart from a very few articles that lead on one to another, each, roughly page-long piece, is standalone. Now, encyclopaedias are all very well - and some people do claim to enjoy reading them end to end. But for most of us, a collection of short articles with no connection and no flow, makes for limited reading pleasure. (And because it's not alphabetic, you can't even look something up easily.)
As I've mentioned, there's plenty of content, though I did find Hird's regular remarks along the lines of 'this involves maths, which is too boring to talk about' irritating. While we're on the topic of irritation, I do slightly worry about a grown man who calls himself Blowfish - single word pseudonyms are silly in rock stars and downright bizarre in science writers. As far as I can tell, the biology stuff is all spot on. The physics might be a little less sound - Hird tells us that the Sun and the Moon exert a similar control of the tides. If he believes this I'll happily swap him the Sun's pull in pounds sterling for the Moon's pull, as the Moon's effect is about 2.1 times as strong.
So it's an absolutely fine book as a collection of short, fact-based articles - a tasty smörgåsbord if you enjoy that approach. But if you want any kind of narrative flow - something you would expect from Hird's exuberant storytelling in media appearances - you will be a little disappointed.
December 16, 2019
A lot of passion gone into this book! The authors love for the sea is infectious. Great read in short bursts, odd format though
December 11, 2020
Chock full of interesting things about the sea and the creatures that live there. However, with 295 extraordinary things included, the book falls a bit short when only a dozen illustrations are included. It would greatly improve the reading experience if the reader doesn't have to guess what x amount of deep sea fish with very sharp teeth look like. As many of the creatures included are rare and not something you're likely to see any time soon, the reader needs a bit more help to visualise the creatures. That aside, the book is well worth reading. I hope a future edition will include much more illustrations.
December 20, 2025
More depth?
Many interesting facts and opinions, but for me missing was more depth in the various descriptions. Knows his stuff ,but, as noted sometimes just a wee bit shallow. Given the scale of his subjects it's perhaps understandable. Certainly I would be happy to recommend this as a short overview. For me it's a text based coffee table book.
Many interesting facts and opinions, but for me missing was more depth in the various descriptions. Knows his stuff ,but, as noted sometimes just a wee bit shallow. Given the scale of his subjects it's perhaps understandable. Certainly I would be happy to recommend this as a short overview. For me it's a text based coffee table book.
March 23, 2018
An easy read, in basic and not so technical language, describing everything in and under the sea, but sometimes there are phrases treating the reader like a child.
February 6, 2022
An excellent collection of facts about the marine world. Some of these facts surprised me and others made me laugh, a great book for people with a passion for the sea.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews