Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris

by Bonnie Henderson

In Strand, travel writer and amateur naturalist Bonnie Henderson traces the stories of wrack washed up on the mile-long stretch of Oregon beach she has walked regularly for more than a decade. Hendersonas writing conveys both a keen attention to the specifics of place and an expansive field of vision. The burned hull of a long-abandoned fishing boat, a glass fishing float, the egg case of a skate, a beached minke whale, an unusual number of dead murres, and an athletic shoe are the starting points for essays that reach across the globe. Henderson takes readers from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Vancouver, B.C.; from the currents circulating through the North Pacific to the aEastern Garbage Patcha between Hawaii and California; from Chinaas Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to fishing villages on the coast of Hokkaido, Japan.As Henderson uncovers these odysseys, she meditates on current issues, events, and phenomenaaoil spills, the proliferation of ocean debris, international trade, the evolution of sharks, and the survival prospects of whales. The characters that emerge range from the worldas leading minke whale researchers to the crew of a Coast Guard airbase to a small-town salvager of wrecked fishing boats, glued to the radio and praying for disaster. Strand offers a thoughtful look at the surprisingly far-ranging journeys of what washes up on our Pacific shores.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, History

216 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2008

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. A must read for anyone who loves beachcombing and the ocean.

Bonnie Henderson starts out by adopting a segment of beach in Oregon as part of the Coast Watchers program. Intruiged by the flotsam she finds, she embarks of a quest to learn more about the items she finds and their journey to her beach.

I felt nostalgia after finishing Strand as I had personal connections to the world she was exploring through my work in the Oceanography Department at the University of Washington and my pursuit of an oceanography degree.

Ultimately it left me wondering if I am making the right choices in not using my degree and keeping out of the field. I sure hope so.

Besides, if I wasn't a bookseller, I would never have had Emily recommend this amazing book to me.

[Juli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not as I expected. I thought it would be a little bit about a lot of beach finds, but it was a lot of information about a few beach finds. Interesting overall.

[Ann Beej · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book, especially if you are familiar with the Oregon Coast. I appreciate the breadth of her explorations--both geographically, as we explore from Coos Bay to the San Juans, and regarding subjects. In one chapter, we're in a manufacturing plant in Hong Kong; the next, we're at the necropsy lab at Hatfield Science Center, learning how to remove gum tissue from baleen.

This variety of subject matter is a double-edged sword: every reader will find something interesting, but some chapters will struggle to hold their attention, as well. I, for instance, gravitated towards the marine biology centred chapters (the minke whale and the skate eggs), and could have done with less description of how to measure dead birds in Chapter 2. However, I also discovered new subjects and interests, like the floating garbage patch described in Chapter 3.

Pack this book for your next trip to the coast--hope for a stormy day, make a mug of cocoa, and settle in.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read about stuff that washes up on the Oregon coast! A cool perspective delving into the origin of seemingly random items that wash ashore.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second book by Bonnie Henderson and I love her writing. So much info packed into the books and up to date knowledge of he Oregon coastline.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us see stuff on the beach and either walk on by or put it in our pockets to take home, but that’s the end of it. Not Bonnie Henderson. An author and lover of nature, she wanted to know what it was and where it came from. In this book, she follows the stories of six items found on an Oregon beach: a glass float, a dead bird, one size 11 athletic shoe, a minke whale, the charred remains of a fishing boat, and a sea animal’s egg case. One by one, she follows the trail of these items, traveling to their origin, including trips to China, Japan and Washington, talking to the experts. In the case of the shoe, for example, she traced it back to where it was made in China, found the container bearing that shipment of shoes, which lost part of its cargo in a storm, and tracked the ocean currents to see how it wound up on Mile 157 of the Oregon coast. These stories are packed with science, but they are also about people and animals. Henderson tells them in such a way that even the most unscientific among us can enjoy it.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to another GoodReader who gave me this book for Christmas, I'm a convert
to nature writing when it's this good. In this case, all about Mile 157 on the
Oregon coast, a stretch I now feel I know in some detail. Thanks to the author's
excellent writing and a good map, I've scrutinized the stretch between Coos Bay and
Florence, and could point out to you where the beached boat was burned and many another
dramatic fact. A rare combination of excellent science writing and almost a who-
dunnit, as the author went to great lengths (as far as a factory in Japan) to satisfy
her curiosity about what she found on her mile of volunteer beach patrol--what she
found, what it was (the mermaid's purse, for instance) and how it got there.

[Kathleen (itpdx) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All this from a little piece of flotsam on the beach." Bonnie Henderson explores the background of six articles that wash up on an Oregon beach: a Japanese glass float, a dead bird, a whale carcass, an athletic shoe, a fishing boat and a skate egg case. She shares her trips and interviews and along the way the reader learns much.
I thoroughly enjoyed her explorations. She occasionally writes a piece of description that sings and her story of the ill-fated fishing boat and rescue of its crew was gripping but often the writing is pedestrian. But Henderson's choice of subjects and information to present are excellent.

[Polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book about "the rest of the story." The author recounts the items she found washed ashore on a stretch of beach in Oregon that she walked regularly for many years. Her research includes details of birds and ocean life, ship wrecks, Japanese glass blowing, and the running shoe industry. I especially enjoyed reading it on our road trip that cover the coast from Los Angeles to Vancouver, B.C.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read. The author "adopts" a mile of beach to keep tabs on, and she traces the origins of some of the items she finds along her mile. She is a diligent reporter, and her research takes her out of the country to find the beginnings of life of these items, from glass floats to the wreckage of a fishing boat. She is also a gifted writer, and I found myself wishing I could go out and beachcomb right alongside her. Fascinating, really!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter follows an item the author found washed up on the beach and I found it really fascinating, especially as an Oregonian who spent pretty much every weekend camping at the coast. I even found a float as a teen and reading this inspired me to research it and I'm pretty sure it's pre-1950's from Japan.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six independent chapters about stuff that washes up on the beach, where it came from and how it got there. Excellent narrative non-fiction similar to John McPhee, but not as long-winded. I had to request my copy from the Riverside Public Library via Link+.

[Friton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written by a local NW naturalist. She traces down the stories behind objects she's found on the beach. I learned about fishing floats, skates, and a great sea of floating trash out there, to name a few. I won't walk the beach quite the same again.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonnie monitors one mile of the coast and writes in depth about her more interesting finds - glass floats, dead whale, shipwreck, running shoe, dead bird, how they got there, the natural and human factors involved.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stray shoes, beached whales, dead birds, shipwrecks and glass floats - where did they come from and why did they end up on Oregon beaches? Bonnie Henderson writes about her journey to find the answers. Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris is a book that all beachcombers should read.

[Ann Chenhall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book took me a long time to complete, I found many interesting stories within; in depth stories about debris found on the Oregon coast.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book for anyone that has walked a beach.