The Blue Planet: Seas of Life

BBC Blue Planet #1

by Andrew Byatt, Alastair Fothergill, Martha Holmes

"From space, Planet Earth is blue. It floats like a jewel in the inky black void. The reflection of the sun's light from the vast expanse of water covering its surface creates it gemlike blue color. In the entire solar system, Earth is the only planet that has water in liquid form in such quantities." Scientist have calculated that 70 percent of our planet is covered by water; small wonder that the human being shave always been so fascinated by the oceans and what lies beneath. Today, while we still have so much more of the ocean realm to uncover, we have discovered enough to know that beneath the waves lies a vast treasure-trove of rich and diverse life. Accompanying the television series of the same name, The Blue Planet leads up on a voyage of exploration from the coasts, the very edges of the oceans, to the deep where weird and monstrous fish lurk in a world of perpetual darkness. Along the way we are introduced to a whole host of wonderful creatures -- from tiny copepods to majestic blue whales, and from the grotesque hairy anglerfish, to the amazing tripod fish that stands on its three delicate legs waiting to snap up unsuspecting prey. Complete with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough and 400 full-color photographs, The Blue Planet is the first complete and comprehensive portrait of the whole ocean system.

Genres: Science, Nature, Nonfiction, Natural History, Reference, Animals, Biology

384 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2001

Reviews

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three members of the BBC's production crew for the television series, "The Blue Planet," form Voltron for this splendid companion book. Although the book's layout and hefty proportions make it akin to a high school textbook, the pacing of the content is uniform and completely readable. Large, color photographs appear on every page and really help to stimulate the imagination. Some of the underwater creatures are so bizarre that simply reading about them isn't enough; take, for example, the angler fish species where the tiny males latch onto the larger females and fuse with them for life. Or narwhals, with their meter-long tusks protruding from their heads like unicorns of the sea. Some of the information from the television series repeats here, but it is mostly broad concepts, and you don't feel like you're reading a movie novelization; by and large, what repetition there is only serves to reinforce the information, and I wasn't annoyed by it.

I should think that ages 12+ would have no problem understanding the concepts presented here, and the younger ages would still be able to appreciate all of the fascinating pictures. A must-have if you enjoyed the television series. I read it in Sir David Attenborough's voice, for the sake of consistency (and just because I love his tone and cadence).

[Matthew Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world is a beautiful place and there is so much of it we have not explored. Blue planet is a stunning book with incredible photographs and interesting facts that really keep the reader interested and learning no matter what level of knowledge they have.

[Chloe]

This is an extremely well-written, informative and interesting book covering many aspects of the ocean and the critters who live there. There are plenty of strange creatures too, which I like!

[Peter]

Excellent - Must Have!: This is an absolutely beautiful book. There is an abundance of beautiful images of creatures from shrimp to great whites, algae to sharks. If it lives in the sea, its in this book. The majority of the pictures are breath-taking and are accompanied by informative text about the photograph. For anyone who loves nature or deep-sea animals (Even penguins get a mention) this book is a must have. A perfect accompaniement to the series, or perfect on its own, this is a must have for anyone!

I just have to say again, the pictures are beautiful and the layout of the book is great.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great supplement to the DVDs, this book is filled with great photos and innumerable fascinating facts about the ocean. It is a bit dense at times--my brother-in-law thought it was a textbook--but I still enjoyed it.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool book. The pictures are beautiful.

[Promise Ceasar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book, it's just heavy! :)

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

173 - 2017