Deep Blue Home: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean

by Julia Whitty

At the center of Deep Blue Home, a penetrating exploration of the ocean as single vast current and of the creatures dependent on it, is Whitty's description of the three-dimensional ocean river, far more powerful than the Nile or the Amazon, encircling the globe. It's a watery force connected to the earth, climate control and so to the eventual fate of the human race.

Whitty's thirty-year career as a documentary filmmaker and diver has given her sustained access to the scientists dedicated to the study of an astonishing range of ocean life, from the physiology of extremophile life forms to the strategies of nesting seabirds to the ecology of whale falls (what happens upon the death of a behemoth).

No stranger to extreme adventure, Whitty travels the oceanside and underwater world from the Sea of Cortez to Newfoundland to Antarctica. In the Galapagos, in one of the book's most haunting encounters, she realizes: "I am about to learn the answer to my long-standing question about what would happen to a person in the water if a whale sounded directly alongside: would she, like a person afloat beside a sinking ship, be dragged under too?"

This book provides extraordinary armchair entree to gripping adventure, cutting-edge science, and an intimate understanding of our deep blue home.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Biology, Animals, Ecology, Environment

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

JULIA WHITTY was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and emigrated as a child to the United States with her Tasmanian father and Anglo-Indian mother. She holds dual American and Australian citizenships.

Her latest award-winning book THE FRAGILE EDGE:DIVING & OTHER ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2007.

Her first book A TORTOISE FOR THE QUEEN OF TONGA is an award-winning collection of short stories published by Houghton Mifflin in 2002 and translated into German by Marebuchverlag and Italian by Sartorio Editore.

She's Environmental Correspondent at Mother Jones magazine and a blogger at The Blue Marble. A former filmmaker, her more than 70 nature documentaries have aired on PBS, Nature, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Outdoor Life Channel, Arts & Entertainment, and with many other broadcasters worldwide. Whitty is on the Board of Advisors of BlueVoice. She lives in northern California.

Reviews

[Kerri Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much reading this. About our oceans, our sea creatures, the mud at the bottom of everything, and that I really likely should have gone with my gut and been a marine biologist. But mostly I learned I should trust myself and what I know and what I've always wanted to know and I should trust my stories. We are how we spend our time. We are what we care most about. We are essential to the survival of this earth and everything living on and in and underneath it.

[Four-point-five stars for our sacred, beloved, and equally maligned oceans, and for being nearly exactly the book I wanted it to be, and another book I much needed to read this year in any case.]

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Whitty's "Deep Blue Home" is more than just the filmmaker-cum-author's memoir: it is a cautionary tale about ignoring the balance of ocean ecology at our own peril.

Using tales from the Upanishads, Norse sagas and Greek mythology, Whitty interweaves legend with facts as she writes about her observations of whales, birds, dolphins and more. From her year living on Isla Rasa to study terns and gulls, to a mule ride in Baja California to study cave paintings, Whitty covers 33 years of experience observing the wild.

This is no simple travelogue, though. Whitty expounds on thermohaline currents and how they are impacted by climate change. In turn, those altered thermohaline currents affect the weather and species both above and below the waterline.

Whitty's prose is beautiful, and her use of first-person present tense puts the readers right next to her as she dives next to a sperm whale, watches tern chicks leave the nest or lies on her back to look at the painted ceiling of a rock shelter.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in marine biology, ecology and environmental issues.

(Review based on unedited advance proof.)

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sea birds, whales, ecosystems in the sea, and the Baja. If you are into any of these, and have any tolerance for poetry in science writing, read this book.

(Six years later, the whale fall chapter of this book stays in my mind as one of the most clearest examples of everything being amazing.)

[Diogenes Grief · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, Whitty is a very gifted writer with a classically scientific eye, the analytical mind of a philosopher, and the golden heart of a poet. So often this 20+ year reflection on her research and travels just wafts into stunning elegance, and despite references to the mid-80s, this book feels timeless. The perils of the planet-as-grand-ecosystem are only heightened now and it continues to fascinate and appall me how homo sapiens seem hellbent on destroying our own aquarium world, wrecking havoc upon all other organisms in our destructive wake. And yet beauty abounds defiantly. I highlighted many things throughout this Oyster ebook. Here is but one such passage:

"Between us and the fulmars, in the shallow waters of the estero, a reddish egret runs, jumps, and spins through knee-deep water strewn with feathers, flashing its wings, red crest flipping. It's a mad Isadora Duncan dance in the middle of nowhere, entrancing us, its spellbound rasika. In the midst of its performance, a prehistoric head punches through the water just offshore. The green blindfold of the surface is ripped away, and a sea turtle rises, the bubbles of its exhale boiling up, followed by twin nostrils, a parrotlike beak, the obsidian pools of its eyes. As it rises to the surface, the egret steps into the air, paddles its wings, and rows away, perhaps to another estero on another island."

Using Hindu mythology as her backdrop, and marine biology as her stage, Whitty leads the reader through her adventures and observations from the Gulf of California to Baffin Bay, weaving Greek, Norse, and Inuit mythologies alongside taxonomic info, oceanography, climatology, and anthropology. Most importantly, I think, she does this with wonderful humility, a quiet soul-deep passion, and scholarly insight. Whitty also possesses a natural talent for the cloaked but layered metaphor.

Key words & phrases to look out for: trophic cascade, extremophiles, whale falls, Lost City, scrimshank, and Rocio ;)

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me A LOT longer than I had expected to read this book because I just couldn't "get into it" at times! Surprising because the topic is right up my alley, and have enjoyed this type of marine scientist memoirs before. The biology presented is interesting, I guess it's the author's style of writing that I just couldn't connect with. The first section (on Isla Rasa) in particular seems to go on forever...

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am genuinely impressed with the author's ability to take what must have been very exciting journeys and then relate them in a way that makes them seem so dreadfully boring. And what is up with the mysticism? Mysticism ain't science.

[Karin Cope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, extraordinary account of birds and creatures of the sea from the Sea of Cortez to Newfoundland. I have returned again and again to this text, grateful, at once, for its careful scientific documentation and its poetry. Julia Whitty is a remarkable thinker and writer.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense and poetic, but well worth the effort, this is one of the most beautiful works of nonfiction I've read. Whitty demonstrates an ecological perspective by weaving it into the fiber of the narrative, rather than by lecturing. If you enjoyed Moby Dick, you'll probably like this book!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I teach middle school science. My curriculum has changed (yet again). I now have to cover ocean currents, something I've never learned about in my schooling. I found this book at the library and chose it hoping I could strengthen my background knowledge re: ocean currents.
I believe the author's intent with writing this book was to give multiple snapshots from different locations over time to provide the reader insight into the role of the ocean in our planet's cycles. The non-fiction parts of the book were good. The author tries to tie multiple vignettes with an epic Sanskrit poem. She also refers to mythologies from various cultures. At times, I felt this added nicely to her work. At other times, it was distracting.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the human impact on the environment.
I was able to add to my understanding of ocean currents!

[Dewayne Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. So many interesting different subjects. For example when searching for the painting in the caves in Baja the mules who had horse for mothers had to be tied whereas the mules who had mothers that were donkeys could roam. (Not what you would expect in a book about the sea)

I have a very real connection with the ocean as I live on a sailboat. My neighbors are the seabirds, the dolphins and sea lions. The effect on ancient and recent climate changes mentioned in this book should me read to children.

[Briann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the title, I expected Deep Blue Home to focus primarily on Earth’s oceans. However, the majority of the book focused on seabirds. The book was not often chronological and was at times hard to follow. While I like reading a scientific nonfiction book every once in a while, they are not necessarily my cup of tea. Therefore, I only truly like them if they are engaging and entertaining. Unfortunately, Deep Blue Home simply did not cut it for me.

[Sj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author is so perceptive and has a poetic way with words - a wonderful first person nature book

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not intimate and tries to do too much

[Alex Bbb · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Dense but beautifully written

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meditative and full of fascinating ecological tidbits. This book makes you think about what more you could be learning about the environment around you.

[Candace Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book about the sea, ecology and the strains that humans are inflicting on the world's ecosystems. From the Sea of Cortez to Nova Scotia and the Grand Banks scientists are finding a decline, if not extinction of animals at a pace never seen before. Many people don't believe what they don't themselves experience. Its time to get out of that bubble and start paying attention to scientists like Julia Whitty, the time is fast approaching when it will be too late to rectify the damage being done.

[Baroness · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book could have been so rad but it was the total opposite. Boring.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love ocean life (especially all the amazing sea turtles out there), and so thought Deep Blue Home would be a nice read.

DBH reads like a nature documentary that you would catch on a lazy Saturday afternoon. There's a little bit of gonzo journalism, where the author recounts her personal experiences on her nature journeys in the past and present day, to descriptions of the wildlife encountered, to bits of (pre)history, to snippets of scientific articles, some poetry and Steinbeck literature, to Norse mythology.

It's all fascinating in a way, but I can't help but feel it bounces back and forth between these different viewpoints and writing styles a bit too much. If the narrative were placed over video of beautiful ocean depths and majestic island tops, wildlife taking the center stage, the un-clear story and message wouldn't matter at all. It'd be nature porn for the sake of nature porn.

I would have loved to see some pictures of the wildlife and environments described, even in grainy black and white. Some animals you're already familiar with, others you have no idea and a reference point would be nice.

Despite all this Deep Blue Home is perfect non-fiction beach-side reading material, which I made the mistake of reading inside on several beautiful days.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book by a creative, intelligent and inspirational author. It's true that I love the ocean more than land -- why not, the planet is primarily made up of ocean! - and the inter-connectedness of the sea and nature remains incredible and awe inspiring. Julia Whitty is able to capture this awe while also including research and key information that informs the reader and substantiates her commentary. It's a combination of poetry, science and personal travel diary. For those who like Diane Ackerman, Whitty's work will not disappoint. A 'must read' for anyone who loves the oceans; for those who are less interested in the topic, why not try this journey as the language and strong use of metaphor will keep you reading.

[Kristy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting and beautifully written book. Whitty uses her various experiences in the scientific world to show how the fate of the oceans will determine the future of our world. These experiences range over 30 years, from being a research intern on an island in the Gulf of California, to filming a documentary off the coast of Newfoundland, to measuring salinity off the eastern seaboard, to riding a mule through the desert. She doesn't get bogged down in overly scientific terms, and she uses mythology from around the world to relate how and why we talk the way we do about the world around us. I do wish she had spent less time in some areas so that she could share more of her experiences and observations. I guess I'll just have to read her other books.

[Amy Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was different from other ecological books. It's full of beautiful expositions about what the author is truly seeing and experiencing. It almost makes you feel as if you're really there with her seeing it for yourself. The book was well-researched and really explored some things other ecological books don't acknowledge. She starts at the bird life of the sea and delves deeper until she's reached the tiniest microscopic organisms that keep everything running. It's really beautiful but infinitely disturbing, as are all ecological works, especially those dealing with the deep blue home.

[Petar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is rich in detail with some of the finest descriptions of sea life and ocean dynamics I've read. Whitty recounts stories from her scientific career, interspersed with hindu and norse mythology. Her message: The ocean has not drastically changed because of extraordinary events but instead as a result of a million mundane decisions we have all made, unknowingly or uncaringly, to treat the ocean -- the planet -- as inexhaustible when it is not.

[Andrea Strickland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of ecological essays by the author. I'm not a scientist but found it to be very informative and intersting. A beautiful and honest perspective on our oceans today and the effects humans have on them. If you love the oceans and it's majestic wildlife, this is a must read. It left me sad, almost depressed, yet with a renewed appreciation of God's creatures and our responsiblity to protect them.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This thematically-linked series of essays gives a simple and compelling portrait of some of the various animals that either live in the sea or rely on it for sustenance, and of what their eventual disappearance will cost us, both economically and scientifically. Whitty's sense of wonder is contagious, and it's impossible to read her words without getting caught up in them.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is light on science and heavy on the narrative, so if that's your thing, then this is the book for you.
It was interesting, and she has certainly lived an adventurous life, but I expected this book to have more to do with ecology, and less with feelings.

[Catherine]

Am just starting this book because of the excerpt I read in the last issue of The Paris Review of her exquisite prose.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book to remind us of the importance of caring for this beautiful planet we live on.

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read.

[Swati]

Great insight into the water world!Interesting read.

[Debra]

Intriguing subject, intriguing comments, but just now the style seems too self-conciously literary to want to suffer through. Maybe later