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Plunge into the depths of the unknown in this thrilling work of nonfiction, combining history, science, nature writing, and environmentalism, that invites its reader to explore the deepest recesses of our natural world.
The ocean has shaped and sustained life on Earth for billions of years. Its waters contain our past, from the deep history of evolutionary time to exploration and colonialism; our present, as a place of solace and pleasure, and as the highway that underpins the global economy; and – as waters heat and sea levels rise ever higher – our future.
Deep Water is both a hymn to the beauty, mystery and wonder of the ocean, and a reckoning with our complex relationship to the natural world. It is a book shaped by tidal movements and deep currents, and lit by the presence of other minds and other ways of being. Weaving together science, history and personal reflection, it explores the way the ocean connects every living being on Earth, the origins of the environmental catastrophe that is overtaking us, and the question of what lies ahead.
Immense in scope but also human and intimate, Deep Water offers new ways of understanding not just our relationship with the planet, but the past – and perhaps most importantly, the future.
James Bradley is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade, and Ghost Species; a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus; and The Penguin Book of the Ocean. Alongside his books, James has an established career as an essayist and reviewer, whose work has appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Monthly, Sydney Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, Meanjin, and Griffith Review. His fiction has won or been shortlisted for a wide range of Australian and international literary awards, and his essays and articles have been shortlisted twice for the Bragg Prize for Science Writing and nominated for a Walkley Award. In 2012, he won the Pascall Award for Australia's Critic of the Year. He is currently an Honorary Associate at the Sydney Environment Centre at the University of Sydney.
– A Bookseller Nonfiction Editor’s Choice for March 2024
"Wise, compassionate, and urgent."
– Robert Macfarlane, author of Underland
"What a wondrous book. In vivid, urgent prose, James Bradley takes us on a journey through oceanic worlds. Epic in scope and charged with a compulsive capitalist critique, Deep Water balances the grief of environmental catastrophe with a profound sense of awe and possibility. There is no false hope here. But there is hope."
– Billy Griffiths, author of Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia
"Teeming with mysteries, wonders, and heartbreaking facts, this beautiful, lucid hymn to the sea is a reminder of what we still have, what we stand to lose, and why we must never stop fighting to save our home."
– Tim Winton, author of Cloudstreet
