The sea covers seven-tenths of the Earth, but we have mapped only a small percent of it. The sea contains millions of species of animals and plants, but we have identified only a few thousand of them. The sea controls our planet's climate, but we do not really understand how. The sea is still the frontier, and yet it seems so familiar that we sometimes forget how little we know about it. Just as we are poised on the verge of exploiting the sea on an unprecedented scale - mining it, fertilizing it, fishing it out - this book reminds us of how much we have yet to learn. More than that, it chronicles the knowledge explosion that has transformed our view of the sea in just the past few decades and made it a far more interesting and accessible place.

An epic story of changing times, courage and a love story only made possible by war. ‘A rich and skilful novel dramatizing how the war changed so many lives’ Elizabeth Buchan

A vivid tour of the Earth's last frontier, a remote and mysterious realm that nonetheless lies close to the heart of even the most land-locked reader. The sea covers seven-tenths of the Earth, but we have mapped only a small percentage of it. The sea contains millions of species of animals and plants, but we have identified only a few thousand of them. The sea controls our planet's climate, but we do not really understand how. The sea is still the frontier, and yet it seems so familiar that we sometimes forget how little we know about it. Just as we are poised on the verge of exploiting the sea on an unprecedented scale—mining it, fertilizing it, fishing it out—this book reminds us of how much we have yet to learn. More than that, it chronicles the knowledge explosion that has transformed our view of the sea in just the past few decades, and made it a far more interesting and accessible place. From the Big Bang to that far-off future time, two billion years from now, when our planet will be a waterless rock; from the lush crowds of life at seafloor hot springs to the invisible, jewel-like plants that float at the sea surface; from the restless shifting of the tectonic plates to the majestic sweep of the ocean currents, Kunzig's clear and lyrical prose transports us to the ends of the Earth. Originally published in hardcover as The Restless Sea.

The Cornish coast of 1810 was alive with fishing boats, warships and smugglers. For Nathan Jago, a fishing business seemed the ideal place to invest his prizefighting winnings. But it wasn't all plain sailing to a wealthy future. For a start there was wilful young squire's daughter Elinor Hearle. And then there was Amy, with her passion for the sea and her fierce Cornish pride...

England in 1912 still bears itself with Edwardian confidence, but strikes, protests and public violence reveal the fault lines as society evolves under the spur of new ideas and technology. Among the many branches of the Morland family, Jessie and Violet, childhood friends, learn to cope with the surprises of marriage and motherhood and their different strata of society. Jack, disappointed in love, loses himself in designing aircraft and training airmen for the newly formed flying corps. And Anne exhausted by the Suffragette struggle, seeks comfort in her friendship with an unconventional young woman. The Titanic tragedy shakes the confidence of a people used to conquering nature with engineering; and all the while, the troubled nations of Europe edge closer to a war no-one wants, but which seems inevitable.

"Please," she begged. Karina didn't know what she begged for, maybe for the flare to do its work or, maybe, for the pain to stop. She never saw which way the flare headed. A coughing fit that ended with a strong taste of blood in her mouth delivered her back into the comforting realm of darkness, back to where problems ceased to exit, and back to where pain could not find her. Fifteen-year-old Karina expects hardships and surprises during her five-month school term at sea aboard the Star Fin, a research vessel designed to turn troubled adolescents into responsible adults. Classes in marine biology and advanced scuba diving help her gain confidence and self-control; but nothing prepares her for encounters with moray eels, a dangerous Portuguese man-of-war, deadly sea snakes, and man-eating sharks. When blood-frenzied sharks viciously attack a family of capsized kayakers, Karina's skills and courage are put to the ultimate test. Her skills are tested even further when Karina and her peers attempt to explore a shipwreck deep in the ocean. After the group is sabotaged and stranded by a fellow classmate, everything that can go wrong, does. Are Karina and her friends strong enough to survive the elements, a sinking ship, and decompression sickness?