Underwater Wild: My Octopus Teacher's Extraordinary World by Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck is currently scheduled for release on October 19 2021. Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck regularly dive together in the awe-inspiring kelp forests off South Africa, without wetsuits or oxygen tanks. In Ross, he found a kindred spirit, someone who also embraced the ancient methods of acclimating his body to frigid waters, but whose eyes had not yet adjusted to the transcendent wonder Craig saw each time they dove. In the stories that make up this book, readers swim alongside Ross as he grows from skeptic to student of the underwater wild. And in the revelatory marine science behind the stunning photos, we learn how to track sea hares, cuttlefish, and limpets, and we witness strange new behaviors never before documented in marine biology. We realize that a whole world of wonder, and an innate wildness within us all, emerge anew when we simply observe.
I have to admit that I picked Underwater Wild to read because of the photography. Seriously, the images are stunning and well worth a look at the book all on their own. They are simply stunning. The text is well written and talks about much more than the marine life feature. The narrative style brings readers along for the ride, showing rather than telling about what has been seen and learned. It is about marine life, exploration, family, relationships, and more. When paired with the photographs, the text gives an extra layer of wonder and heart to the book as a whole. I think this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, and some will definitely be taking more time to enjoy the pictures than the text, no mater how moving or interesting the information shared.