Over the past few weeks since the release of Wild Sea, I have been thrilled and humbled to receive some wonderful reviews and feedback from readers both in Australia and overseas. Here are a few examples, in no particular order.
McCann’s wide-ranging research is presented in clear and often vivid prose which conveys her love and respect for her subject. This is more than a history of the Ocean, drawn from scientific investigations and explorers’ accounts. It is a fascinating celebration of what the Ocean means to the earth and a call for careful attention to the threats faced by those who depend upon it, especially its inhabitants from tiny krill to the majestic whale and albatross. (Dr Neil Radford, Dictionary of Sydney, 19 June 2018)
Using the best of her expertise as a respected historian and researcher, Joy McCann asks us to think about the Southern Ocean as more than just a “remote scientific laboratory, or as a source of food or prosperity” … A wonderful book club text or book to spark dinner table conversation, it’d also be a great read when staying by the ocean, bush walking or camping – endless campfire discussions will ensue! (Sarah Mayor Cox, Breakfast with Jo Printz, ABC Central Victoria, 1 June 2018)
… like much of the history being written in Australia at present it is also a thrillingly hybrid creation, drawing together elements of environmental and intellectual history, science and personal observation to illuminate not just the physical and ecological reality of this loneliest of wildernesses but also the ways humans have understood it … it is ultimately a hymn to connection and wonder, and the recognition of the myriad ways in which the Southern Ocean touches all of us. (James Bradley, novelist, literary critic and editor of The Penguin Book of the Ocean, The Australian, 28 July 2018)
The vastness of this ocean is explored on so many different fronts by the author that the reader gains a deeper understanding of the powerful body of water … There are so many fascinating facts and stories told in this researched and creatively written book it will be a great “go to,” book for many years. (Blue Wolf Reviews, 24 July 2018)
… it is such a timely and beautifully written and important project. It is setting a standard for future books on oceans. Congratulations! (Christof Mauch, Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, Munich)
You have managed to pull together a monumental research effort and the result is enthralling … I love how you have woven in these mysteries of the deep in with the history of voyages. (Hobart reader)
I just listened to this podcast from Boston (USA). Wonderfully vivid and informative, and I’m now off in search of your book – Thanks.
I’ve read several chapters and I LOVE it. It’s really, really a history of the ocean. (Helen M Rozwadowski, author of Fathoming the Ocean: The Discovery and Exploration of the Deep Sea).
Out of the blue 