Elizabeth R. (esjro) -
This door stopper of a book is amazing in a number of ways, the first being that it was written in the first place. The time away from home spent by the author (he wisely acknowledges the sacrifices of his wife multiple times) traveling in mostly disgusting and frequently dangerous conditions to write this book is impressive.
Initially I bought this book thinking that it is about Somali pirates, but turns out that is only one chapter. Each chapter can be read as an individual essay, though all speak at some point to how companies, individuals, or governments exploit the lack of jurisdiction and law enforcement in ocean waters. Essays address human trafficking, pollition by the cruise industry, and poaching of fish. Fortuntately the book is structered so that there are a some lightheated pieces scattered between the difficult subjects, such as the story of a family that named an old oil rig Sealand, declared it a sovereign nation, and somehow are still making money off of it. We also meet some heroes, such as vigilante environmentalists who take exploit the same lawlessness the bad guys do to stop illiegal fishing and whaling.
There is a lot of fascinating material in The Outlaw Ocean. I read it a few chapters at a time with other books in between but still read it in a week because it was fascinating reading about how the oceans are like a different world that most of us on land know nothing about.
Initially I bought this book thinking that it is about Somali pirates, but turns out that is only one chapter. Each chapter can be read as an individual essay, though all speak at some point to how companies, individuals, or governments exploit the lack of jurisdiction and law enforcement in ocean waters. Essays address human trafficking, pollition by the cruise industry, and poaching of fish. Fortuntately the book is structered so that there are a some lightheated pieces scattered between the difficult subjects, such as the story of a family that named an old oil rig Sealand, declared it a sovereign nation, and somehow are still making money off of it. We also meet some heroes, such as vigilante environmentalists who take exploit the same lawlessness the bad guys do to stop illiegal fishing and whaling.
There is a lot of fascinating material in The Outlaw Ocean. I read it a few chapters at a time with other books in between but still read it in a week because it was fascinating reading about how the oceans are like a different world that most of us on land know nothing about.
