Tall Ship: High Sea Adventure. 1992. (VHS)

An outstanding adventure of young Danish teens who learn how to sail a tall ship. You can practically feel the salt spray from this video. A great introduction to life at sea.

*Bergreen, Laurence. 2003. Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe. William Morrow: NY

*Bound, Mensun. 1998. Lost Ships: The Discovery and Exploration of the Ocean’s Sunken Treasures. Simon & Schuster: NY

*Matsen, Brad. 2005. Descent: The Heroic Discovery of the Abyss. Pantheon: NY

This book details the extraordinary descent of Otis Barton and William Beebe in a steel sphere a half mile down into the abyss, the first men to ever reach such depths.

*The Last Place on Earth. 1994. BfS Entertainment. (DVD)

This outstanding mini-series documents Scott and Amundsen’s race to the South Pole. This is truly an unheralded, epic film that accurately portrays man’s quest to conquer the last unknown place on Earth.

The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition. 2000. NOVA. DVD

This 97-minute documentary chronicles Shackleton’s legendary expedition.

Shackleton – The Greatest Survival Story of All Time. 2002. A&E Home Video. DVD

Their ship crushed by the Antarctic pack ice, Shackleton and his crew drifted for five months before escaping in a lifeboat. The BBC’s three-part series of this adventure ranks among the best.

*Cousteau, Jacques. 1953. Silent World: A Story of undersea discovery and adventure by the first men to swim at record depths with the freedom of fish. Harper & Row: NY

This is the story of the first men to enter the sea with an aqualung. Cousteau’s influence on ocean exploration is legendary. He remains Professor Sean’s greatest hero.

*Matsen, Brad. 2005. Descent: The Heroic Discovery of the Abyss. Pantheon Books.

This book chronicles Otis Barton and William Beebe’s exploration of the abyss in a small steel sphere with one porthole!

*McAlpine, Ken. 2003. Diving the World: Photographs by Norbert Wu. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates: CT

World-renowned underwater photographer Norbert Wu takes pictures that capture the personality and scientific essence of marine organisms. This volume of photos from around the world is simply stunning, a photographic celebration of marine life. You will learn about marine life simply by studying these photos.

*Steinbeck, John. 1951. The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Viking Press: NY

A moving, personal account of going to sea on an expedition to observe and collect marine life from California to Baja.

*Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures: Voyage to Kure. 2006. PBS (VHS or DVD).

See also http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/episodes/kure/

*Kelley, Don Greame. 1971. Edge of a Continent: The Pacific Coast from Alaska to Baja. American West Publishing: CA