Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World Paperback – 2 May 2024

This is a fascinating book about the ocean and how it shapes our world, how it impacts our lives and how it helps us today. The author does include science in this book, but it is explained in a way that is completely understandable to a non-science-brained person.The author includes huge amounts of information from the way the ocean moves, to the different depths and strata, she mentions how people have learnt to navigate and how humans have impacted it. We live in a world where climate change is often mentioned. I always think about climate change affecting the air quality, temperatures, rainfall and storms. The ocean is also affected by climate change and this is becoming more and more obvious as great swathes of ice are melting, we are experiencing more run-offs into the rivers and oceans and we are interfering with the delicate balance. The author brings all these elements and so much more to her book and it was a fabulous book to read and one that thoroughly enjoyed.I live in Cornwall, UK. It is an area of land that sticks out at the S.W. point of the mainland, surrounded on 3 sides by the sea. Our weather is, in part, affected by what happens out at sea and we do experience seasonal high tides, and weather coming in of the sea and we do benefit from the Gulf Stream.Reading this book has made me realise just how much the oceans do to keep our planet at the right temperature for life to exist and function. The author also uses historical facts to reinforce events and to back up what she has discovered through her own research, she is, after all a physicist and is seen on BBC in a science section. So yes, she does know her stuff, what I liked about this book was that she used her own knowledge and that of others from around the world, it gives a deeper understanding as you do get different perspectives. It brings other cultures and their history to the table and gives the reader the chance to see the differences between then and now.The book is broken down into 3 parts, with 7 sub-sections. The first part is about "What is the Blue Machine", the author tells the reader why she refers to the ocean as a machine, and to be honest when you think about it, it does make sense. This section deals with the nature of the sea, the shape of water and the anatomy of the ocean. Part 2 is "Travelling the Blue Machine" This looks at life in the oceans and on the oceans and has 3 sections covering, messengers, passengers and voyagers. This was my favourite section as it got into the details of life in the oceans. The final part, Part 3 is " The Blue Machine and Us" This is the 1 section and it is about what we can do or should be doing.Obviously, this book highlights the impact that humans have had on the oceans and how they are deteriorating. It is an eye-opening book and one that does give pause for thought. So it is no surprise that there is a final section in this book that also deals with what we can do.This is a fascinating book and one that I read in chunks over several days. I thought this book was so well laid out and explained and I definitely closed the book at the end knowing I knew more now than I did before. The explanations made sense and this is what I really liked about it.If you have an interest in the natural world, the climate and oceans then this is a book I would definitely recommend.

I went into this book curious about our oceans, but not seeing them and a book talking about them as a particularly important topic.How wrong I was.This book reminds us that we are the crew (not passengers) of a blue planet and explains in such beautiful detail how the functioning of those oceans (the blue machine in Helen’s words) is absolutely crucial to the continued health of every life form on the planet. The book as a whole is a carefully structured treatise on the big topics needed to appreciate what the blue machine does for the planet, delves into the finer points to provide just the right amount of detail to explain everything, and then lovingly intersperses all of that with storytelling that provides context and deeper understanding to the facts.I don’t remember when I have read a book that has been such a delight to read from start to finish, but that also, when I have come to the end, had totally altered my appreciation of the workings of our whole planet.Helen - you are amazing. Thanks so much for creating this masterpiece.

Interesting subject, very well covered but the exemplars used to make the point are too verbose for my liking, with a risk that you lose the overall flow of the argument. I think this books needs re-editing to tighten it up and the overall story would then come across more clearly. Otherwise well structured, well written and a very important story to tell

Excellent read, I was totally engrossed in this book. Very well written.

Absolutely brilliant book!!

Bough this for my husband and he loved it and is recommending it to everyone.

Cleverly written for such a complicated subject that keeps you eager to move on and on in the book. Try it.

The author is able to communicate the deep meaning behind the science of the oceans with a prose that is accessible and at times more often found in a good novel.