Wild Monterey Bay

""Connecting with wildlife is such an important way to build empathy for the natural world. This is a delightful collection of stories about inspiring encounters with ocean life- everything from bioluminescent plankton to great whales. I hope it encourages everyone to get outdoors and explore for themselves."" Julie Packard Executive Director Monterey Bay Aquarium ""This is a treasure trove! Gorgeous, compelling photos illustrate pages brimming with stories of close encounters with creatures from white sharks to plankton⏤all told in different voices and from different perspectives. From the teacher watching city kids fall in love with the ocean, to the biologist wrangling seals for tagging, to the photographer documenting an orca teaching her baby to hunt, all of these tales⏤some funny, some sad, some quirky⏤give you an intimate picture of Wild Monterey Bay you'll find nowhere else. Whether you already live in this magical place, or are only an armchair visitor, this book will deepen your appreciation of this unique, critical habitat, and inspire you to protect what is surely one of the richest marine ecosystems on Earth."" SY MONTGOMERY Author of Soul of the Octopus and Secrets of the Octopus ""Monterey Bay is a national treasure because of its beauty and unique wildlife. As a member of Congress, I was proud to work with the citizens and leaders of the Central Coast to author and pass legislation to establish the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This book, Wild Monterey Bay, presents a wonderful album of why we were right to protect forever the beauty and biodiverse ecosystems for future generations."" LEON PANETTA Former Secretary of Defense ""Unlike land, our ocean is publicly owned and managed through politics. The Sanctuary designation took an act of Congress, which I helped facilitate. I've learned in 43 years in elected office, we don't protect what we don't understand. The shift from whale killing to whale watching is an example of our gaining knowledge. Wild Monterey Bay brings us closer to the living planet we didn't know. This book will make every reader more interested in saving it, and hopefully voting to maintain it."" SAM FARR U.S. Congressman (retired) ""An inspiring exploration of the relationship between one of the world's most extraordinary marine environments and the people whose lives are deeply touched by it and who work to protect it."" LIZ CUNNINGHAM Author of Ocean Country