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A review by 10_4tina
The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier by Ian Urbina
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Engaging. Hard to read (sad/tense). Complicated
I really enjoyed this one. One of the most fascinating chapters in THE SECRET LIFE OF GROCERIES related to shrimp and ocean disregulation and I brought it up with so many people. Taylor mentioned this book along the same lines and I had to read it. This one was long for such tense topics. It's unsettling how inhumane the ocean industry is (for the literal humans involved as well as the animals). Some sections of the book were graphic, others frustrating, and some just sad. The book is excellent but much too long for dark topics too far from my control to make lighter.
To be fair/clear, not all of the book is this tough. Some sections are fascinating without so many complex, negative emotions like the scuba diving resort and the independent nation of Sealand. The cruelty to people, animals, and nature at large is there, but man, is it interesting. Ian Urbina writes in a gripping way that brings you into his journeys. If you can stomach it and are interested in the behind-the-scenes life of the world (in this case the ocean world), you should read it!
Favorite 2 lines:
Chapter 1: The thing about nature is that you become desensitized to it the more you experience it and become unscathed. I don't experience danger as a drug, nor do I seek it out simply for the thrill, but you become somewhat enuered to fear.
Epilogue: A book is never finished, just abandoned
I really enjoyed this one. One of the most fascinating chapters in THE SECRET LIFE OF GROCERIES related to shrimp and ocean disregulation and I brought it up with so many people. Taylor mentioned this book along the same lines and I had to read it. This one was long for such tense topics. It's unsettling how inhumane the ocean industry is (for the literal humans involved as well as the animals). Some sections of the book were graphic, others frustrating, and some just sad. The book is excellent but much too long for dark topics too far from my control to make lighter.
To be fair/clear, not all of the book is this tough. Some sections are fascinating without so many complex, negative emotions like the scuba diving resort and the independent nation of Sealand. The cruelty to people, animals, and nature at large is there, but man, is it interesting. Ian Urbina writes in a gripping way that brings you into his journeys. If you can stomach it and are interested in the behind-the-scenes life of the world (in this case the ocean world), you should read it!
Favorite 2 lines:
Chapter 1: The thing about nature is that you become desensitized to it the more you experience it and become unscathed. I don't experience danger as a drug, nor do I seek it out simply for the thrill, but you become somewhat enuered to fear.
Epilogue: A book is never finished, just abandoned
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Slavery