Listed below are a few good books and other types of literature (sorted by title alphabetically) that we unofficially recommend. Because virtually everything impacts the health of the coast and oceans, there are some books listed that don't directly deal with coast or oceans, but are nevertheless important for those interested in the coastal and marine environments. It's not a comprehensive list by no means, but we'll add to it as time goes on. Send us an email if you know of a particularly good coastal book that's not on this list.

Abandoned Seas: Reversing the Decline of the Oceans, by Peter Weber, Worldwatch Paper 116, Worldwatch Institute, 66 pgs., November 1993. Chronicles the environmental degradation of the oceans. Full of facts and figures.

Asphalt Nation by Jane Holtz Kay, Random House, 1997, 418 pp. An excellent book that discusses how the U.S. became so car dependent and pavement happy (which has affected the coastal environment in a big way).

Atlas of the Ocean: The Deep Frontier by Sylvia A. Earle, published by National Geographic, 2001, 192 pp. This unique book is a collection of maps, deep sea images, and oceanographic information collected with the cooperation of the National Geographic Society, NASA, NOAA, and the US Navy. To order call 888-647-6733 or ask your local bookstore

The Beaches Are Moving: The Drowning of America's Shoreline, by Willace Kaufman and Orrin Pilkey. Anchor Press/Doubleday, 326 pgs., 1979. This book chronicles how people's shoreline structures are causing our beaches to erode in the face of a rising sealevel.

Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas. Helvarg, David. New York: W.H. Freeman, 2001.

Board Talk and Other Salty Tales, by Eyvinn Schoenberg. Board Talk and other salty tales is a collection of memories and photos from Hawaii, Peru, and California over a period from 1932 to 1997. The Surfrider Ventura Chapter helped out with one section. More info. 1999.

The Book of Sharks, by Richard Ellis, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1989, 256 pp.

Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner, Penguin Books, 1993, 582 pp. A great book discussing water issues in the American Southwest.

California Coastal Access Guide, by the California Coastal Commission, University of California Press, 304 pgs., 1991. A great resource book that lists and maps every beach in California.

California Coastal Resource Guide, by the California Coastal Commission, University of California Press, 384 pgs., 1987. A great resource book that describes the geography and natural habitats of the California coast.

Coral Reefs and Islands (The Natural History of a Threatened Paradise) by William Gray. David & Charles Publishers, 1993; 192 pp.

The Corps and the Shore, by Orrin H. Pilkey and Katharine L. Dixon, Island Press, 272 pgs., 1996. A must-read book that chronicles the Army Corps of Engineers self-serving destruction of coastal habitat.

The Edge of the Sea, by Rachel Carson. 1979, Houghton Mifflin Co.

The Evolving Coast by Richard A. Davis, Jr.; Scientific American Library, 1997, 233 pp. This very informative book discusses the geology of coastlines and the physical processes that shape them.

From the Forest to the Sea by James Sedell & Chris Maser, 1994, St. Lucie Press, 200 pp.

Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management by Richard H. Horner, et al. 1994; 185 pp., Terrene Institute.

Hawaii: The Islands of Life by Gavan Daws, Book Lines Hawaii, 1988, 156 pp.

Heal the Ocean - Solutions for Saving Our Seas by Rod Fujita, New Society Publishers, 2003, 227 pages.

Imperiled Waters, Impoverished Future: The Decline of Freshwater Ecosystems, by Janet N. Abramovitz, Worldwatch Paper 128, Worldwatch Institute, 80 pgs., March 1996. This booklet takes a look at the world's freshwater systems (which mostly flow to the coast) and the environmental devastation being suffered by them. Full of facts and figures.

An Introduction to Coastal Zone Management, by Timothy Beatley, David J. Brower, and Anna K. Schwab. Island Press, 1994. A very good book detailing how the coastal zone in the U.S. is managed.
 
Lament for an Ocean: The Collapse of the Atlantic Cod Fishery: A True Crime Story, by Michael Harris, McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1998, hard cover, 352 pages. Everyone's guilty in this detailed book about the collapse of Newfoundland's cod fishery.

Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run: A Call to Those Who Would Save the Earth, by David Brower, HarperCollins, 196 pgs., 1995. Printed on kenaf paper, this book tells about David Brower's half-century of environmental activism.

Listening to the Sea: The Politics of Improving Environmental Protection, by Robert J. Wilder, an active Surfrider Foundation member. Surfrider's Advisory Board Chairman Pierce Flynn says about this book, "This is holistic ecology and policy at its best." Available starting in October 1998.

The Living Ocean: Understanding and Protecting Marine Biodiversity, by Boyce Thorne-Miller and John Catena, The Oceanic Society of Friends of the Earth, U.S.; Island Press, 182 pgs., 1991. This book is an introduction to marine biological diversity--what it is, why we need to save it, what's being done, and what needs to be done.

Living with Florida's Atlantic Coast, edited by Orrin H. Pilkey and William J. Neal, Duke University Press, 2004. An excellent book co-edited by the great Orrin Pilkey. More info.

Net Loss: Fish, Jobs, and the Marine Environment, by Peter Weber, WorldWatch Paper 120, Worldwatch Institute, 76 pgs., July 1994. A great booklet full of facts and figures about overfishing and the marine environment.

Notes from the Shore, by Jennifer Ackerman, Penguin Books, 190 pgs., 1995. A personal account that creates a portrait of life at the oceans's edge at the southern tip of the Delaware Bay.

The Oceans Atlas by Anita Ganeri, Dorling Kindersley publishers, 1994, 64 pp. A beautifully illustrated ocean atlas book full of fun information.

Poison Runoff (A Guide to State and Local Control of Nonpoint Source Water Pollution) by Paul Thompson, Natural Resources Defense Council publication, 1989, 484 pp.

The Sea Around Us, by Rachel Carson, Oxford University Press, 1991, 278 pp.

Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans, by Sylvia A. Earle, Fawcett Columbine, 361 pgs., 1995. A personal account from an extraordinary person with the ocean as center stage.

Sharks (An Introduction for the Amateur Naturalist) by Sanford A. Moss, Prentice Hall, 1984.

Sierra Magazine, published by the Sierra Club, July/August 1998 issue. This is the Sierra Club's special Oceans issue during the UN designated Year of the Oceans. Several good articles are in it.

Song for the Blue Ocean: Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas. By Carl Safina. 1st ed. New York: Henry Holt, 1998.

Upstream Solutions to Downstream Pollution (A Cititzen's Guide to Pretecting Seacoasts and the Great Lakes by Cleaning Up Polluted Runoff), Sarah Chasis, et al. Natural Resources Defense Council Publications, 1993, 127 pp. NRDC and the Coast Alliance have teamed up for this publication.

The Wasted Ocean by David K. Bulloch, Lyons & Burford Publishers, 1989, 150 pp.

Watershed Restoration--A Guide for Citizen Involvement in California, by William M. Kier Associates. NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Decision Analysis Series No. 8. NOAA Coastal Ocean Office, Silver Spring, MD. 114 pgs. + 3 appendices. 1995. This guidebook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes current efforts at restoring watersheds in California and how to get involved. Very practical and is available for free from NOAA, tel. 301-713-3338.

Waves and Beaches, by Willard Bascom, Anchor Books, 366 pgs., 1980. An all-time classic book written in 1964 and updated in 1980. The book describes how waves and beaches behave under all kinds of conditions.

The Wealth of Oceans, by Michael L. Weber and Judith A. Gradwohl, WW Norton and Co., 256 pgs., 1995. A "look-at-the-big-picture" book full of informative facts and figures.

Wetlands (The Audubon Society Nature Guides Series), by William A. Niering. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1985, 638 pp.

Wetlands in Danger (A World Conservation Atlas), Patrick Dugan, Editor. 1993, Oxford University Press, 187 pp.