Deep Water: The World in the Ocean

“The ocean is alive with meaning; to listen to it is to be made aware of the immensity, complexity and impossible beauty of the world.”

The ocean has shaped and sustained life on Earth for billions of years. From the appearance of the first cell to its role as a highway for exploration and colonialism to its centrality to the global economy of the 21^st century, its waters connect every living thing on Earth.

Deep Water is a hymn to the beauty, mystery and wonder of the ocean. Weaving together science, history and personal experience, it offers vital new ways of understanding not just humanity’s relationship with the planet, but our past – and perhaps most importantly – our future.

Published April 2024 by Penguin Random House Australia and Scribe Books UK, and July 2024 by HarperOne. Preorder now Australia, UK, USA.

Read an extract, or order a copy now (Australia/UK/US)

Praise for Deep Water

“Teeming with mysteries, wonders and heartbreaking facts, this beautiful, lucid hymn to the sea is a reminder of what we still have, what we stand to lose, and why we must never stop fighting to save our home.”
Tim Winton

“Deep Water is a major achievement; a vast fathoming of the pasts, presents and futures of the world’s oceans and seas. Bradley’s skills both as novelist and essayist converge here to create this wise, compassionate and urgent book, characterised throughout by a clarity of prose and a bracing moral gaze that searches water, self and reader.”
Robert Macfarlane

“As someone who loves and lives on the Ocean, I am inspired by James Bradley’s new book. Deep Water dives deep into the ocean’s heart—James has a magical mix of personal tales, science, and a powerful message to care for our seas. It’s a blend of wonder at the ocean’s splendor and a push to protect it. This book is an incredible journey that showcases the sea’s greatness and why we need to collectively act and preserve it.”
Laird Hamilton

“This gloriously ambitious book about the wonder and plight of our oceans brings together James Bradley’s skills as a poet, novelist and journalist. His history of the world from an oceanic perspective is elegant and urgent. It is also deeply human.”
Delia Falconer, author of Signs and Wonders

“What a wondrous book. In vivid, urgent prose, James Bradley takes us on a journey through oceanic worlds. Epic in scope and charged with a compulsive capitalist critique, Deep Water balances the grief of environmental catastrophe with a profound sense of awe and possibility. There is no false hope here. But there is hope.”
Billy Griffiths, author of Deep Time Dreaming

“A sublime work, quite literally: vast, beautiful, sometimes frightening. Bradley is a talented scholar, surveying widely in various disciplines. But he keeps his novelist’s eyes for poignant intimacy: moments of love and grief, curiosity and rage. If you care about our oceans, submerge yourself in Deep Water.”
Damon Young, author of The Art of Reading

“A sublime exploration of one of Earth’s most immense, powerful, and obscure entities, awash with humanity and wisdom. Deep Water will transform how you think about the ocean.”
Richard Fisher, author of The Long View

“No part of the Earth system is more vital to the human past and future than the world ocean, and few indeed are better qualified to tell its stories than James Bradley. A love letter and a warning, Deep Water is a work of rare scholarship, wide range and fierce urgency.”
Caspar Henderson, author of A Book of Noises and The Book of Barely-Imagined Beings

“Bradley has poured his whole soul into this book, a work of creative nonfiction immense in scope and implication. Tim Winton calls it a ‘beautiful, lucid hymn’ to our oceanic world – praise that I cannot top, though I concur.”
Geordie Williamson, The Australian

“Astonishing in both its depth and breadth, Deep Water is an incisive, thoughtful exploration of the complicated and crucial relationships we have with our oceans. James Bradley has written a tour de force at a moment when we need it most.”
Juli Berwald, author of Life on the Rocks and Spineless

“Brilliant, thought-provoking and painstakingly researched, James Bradley’s Deep Water invites readers to reconsider our place in the grand tapestry of existence. Acknowledging that we are not necessarily the dominant species, the book reveals the interconnectedness and kinship we share with all life forms. It challenges the anthropocentric focus that clouds our perspective and urges us to embrace alternative ways of being and heightened consciousness. It is a call to reflect on the profound implications of our actions, offering a journey that navigates the depths of our connection to water and the vast, interconnected world we call home.”
Jill Heinerth, author of Into the Planet My Life as a Cave Diver

“What does it mean to live on an ocean planet? It’s an important question, one that has shaped human history and will define our future. James Bradley provides fresh and sometimes surprising perspectives as he guides his readers toward ‘seeing the world through the lens of the ocean.’ Covering a highly varied range of topics including the relationships between ecosystem degradation and slavery, the cultural history of swimming, the hidden impacts of overfishing and deep-sea mining and the staggering reach and effect of maritime trade, Bradley offers a unique view of our world and our place in it. A must read for conservationists and ocean enthusiasts.”
Edith Widder, Ph.D., Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea