The Saltwater Wilderness
Glenn Vanstrum
Native Minnesotan Glenn Vanstrum once knew salt water only as the slush left on winter streets after salt trucks had passed by. Today, after trading in his snow boots for a wet suit and camera, Vanstrum brings us The Saltwater Wilderness (Oxford University Press, $25), a collection of essays and black-and-white photographs chronicling his underwater explorations of coral reefs and kelp forests from the Channel Islands to Palau. Writing from the perspective of landlubber turned ocean lover, Vanstrum entertains with tales of his first encounters with surfing and dolphins, while stories of human impact carry more sobering lessons. "We air-breathing humans must retain respect for the ocean," he writes. "The sea can be explored but never conquered."
—Cathy Asato
