Rating: 
Summary: Powerful Reading
Review: Magnificently written by a world-class scientist and gifted communicator -- a fortunate combination that might be as rare as some of the wondrous marine animals and habitats he describes. I am a landlubber businessman who, until I read this book, merely had a spectator's idle interest in the fate of the world's fisheries and marine environments. Dr. Safina eloquently convinces the reader how directly connected we all are to the world's oceans for the well-being of our purses, our physical bodies and our spirits.Safina doesn't merely describe and bemoan the degradation of the seas and marine life. He objectively (well, as objectively as he can) examines the issues from the broad perspectives of those who rely upon these wild animals for subsistence, for profit and for enjoyment (that just about covers 6 billion or so people). In light of the abundant intellectual honesty Safina brings to the task, even the most skeptical reader will conclude that the oceans and their denizens are in a bad way, portending serious consequences for all of us, no matter what our agenda (and even for those of us who, like myself once, don't think we even have a marine agenda). Safina says we have options, that the destruction so far is not completely irreversible and that further destruction is not inevitable. I came away from this book thinking not only that something has to be done, but asking myself how I can help do it.
Rating:
Summary: A Call to Action
Review: Magnificently written by a world-class scientist and gifted communicator -- a fortunate combination that might be as rare as some of the wondrous marine animals and habitats he describes. I am a landlubber businessman who, until I read this book, merely had a spectator's idle interest in the fate of the world's fisheries and marine environments. Dr. Safina eloquently convinces the reader how directly connected we all are to the world's oceans for the well-being of our purses, our physical bodies and our spirits. Safina doesn't merely describe and bemoan the degradation of the seas and marine life. He objectively (well, as objectively as he can) examines the issues from the broad perspectives of those who rely upon these wild animals for subsistence, for profit and for enjoyment (that just about covers 6 billion or so people). In light of the abundant intellectual honesty Safina brings to the task, even the most skeptical reader will conclude that the oceans and their denizens are in a bad way, portending serious consequences for all of us, no matter what our agenda (and even for those of us who, like myself once, don't think we even have a marine agenda). Safina says we have options, that the destruction so far is not completely irreversible and that further destruction is not inevitable. I came away from this book thinking not only that something has to be done, but asking myself how I can help do it.
Rating:
Summary: This is THE Book that I simply tell EVERYONE to Read!
Review: My two beautiful little children are still too young to read,but as soon as they do learn how, this is the book I will buy for them each. I love the sea, and I know that this book, like no other, will help to instill that same passion in them. Like no one else that I know, Carl Safina brings out the beauty of the living sea, and tells us all the depths of why we need to care about its protection. An awesome book!
Rating:
Summary: Powerful, Poignant, and Amazingly fact-filled.
Review: Safina takes the reader on what would appear to be the boring world of global fisheries practices, and weaves a riviting web of tales based on first person encounters about the unknown plight of our quickly vanishing resources. He uses his background as a scientist to base this poignant study on unequivocal fact, but never talks down to the reader. Song for the Blue Ocean reads like a Huck Finn adventure into the realm of the limitless ocean but we find out all too quickly that the sea's cornucopeia is being drained at a frightening rate. Safina shows how the one hundred million tons of marine produce harvested each year is being squandered for short-term gain, to the detriment of our immediate future. This book is on par with Rachael Carson's "Silent Spring" and is a clarion call to action for the proper utilization of our marine " tucker. " Few conservation books are written with such flair that make us regular folks want to care about something as nebulous as marine food fish. This one will not only make you care, it will blow your socks off! If you have ever sailed on the sea, gazed at it or eaten fish, you will find this book irresistible.
Rating:
Summary: Not only a song, but a beautiful song for the blue ocean
Review: Safina weaves a masterful story of our oceans and the precarious relationship between sea and man. Unlike traditional "environmental" works, Safina tells the story of three disparate communities and their relationship to a dying sea. The use of language, the intriguing personal accounts actually EXPERIENCED by the author, and a deep understanding of the complexity of the sea are halmarks of this work. The book is divided into three large sections covering the following regions: New England and bluefin tuna, the Pacific Northwest and salmon, and the southwest Pacific and aquarium fishes. Each section is self contained and focuses on the specific region targeted by the section. Safina, fortunately, does not attempt to create a mega tome describing all the ocean's problems. Rather, he focuses are three extremely well researched areas that, assumingly, typify the problems with the sea. Safina has a unique talent for storytelling that conveys deep meanings and complex relationships. The need for such a simple, and yet complex, analysis is similar to the simple, and yet complex, issues that surround ocean depletion itself. That is, Safina is not a typical "environmentalist" with the "answers." He is a concerned person who tells the complex story of how a "simple" event like overfishing can occur in our "modern" world. The complex and interrelated dynamics of economy, politics, science, families, occupations, and age together lead to the "simple" problems that Safina describes. As becomes very evident in the book, one can only understand the problem, and then presumably take action, when one understands and accepts the complex dynamics that created the problem. Safina steers well clear of the traditional, simplified "environmentalist" stance that points the proverbial finger at single sources like "government," clear cut loggers, long line fishers, and cyanide fisherman. The epilogue alone is a masterpiece of understanding and simplicity. Like the land ethic, Safina identifies the equal importance of a sea ethic. Safina's solutions are refreshing for anyone who doubts the government's ability to objectively protect our resources. Rather, Safina seems to leave the protection to local peoples -- the people directly impacted by the issues and with vested interests in the outcomes. Through local actions, not distant government mandates, our heritage and resources can survive.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and Engrossing
Review: Safina weaves an incredible tale of the amazing life in our oceans and what we are doing to destroy it. What makes this book so compelling is not only Safina's fascinating descriptions of undersea wildlife, but the equally interesting and compelling descriptions of the people who depend upon our marine resources. Though I have long considered myself an environmentalist this book has inspired me to recommit myself to doing my part.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written, accurate and (sadly) true
Review: Safina's book tells the story accurately. Marine fish species, including the tunas, are in decline worldwide, and haggling over insignificant differences in the percentage of decline (which, by the way, Safina reports accurately, contrary to the comment below) will not bring the fishes back. Safina's book is a fair, even-handed report from the field. It is "Silent Spring" for the oceans.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book and weep!!
Review: Since I've never had easy access to the ocean, my environmental concerns involved land issues, such as habitant and species destruction, etc. Well, thank goodness, Amazon.com lists books others have bought along with the book you are considering buying. That is how I found out about Song for the Blue Ocean. Everything other reviewers have said about this book is true and then some. This book made me aware of just how the forests and the land are ultimately connected to the ocean and all living things contained within it. The practically free give-aways of trees and resultant damage to the envioronment and salmon habitant and lack of courage (and, seemingly, lack of intellect) on the part of government officials, congressmen and senators is appalling. Some of the CITES meetings and other agency interactions with people and the environment would make you laugh if it wasn't so sad, like reading Dr. Strangelove. While I imagine Dr. Safina's intention was to enlighten and inform us (and that he did with a well-researched and well-written book), I personally finished the last page, closed the book, and visualized all of us sitting on that missle with Slim Pickens plummelling along to our destruction. Yes, indeed, read this book and weep. It is an extremely important book, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A book to steal your breath and wonder upon man and ocean
Review: This book is a joy to read, the first chapter grabs your attention and each successive one holds you fast. Song is so well rounded, beautifully written, and well researched that it fills me with envy to think Safina even launched upon the task. As a researcher, marine conservationist, recreational fisher and diver, and friend of the commercial fishing community I can vouch for many of Safina's facts. And in response to earlier customer comments regarding the bluefin industry, there are volumes of data, and those giant tuna are getting slammed. Before blasting off irrational and ridiculous messages you might want to double check on your information source.
Rating: 
Summary: McPhee on Red Bull
Review: This book would be twice as good if it were half as long. Evidently the only editors were fawning friends of the author, who must have felt that every observation, no matter how offhand or trivial, needed to be included in the bloated text. This is too bad, because he is a decent writer, knows and cares about fish and fisheries, and the story is compelling. Imagine John McPhee full of Red Bull and vodka and you get the idea.
Also, a book that uses the silly word "waitron" without irony, and "heregia" twice in a hundred pages can be a little precious.
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