Knowlton (founder, Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. of California, San Diego; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History) knows a thing or two about the ocean. In taking images and facts from the ten-year global Census of Marine Life, Knowlton and the team at National Geographic have put together a compact yet fascinating jam-packed volume, including ten themed chapters with catchy titles like "Sea Food," "Sense and Sensibilities," "Sex and the Sea," and "There's No Place Like Home." To make the book even more user-friendly, each page is individually titled and self-contained; thus, it is a very good potential teaching tool for younger children or lower grades. It goes without saying that the National Geographic-produced photographs are stunning as always; the choices of angles, groupings, emphases, and vivid colors makes the volume a visual treat. Readers may choose to explore the photos first and then examine the interesting, concise text later. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and primary and secondary school students. S. E. Brazer Salisbury University