Secrets of the Ocean Realm [Hardcover]

Michele Hall (Author), Howard Hall (Author), Peter Benchley (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

Secrets of the Ocean Realm is a richly illus trated tale of discovery, and captures the magnificent beaut y of deep-sea ecosystems and the mysterious lives of the mar ine creatures inhabiting them. '

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michele and Howard Hall are natural history film producers specializing in marine wildlife films. Together they have won seven Emmy awards for cinematography and for underwater natural history films made for television. Their articles and still photographs have appeared in prominent natural history and wildlife magazines throughout the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 175 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books/Beyond Words; Original edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786704535
• ISBN-13: 978-0786704538
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,574,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poetic underwater journey!, August 29, 2000

By 

Luis Gallo "Luis Eduardo Gallo" (Valencia, Estado Carabobo Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of the Ocean Realm (Hardcover)

Stare at the beautiful underwater photographs. Sitback, relax and gently discover the Ocean Realm with the still images of Howard Hall and his wife Michele, images that, as Peter Benchley (Jaws, The Deep) writes in the foreword, are among the finest in the world. Dive. Wander through the Kelp forests of the northern Pacific. Get a close-up of sharks and squids in magic detail. Enjoy the vivid colors of the reef and watch lobsters and sea turtles, dolphins and whales in an exciting photographic journey! Since this book is not a reference work, you will also enjoy reading it slowly and in the direction of your choice, diving at pleasure through the light text that describes the Hall's adventures as filmmakers and marine photographers. And then you will also find some information about the sea-life captured in the images and poetic hints about scuba-diving and underwater photography. A nice dive, a pleasant reading and, at the price that Amazon.com is offering it, a real gift. Buy the book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 10 stars for this book, August 16, 2004

By 

M. Coppedge (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of the Ocean Realm (Hardcover)

This is one of the best books I have ever read about the underwater world. Incredibly beautiful underwater photography of high quality. The photos do not only depict animals swimming around but, for example, sarcastic fringehead males in a showy territorial "fight," close up.

I also like the authors' sensible view about animals and diving in the ocean. No show-off accounts of near-shark-escapes but an honest experience, mostly good but sometimes scary, of working under water. The authors recount some extraordinary events, such as a ride on a manta after freeing him from entangling fishing nets, or unexpectedly finding themselves surrounded by a school of fish that is being slaughtered by marlins.

With this book we get a wonderful view into the ocean world but also a fascinating account of what it is like spending many hours a day waiting, scouting, decompressing, refilling tanks and back to waiting so one can capture a never seen one-minute event on film that made it worth all the work.

3.0 out of 5 stars Dated; better books out there, May 2, 2011

By 

Volkmar (Belgium, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of the Ocean Realm (Hardcover)

This book is from 1997, which means the photos were taken in the early/mid nineties, and it shows. There are some nice photo's, but you can see that it's quite an old book already: the photo's are definitely not as sharp, nice,... as they are today. Underwater photography has evolved a lot the past two decades.

I haven't read the text, so can't comment on that. I'm reselling this book, as for me, it's not a keeper.