Excerpt from The Blue Machine by Helen Czerski, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

On the other side of the world, Hawaiians who live their lives enveloped in the vast Pacific Ocean see things very differently. Close to the equator, squalls and gales are relatively rare, but storms thousands of miles to the north initiate the smooth ocean swells that make Hawai'i such a perfect place for surfing. Mastery of the ocean waves was a recognized royal pursuit, with kings and queens having their own special surfboards. Surfing was a ritual and a right, and central to Hawaiian society. The ocean was a part of life, and being in it and on it came naturally. The ocean is a vital part of Hawaiian culture, partly because these small islands are completely enveloped in it and partly because their local ocean is much more benign than that around Iceland. Our human relationships with the ocean are as rich and varied as the ocean itself.

Reprinted from The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works. Copyright © 2023 by Helen Czerski. Used with permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.