Oceans Past 2026

This booklist was created in celebration of the Oceans Past conference, cohosted by UVic Anthropology, History and Environmental Studies in June 2016. This list is not exhaustive, and contains mostly ebooks (print books were on display in the McPherson library during the conference).

Updated June 11, 2026
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1, 2, 3, Salish Sea
McClure, Nikki
Paper Book
From one to ten and well beyond, explore the Salish Sea in this visually striking, high-concept counting primer. Acclaimed West Coast artist Nikki McClure uses a single piece of paper and an X-ACTO knife to create her simple yet exquisite images. Whether it's one stubby squid or one...
At sea with the marine birds of the raincoast
Fox, Caroline
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia. At Sea With the Marine Birds of the Raincoast combines the natural and human histories of Pacific Northwest marine birds with Caroline Fox's personal story of her life as a...
Atlantic : great sea battles, heroic discoveries, titanic storms, and a vast ocean of a million stories
Winchester, Simon.
Paper Book
"Variably genial, cautionary, lyrical, admonitory, terrifying, horrifying and inspiring...A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and...
Exploring Coast Salish prehistory the archaeology of San Juan Island
Stein, Julie K.
Ebook
Every year thousands of people visit the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. With a copy of Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory in hand, they will enjoy an introduction both to archaeology in general and to sites within San Juan Island National Historic Park.
The Fish in the Forest : Salmon and the Web of Life
Stokes, Dale
Ebook
The Fish in the Forest is an elegantly written, beautifully illustrated exploration of the complex web of relationships between the salmon of the Pacific Northwest and the surrounding ecosystem. Dale Stokes shows how nearly all aspects of this fragile ecosystem--from streambeds to treetops,...
Fishing : how the sea fed civilization
Fagan, Brian M.
Paper Book
Humanity's last major source of food from the wild, and how it enabled and shaped the growth of civilization In this history of fishing--not as sport but as sustenance--archaeologist and best-selling author Brian Fagan argues that fishing was an indispensable...
The future of bluefin tunas : ecology, fisheries management, and conservation
Block, Barbara A.
Paper Book
The most thorough and current account of scientific research on bluefin tunas--the largest, most sought-after tunas in the world Bluefin tunas are dominant keystone predators known for their impressive size, strength, endurance, and speed. Electronic tags have revealed that they can...
The historical archaeology of the Pacific Northwest
Wilson, Douglas Calvin
Paper Book
How archaeology illuminates the confluence of people, places, and events that shaped the Pacific Northwest    Borderedby the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west,the Pacific Northwest--including Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and BritishColumbia--is...
Human impacts on seals, sea lions, and sea otters : integrating archaeology and ecology in the northeast Pacific
Braje, Todd J.
Paper Book
For more than ten thousand years, Native Americans from Alaska to southern California relied on aquatic animals such as seals, sea lions, and sea otters for food and raw materials. Archaeological research on the interactions between people and these marine mammals has made great advances...
Island in the Salish Sea
McFarlane, Sheryl
Paper Book
This gorgeously illustrated picture book is a celebration of summer vacation and West Coast island life. Every day is different on Gran's island in the Salish Sea as granddaughter climbs big-leaf maples, eats blackberries, explores tide pools and sandstone caves and examines ancient...
Katie Gale A Coast Salish Woman's Life on Oyster Bay
De Danaan, Llyn.
Ebook
A gravestone, a mention in local archives, stories still handed down around Oyster Bay: the outline of a woman begins to emerge and with her the world she inhabited, so rich in tradition and shaken by violent change. Katie Kettle Gale was born into a Salish community in Puget Sound in the...
The killer whale who changed the world
Leiren-Young, Mark
Paper Book
The fascinating and heartbreaking account of the first publicly exhibited captive killer whale -- a story that forever changed the way we see orcas and sparked the movement to save them Killer whales had always been seen as bloodthirsty sea monsters. That all changed when a...
The nature of borders salmon, boundaries, and bandits on the Salish Sea
Wadewitz, Lissa K.
Ebook
Winner of the 2014 Albert Corey Prize from the American Historical Association Winner of the 2013 Hal Rothman Award from the Western History Association Winner of the 2013 John Lyman Book Award in the Naval and Maritime Science and Technology...
Octopus Ocean: Geniuses of the Deep
Leiren-Young, Mark
Paper Book
★"Vivid and fascinating...Budding scientists and animal lovers will keep this stellar title in full-circulation as they learn the mysteries and history of octopuses."--School Library Journal, starred review With their blue blood, big brains and eight arms, octopuses are dramatically...
The optimistic environmentalist : progressing towards a greener future
Boyd, David R.
Ebook
Orca Chief
Vickers, Roy Henry
Paper Book
Orca Chief is the third in a series of Northwest Coast legends by Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd. Their previous collaborations, Raven Brings the Light (2013) and Cloudwalker (2014), are award-winning national bestsellers. Thousands of years ago in the village of Kitkatla,...
Orcas of the Salish Sea
Leiren-Young, Mark
Paper Book
Meet Onyx and the orcas of J pod, the world's most famous whales. Illustrated with stunning photos, this picture book introduces young readers to the orcas humans first fell in love with. The members of J pod live in the Salish Sea, off the coast of Washington and British Columbia. Moby...
The Pacific
Freeman, Donald B.
Ebook
In this fascinating and exciting overview, Donald B. Freeman explores the role of the Pacific Ocean in human history. Covering over one third of the globe, the Pacific Ocean plays a vital role in the lives and fortunes of more than two billion people who live on its rim-lands and...
Pacific : silicon chips and surfboards, coral reefs and atom bombs, brutal dictators, fading empires, and the coming collision of the world's superpowers
Winchester, Simon
Paper Book
One of Library Journal's 10 Best Books of 2015 Following his acclaimed Atlantic and The Men Who United the States, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this...
PACIFIC COAST FISH FINDER: IDENTIFYING MARINE FISH OF THE PACIFIC COAST
RUSSO, RON
Paper Book
Identify marine fish of the Pacific Coast with this pocket-size guide. Whether you're snorkeling with your family or on a fishing trip in the Pacific, you're bound to encounter a variety of marine wildlife. If you're curious about the fish you see, then Pacific Coast Fish Finder<...
The Salish Sea : jewel of the Pacific Northwest
Benedict, Audrey D.
Paper Book
"The Salish Sea is a feast for the eyes, a high-quality publishing effort rich in glossy colour photos and fascinating biological information that is likely to surprise even someone well-versed in our marine waters." --The Vancouver Sun In stunning color...
A savage history whaling in the Pacific and Southern oceans
Newton, John Sefton.
Ebook
Nothing prepares you for your first sight of the world's largest mammal.Celebrated, revered, studied and increasingly watched for pleasure rather than hunted, whales hold particular allure. Humans have always been in awe of them, but for much of history we have been compelled to dominate and kill...
A song to save the Salish Sea : musical performance as environmental activism
Pedelty, Mark
Ebook
On the coast of Washington and British Columbia sit the misty forests and towering mountains of Cascadia. With archipelagos surrounding its shores and tidal surges of the Salish Sea trundling through the interior, this bioregion has long attracted loggers, fishing fleets, and land developers,...
Spirits of the coast : orcas in science, art and history
Black, Martha
Paper Book
"A magnificent journey alongside orcas, bringing these beautiful creatures to life." --Jay Ritchlin, David Suzuki Foundation Spirits of the Coast brings together the work of marine biologists, Indigenous knowledge keepers, poets, artists, and...
The sushi economy : globalization and the making of a modern delicacy
Issenberg, Sasha.
Paper Book
Journalist Sash Issenberg traces sushi's journey from Tokyo street snack to global delicacy, in this fascinating history. Issenberg examines not just the foodstuff itself, but the history, economics and businesses behind the famous fish recipes. It covers topics including the birth of modern sushi,...
Treaty justice : the Northwest tribes, the Boldt decision, and the recognition of fishing rights
Wilkinson, Charles F.
Ebook
"[D]eftly lays out one of the twentieth century's most significant and underestimated legal decisions."--New York Review of Books In 1974, Judge George Boldt issued a ruling that affirmed the fishing rights and tribal sovereignty of Native...
Voices for the Islands : Thirty Years of Nature Conservation on the Salish Sea
Harrington, Sheila.
Ebook
A fascinating compendium of stories chronicling the creation of local nature conservancies, and the people behind them, on seventeen islands on the Salish Sea from the 1990s to the present day. Voices for the Islands brings together the stories and experiences of those who rose to protect...
We Are Coast Salish : Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism, and Border Securitization
Hundley, James M.
Ebook

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