Pacific: An Undersea Journey

On assignments for National Geographic , Doubilet ( Light in the Sea ) has journeyed across, around and above the Pacific Ocean. Here, he takes us on an underwater tour from the North Pacific near Vancouver to the ocean's southern limits in New Zealand, from Japan to the Great Barrier Reef and islands in between. The text recording his adventures is overshadowed by his stunning photographs. In 144 color images we see the kelp forests of California's Monterey Bay, sea lions at play in the Galapagos, the remnants of WW II in the Solomons and Papua New Guinea (Doubilet discovered equal-sized piles of Coca-Cola cans and antiaircraft shells north of Guadalcanal). He takes his readers on dives in the Palau chain, caves in New Zealand, vast coral fields in New Guinea. Doubilet describes the Great Barrier Reef as an oceanic wilderness. Readers who enjoy diving, travel and adventure will treasure this book. (Nov.)