Woodard's book does for the oceans what Mark Herstgaard's "Earth Odessy" did for the rest of the planet. It sounds the alarm of environment degredation. Lie Herstgaard, Woodard does not just sit around and speculate, he travelled to the world's environmental trouble spots and reports what he saw. Particularly chilling is his description of the "death" of the Black Sea and how a similar fate might befall the Gulf of Mexico. Like Herstgaard, Woodard offers solutions for the environmental crises he describes, however unlikely that they might ever be enacted by world governments. For the most part, this is quite a compelling book.

Balanced and written smartly, this book is impressive for its depth and scope of coverage. Moreover, Woodard's style of allowing the facts and science to speak above the opinions and guesses (which perhaps out number the former) is compelling. Excellence from a first-time author.

Ocean's End is one of the most compelling examples of how bad Coastal Zone policy has destroyed vast areas of ocean and shore. It is not too strong a point that human beings in recent history have behaved themselves very, very badly as they looted the seas and dumped their waste and industrial toxins down river or directly into the sea. I am using this book in my International Integrated Coastal Zone Management class as the first assigned textbook. (...)

Why? Because I want my graduate students to first see how wonderful the world's oceans and coastal zones are and secondly, how incredibly stupid and short sighted we can be as we mismanage our responsibilities as stewards of these ecosystems. Colin Woodward has done a wonderful job of narrating a gripping, exciting, and enfuriating story from the killing of the Black Sea to the plundering of the Newfoundland Grand Banks and all of the other case studies in between.

This is a book worth reading and also one that is compellingly interesting and enjoyable. Take it on your next trip or read it and then take my web-based graduate class in International Coastal Management. You'll be ahead of yourself!