Hoare, P: Sea Inside

Philip Hoare's is the author of several books, including 'Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant'; 'Noel Coward'; 'Oscar Wilde's Last Stand'; 'Spike Island'; 'England's Lost Eden'; and 'Leviathan, or, The Whale', winner of the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. He lives in Southampton.

From the reviews of 'The Sea Inside': 'As bracing as a great blustery lungful of ozone-filled air ... Hoare has wonderful, almost child-like relish for colourful stories and incredible facts ... His passionate engagement will infect you. As you close this book, you will probably feel as ecstatic as the author does after one of his cold morning dips.' Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times 'A passionate, wonderfully engaging book ... His oceanic pursuit of the most remarkable animals on the planet has produced two books of the utmost interest.' Christopher Hirst, Independent 'This enthralling book exhibits Hoare's talent both for writing about nature and for bringing to life the human dramas played out over centuries on or beside the beach.' Ian Critchley, Sunday Times 'Everything he writes is remarkably interesting, and always expressed in his singular prose, at the one and the same time both exact and numinous ... Hoare's enthusiasms are boundless ... packed full of strange delights - perhaps a bit of a ragbag, but what rags! And what a bag!' Craig Brown, Main on Sunday **** 'The range, variety and enthusiasm of the whole performance ... elevates the work into the realm of sheer entertainment. The pace is exhilarating. The learning is profound. The surprises are tumultuous and the simple love of nature, in all its forms ... is a delight.' Jan Morris, Sunday Telegraph 'Ceaselessly fascinating ... In flowing, liquid prose, Hoare is drawn back and forth from story to story, place to place ... This is a magnificent book.' Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times 'A profound and lyrical love affair.' Bella Bathurst, Observer 'Hoare weaves together stories of magic, faith and fear, of wilderness, destruction, mortality and nature's often savage beauty ... This is a work where it pays to go with the flow.' Gerard Henderson, Daily Express **** 'Glorious stuff.' Caspar Henderson, Guardian