At a relatively shallow depth of ocean, our real knowledge of what goes on down below—and of what kind of creatures inhabit the midnight waterscape—is as primitive as our knowledge of conditions on Mercury. This fascinating volume focuses on one inhabitant of that realm, the lordly giant squid, long the subject of lore and legend.

Our planet's oceans are the original font of mysteries, one of which is the origin and lifespan of monster waves some one-hundred-feet high. Susan Casey's dual focus blends the science of such anomalies with a Tom Wolfean examination of the madmen who would surf these enormous mountains of water.