Deep : Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves

New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • An Amazon Best Science Book of 2014 • Scientific American Recommended Read

Fascinated by the sport of freediving—in which competitors descend to great depths on a single breath—James Nestor embeds with a gang of ocean-going extreme athletes and renegade researchers. He finds whales that communicate with other whales hundreds of miles away, sharks that swim in unerringly straight lines through pitch-black waters, and other strange phenomena. Most illuminating of all, he learns that these abilities are reflected in our own remarkable, and often hidden, potential—including echolocation, directional sense, and the profound lessons in underwater physiology humans experience when submerged.

In this gripping work of adventure nonfiction, Nestor unlocks his own freediving skills as he communes with the pioneers who are expanding our definition of what is possible in the natural world, and in ourselves. Journey from the ocean's surface to its darkest trenches and discover a hidden world of communicating whales, navigating sharks, and the "Master Switch of Life"—the profound and often hidden bodily changes that turn us into efficient deep-sea diving animals the moment we're submerged.

This thrilling blend of popular science and immersive journalism reveals our surprising connection to the ocean, exploring the startling evidence that humans share extraordinary abilities with marine mammals—including the ability to see without opening our eyes.