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The Outlaw Ocean

Crime and Survival in the Last Untamed Frontier

Ian Urbina author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:16th Jul '20

Should be back in stock very soon

The Outlaw Ocean cover

A riveting, adrenalin-fuelled tour of the unbridled extremes of human behaviour and activity in that vast, lawless and rampantly criminal world that few have ever seen- the high seas.

'Just incredible' Naomi Klein
'Gripping and shocking...with the pace of a thriller' The Times

A New York Times bestseller, The Outlaw Ocean is a riveting, adrenalin-fuelled tour of a vast, lawless and rampantly criminal world that few have ever seen: the high seas.

The oceans are some of the last untamed frontiers on our planet.

Too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these treacherous waters play host to the extremes of human behaviour and activity.

From traffickers, smugglers and pirates to vigilante conservationists, stowaways and seabound abortion-providers, Ian Urbina introduces us to the inhabitants of this hidden world and their risk-fraught lives. Through their extraordinary stories, he uncovers a globe-spanning network of crime and exploitation that emanates from the fishing, oil and shipping industries - but to which all of us are connected.

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2019

'An astonishing book about a world most of us don't even know exists' Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland

'An outstanding investigation of a global criminal culture on the high seas' Guardian

'Truly important... A complex portrait of an unseen and disturbing world' New York Times

Gripping and shocking by turns … Most of the book clips along with the pace of a thriller … stomach-churningly tense … as outlandish and as thrilling as a heist film * The Times *
Just incredible -- Naomi Klein
Urbina has written an astonishing book about a world most of us don't even know exists. These are dispatches from the lawless ocean - of traffickers, slaves, heroes, gangsters, crooks and scoundrels - which will amaze, enthral and appal you -- Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland
Incredible, readable, riveting -- Sam Walker * Wall Street Journal *
You simply have to read this -- Karen Tumulty * Washington Post *
Staggering -- Oliver Franklin-Walles * Wired *
[A] remarkable piece of reportage… Gripping, visceral and often deeply shocking * Big Issue *

  • Long-listed for Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2019 (UK)

ISBN: 9781529111392

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 34mm

Weight: 407g

560 pages