Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Sea Inside cover art

The Sea Inside

By: Philip Hoare
Narrated by: Philip Pope
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.82

Buy Now for $25.82

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

A startling book, his most personal to date, from Philip Hoare, co-curator of the Moby-Dick Big Read and winner of the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize for Leviathan.

The sea surrounds us. It gives us life, provides us with the air we breathe and the food we eat. It is ceaseless change and constant presence. It covers two-thirds of our planet. Yet caught up in our everyday lives, we barely notice it.

In The Sea Inside, Philip Hoare sets out to rediscover the sea, its islands, birds and beasts. He begins on the south coast where he grew up, a place of almost monastic escape. From there he travels to the other side of the world - the Azores, Sri Lanka, New Zealand - in search of encounters with animals and people. Navigating between human and natural history, he asks what these stories mean for us now.

Along the way we meet an amazing cast; from scientists to tattooed warriors; from ravens to whales and bizarre creatures that may, or may not, be extinct. Part memoir, part fantastical travelogue, The Sea Inside takes us on an astounding journey of discovery.

©2021 Philip Hoare (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"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 beautifully written mixture of travelogue and essay.... Hoare has invented a new genre: an elegy for something not yet lost." (David Evans, Independent on Sunday)

"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)

What listeners say about The Sea Inside

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.