Spineless

In Spineless, acclaimed photographer Susan Middleton explores the mysterious and surprising world of marine invertebrates, which represent more than 98 percent of the known animal species in the ocean.

Foreword by Sylvia A. Earle

This collection of more than 250 remarkable images is the result of seven years of painstaking fieldwork across the Pacific Ocean, using photographic techniques that Middleton developed to capture these extremely fragile creatures on camera, creatures who are astonishingly diverse in their shapes, patterns, textures, and colors—in nature’s fashion show, they are the haute couture of marine life. Middleton also provides short essays that examine the place these invertebrates occupy on the tree of life, their vast array of forms, and their lives in the ocean.

Scientist Bernadette Holthuis contributes profiles describing each species, many of them for the first time. Middleton’s book is a stunning view of nature that harmoniously combines art and science.

“A gorgeous, light-drenched book that treats the senses. In one exquisitely crafted portrait after another, accompanied by stirring prose, Middleton reminds us that we share the planet with equally fascinating neighbors, some of whom just happen to live beneath the waves.” —Diane Ackerman, author of The Human Age