THE UNNATURAL HISTORY OF THE SEA by Callum Roberts; Island Press, hardback, $28

Fish have long served as a religious food, a mark of status and a means of making a living, its oil the parent of our current petroleum dependence. But whereas many still view fish as a seemingly inexhaustible resource, Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of York in England, asserts in his new book that society's collective amnesia has created disastrous consequences for our oceans. With accessible, intimate prose, Roberts sets out to remind politicians, fishery and environmental managers and the public that the current depletion of marine life is far from normal, and without attention fish may soon be unavailable for human consumption.

By anchoring this call to action in evocative excerpts from historical diaries, printed chronicles, archeological record and descriptive eyewitness accounts, Roberts reminds us that our current state of overfished oceans is rooted in the emergence of commercial sea fishing in 11th-century Europe. From there the book spans centuries, charting changes in fish consumption and trade patterns, mainly in Europe and the New World, while detailing explorers' exploitation of sea life — from whaling to walrusing, sealing to trawling-through to resulting extermination of aquatic species today.

The accounts presented in "The Unnatural History of the Sea" provide compelling comparison benchmarks and expose the harm done by mankind's continued view of wildlife solely as commodity.

GUARDIANS OF THE SEA: Jizo in Hawai'i by John R.K. Clark; UH Press, paper, $19.95

Perhaps one reason that books by former deputy fire chief and one-time Sandy Beach lifeguard John Clark are so admired is, paradoxically, because he keeps himself out of them. For his latest book, Clark interviewed more than 300 people and fossicked through countless microfilm reels of Hawai'i's English- and Japanese-language publications, to recount how the Buddhist bodhisattva Jizo came to guard Japanese fishermen and all Islanders.

If Clark plays the role of objective historian, then the environment, particularly the Koko Head, Bamboo Ridge and North Shore areas of O'ahu, is his principal source. These cliffs and shores perfect for catching ulua also see the biggest waves, so issei fishermen began dying the moment they began fishing. "When the situation on O'ahu became intolerable, it triggered an unusual response," writes Clark in his typically lucid, unassuming style. Members of the Honolulu Japanese Casting Club erected three statues of Jizo, as well as wooden obelisks at the site of each drowning — a practice modeled today by Honolulu Emergency Services at the Portlock Point cliffs — to serve as memorial and warning.

"Guardian of the Sea" offers a thorough history of Jizo, but is foremost a map of our environment, through which the history of the plantation era, Japanese immigration, wartime internment, and the persistence of Japanese culture unfolds.

"BREAK THROUGH: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility" by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger; Houghton Miffling, hardback, $25

In 2004, two well-known environmentalists released a pamphlet at a conference calling on greenies to replace "doomsday discourse" with a powerful, positive vision a la Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. To their surprise, it was debated not just among insiders, but by a diverse global audience including National Public Radio, Internet forums, corporate executives and students. Realizing their influence, Nordhaus and Shellenberger have expanded their treatise in "Break Through," examining why current environmental politics must "die," but also offering a practical vision of how to better address the global warming crisis.

This methodically researched book provides an atlas of the cultural and philosophical underpinnings of environmental issues. It also breaks down why sacrifice-based solutions such as simply reducing emissions won't work, and instead presents specific, thoroughly investigated plans centered on caring for people and investing in technological innovation.

Read more of Christine Thomas' reviews at www.literarylotus.com.