Stung! – On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean

“The Australian jellyfish expert, Gershwin, tells the story of jellyfish and human plunder of the oceans in Stung!.Stung! evokes the danger of jellyfish blooms but, even more fundamentally, it is about the real stung effect of the collapsing oceans. Stung! is extremely important, well written, and well documented.”– “Huffington Post”

“‘Jellyfish populations are exploding into superabundances and exploiting these changes in ways that we could never have imagined… and in some cases driving them, ‘ explains biologist Gershwin in her brilliant book Stung!, a fascinating read.”– “Quartz”

“Read this book! You know that the oceans are in trouble, but this is the most comprehensive and clear explanation of why. Stung! is more than just a book about jellyfish; it is undoubtedly one of the best books detailing the stresses on our ocean ecosystems. It is a much needed and spectacular achievement.”
–Paul Dayton, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

“Reading this book should inspire heightened respect for these typically translucent creatures, some notable for their sophisticated stinging apparatus, some for their rainbow-colored bands of iridescent cilia, some for their ability to flash, sparkle or glow with their own living light–all, in a sense, ‘living fossils, ‘ considering their ancient lineage. . . . By picking out jellyfish and telling their stories, Lisa-ann Gershwin masterfully shows how they and we are hitched together–and to everything else in the universe.”
–Sylvia Earle, from the Foreword

“This well-researched book is not just about jellyfish, but rather about the current and future state of the world’s oceans. Gershwin has done a superb job of summarizing all of the various indignities people have inflicted on the marine world, from pollution, overfishing, acidification, and invasive species, to the problem of eutrophication and dead zones. As she guides readers through the basics of jellyfish biology, she shows how the characteristics of these animals make them ideally suited to over stressed environments and gives examples of how they have already done just that. . . . Highly recommended.”– “Choice”

“Vivid, lively, and enthralling! The world of jellyfish is brought alive as you never imagined it could be by Lisa-ann Gershwin in this engaging, gripping, and often funny book. Stung! is an enthusiastic guide to the extraordinary story of jellyfish, a group that dominated the world oceans of half a billion years ago, and in present form, may come to do so again if we don’t curb the rising tide of human damage to the sea.”
–Callum Roberts, author of The Ocean of Life

“A comprehensive summary of the irresistible rise of an arguably unstoppable creature.”
— “Nature”

“Gershwin is a scientist who can write. She is a scientist, a conservationist, a public conscience, and a prophet. ‘Prophet’ is a mantle which nobody dons willingly because part of the definition of ‘prophet’ is that nobody listens to the warning until it is too late. It is probably not too late yet. So read Stung!. Then start making noise.”– “Audubon”