The Naked Shore

Saturnine and quick-tempered, the formidable North Sea is often overlooked - even by those living within a stone's throw of its steel-grey waters. But as playground, theatre of war and cultural crossing-point, it has shaped the world in myriad ways, forged villains and heroes, and determined the fates of nations. It's not all grim, though: the seaside holiday was born on North Sea beaches, and artists, poets and writers have been as equally inspired by glinting sun on the wave-tops as they have the drama of a winter storm. With a wry eye and a warm coat, Tom Blass travels the edges of the North Sea meeting fishermen, artists, bomb disposal experts, burgermeisters - and those who have found themselves flung to the sea's perimeters quite by chance. In doing so he attempts to piece together its manifold histories and to reveal truths, half-truths and fictions otherwise submerged...

From the banks of the River Humber, to the bedrock of London, through the winding streets of Antwerp, past the remote island of Schiermonnikoog and beyond the unkempt and evocative Danish shores of Jutland, Blass travels far and wide, skilfully capturing the spirit of each place to ensure the reader feels the scope and variety of the journey without feeling rushed off their feet.