The British National Institute of Oceanography was founded in 1949. Therefore, many of the people involved in its formation are available to recount the history of the institute. Laughton, a member of the institute since 1955 and director of the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, has allowed the other early participants to tell their own stories. Circumpolar expeditions, whale studies, research in ocean currents and the composition of sea water, and mapping the ocean floor are just some of the projects they worked on. The personality of the first director, the late George Deacon, shines in the tribute by his daughter and throughout the memoir. This differs from other institutional histories in that it is told by those who were there, which makes it not only more interesting but of great benefit to future historians. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)