The Activist

When Thomas Durand embarks on a cycling trip around Britain with two fellow students, his life changes forever. A chance encounter inspires Thomas to leave home and drop out of university. As he roams, his eyes are opened to the harm inflicted by humans on the natural world. Driven by an increasingly passionate interest in marine conservation, what begins as a typical gap-year turns into a decades worth of activism on the open ocean. Here the stakes are highest of all: Thomas enlists with Sea Shepherd, a controversial organisation dedicated to the protection of marine life. It is a commitment that will soon place his life in danger. The story follows Thomas, from his first tentative steps into the life of an activist in Vancouver, to his battles with a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. An ecological thriller, The Activist will shock and inspire anyone with an interest in marine life, conservation and the splendour of the natural world. Without preaching, it is also a clear-eyed demonstration of why this cause is worth fighting for.