The fundamental point of this book is that, in the past, the world's political, economic, military and social development took place during a time of relatively stable sea level. That time, however, is now over: The world must begin to cope with rising seas.

This book is a wide-ranging introductory survey. It addresses global warming, the hydrologic cycle, why we should care about the rise of the oceans, storm surges and other extreme events, the changing seas and their shorelines, cities and countries of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian ocean basins, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Greenland Ice Sheet, case studies on how the Netherlands and the U.S. plan to cope with sea level rise, the likely impacts of this rise, getting to know the experts on sea level rise, and very long term prospects for the world's shorelines.