Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Seat and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn wins the award for the longest subtitle. I was fascinated by the story of the rubber ducks lost at sea and their migration half-way around the world. I heard the story on a news program a while back, and I was excited to find a book about it.

It turns out that there were four types of bath toys in the original set - frog, turtle, beaver, and duck. The story is good. I'm amazed at Hohn's dedication (and perseverance) to go on all these sea adventures to track the ducks.

The book is an interesting read. Hohn is a journalist who journeys in search of the places the oceanographers and environmentalists usually travel. I learned more about the Pacific Garbage Patch and its path. I want to visit some of the secluded shores in Alaska and Hawaii.

Hohn does a good job of tracing the history of how children and their toys have been perceived over several hundreds of years. He ties the color of traditional rubber ducks (yellow and white with blue eyes) to a Victorian penchant for cherubic, blonde/blue-eyed images of children. Ernie and Bert, Al Gore, and Sarah Palin make appearances in the book from time to time too.

The adventure and the story of the rubber bath toy migration were fun. I got bogged down in the detail of the oceanography terms and the science of plastics.

He dispels a lot of environmental myths and legends about plastics and pollution. I loved the crying Native American in the 1970s commercial for Keep America Beautiful. That and Woodsy Owl inspired me to recycle and reuse. He burst my bubble about the ad's true sponsor and the fact that the actor wasn't Native American.

It's a good read, and it heightens awareness about how much pollution is really out there.