Under the Sea-Wind is Carson's first book, a work of nature writing that follows sea creatures through their lives. It is told in three parts, centred on a shore bird on the coast, a mackerel in the open ocean, and an eel making its long journey. The animals are shown in their own worlds, hunting, hiding, migrating and raising young, without human characters at the centre.
Carson draws on careful scientific knowledge but writes in a storyteller's voice, giving readers a feeling of life beneath and beside the waves. It was published just before the Second World War drew attention elsewhere, and it found its larger audience later.