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Rodale to Publish Book By Actor & Oceans Activist, Ted Danson

RODALE TO PUBLISH BOOK BY ACTOR & OCEANS ACTIVIST, TED DANSON

Contact:
Yelena Gitlin Nesbit, Rodale Books
212-573-0296 | Yelena.gitlin@rodale.com

Annett Wolf, WKT Public Relations
(310) 887-0737 | AnnettW@wktpr.com


EMMAUS, PA, and NEW YORK, NY, January 21, 2010 - Rodale Books is proud to announce the acquisition of Ted Danson's forthcoming book, which will be a celebratory and cautionary look at the world's oceans. Best known for his character Sam Malone on the era-defining Cheers and more recently for his roles in HBO's critically acclaimed new series Bored to Death, and FX's Damages, Danson has also been a long-time crusader on behalf of marine issues. Having grown up with an archeologist father around the Hopi and Navajo communities of Flagstaff, Arizona, Danson never expected that he'd become an advocate on behalf of the earth's oceans. It wasn't until 1987, while walking along the California coastline with his daughter and seeing a "Beach Closed" sign, that the issue really hit home. Danson was saddened to find himself having to explain that pollution was responsible for the closing of the beach. Since then, he's made it his mission to ensure that those conversations don't continue to happen. Written with award-winning journalist Mike D'Orso, Danson's book represents a culmination of more than two decades of study, activism, and teaching and will provide a decisive, inspiring, and hopeful look at one of the most important environmental concerns of our time. Danson's access to leading scientists, fishermen, politicians and others on the forefront of this issue-along with his unique vantage point-will make for a lively, informative, and highly original look at the state of our planet's biggest and most vital natural resource. Danson is a founder of the influential non-profit American Oceans Campaign; serves on the board of Oceana (AOC merged with Oceana, the world's largest non-profit devoted to marine issues, in 2001); has testified before Congress and Senate on the subject; narrated the 2009 documentary The End of the Line (the first major feature documentary film to reveal the impact of over-fishing our oceans); and lectures regularly and widely on the topic.

Said Danson, "For over 20 years, I've been watching this issue grow and build in the public consciousness and I am convinced that we're now at a tipping point. The rise in awareness of, and fight against, climate change has convinced me that people are ready for a book to that brings to light the critical issues regarding the future of our oceans." Rodale Publishing Director, Colin Dickerman, acquired World Rights in a pre-empt from David Kuhn of Kuhn Projects. Said Dickerman, "As a publisher whose mission has long been to improve the lives of both people and planet, Rodale is uniquely suited to publish this exciting project. Like Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, we see Ted Danson's book as a game-changing call to action and an invaluable addition to our list."

The book will be a visually stunning package that combines photos, charts, and graphics with a gripping narrative, ensuring that it becomes an authorative primer on the subject. Danson will celebrate the beauty of the oceans, reveal the challenges to the marine life that inhabit them, and offer solutions that we must implement order to preserve them-both as individuals and as nations. In addition, Danson plans to tell his own story, detailing how he came to make ocean preservation his life's work.

"My goal is to inform, inspire, and empower readers with an engaging and accessible look at one of the most pressing issues of our time. I am delighted to be embarking on this journey with Rodale; their decades-long commitment to the conservation of our planet and its resources is in perfect alignment with my own. Together I am confident that we can bring this message to a wide and diverse audience-including those of us who can affect change now, as well those who will be leading us into the future."

The book will be published Winter 2011.

Ted Danson's versatility in both television and film makes him one of the most accomplished and credible actors today. From his feature film debuts in Joseph Wambaugh's The Onion Field in 1979 and Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat in 1981 to his starring role in the television series Cheers, Ted Danson has captivated worldwide audiences with his equally sensational dramatic and comedic performances. Danson currently stars in three critically acclaimed television shows: FX's legal drama Damages, HBO's Bored to Death and Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. In addition to winning two Emmys and three Golden Globe awards throughout his career, Danson has been nominated for 12 Emmys, 8 Golden Globes and one SAG Award.

Mike D'Orso is the bestselling author of over a dozen works of narrative nonfiction, including Plundering Paradise: The Hand of Man on the Galapagos Islands and Eagle Blue: A Team, A Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska. Honors for D'Orso's work include the Robert F. Kennedy Book of the Year Award (1998), the American Library Association's Nonfiction Book of the Year commendation, multiple Pulitzer Prize nominations, and inclusion in The New York Times "Notable Books of the Year" list (1998), as well as Newsweek's list of "50 Books of Our Times" (2009), among others.

A portion of Ted Danson's proceeds will be donated to Oceana.



About Rodale Inc.
Rodale is a global health and wellness content company reaching more than 70 million people around the world through multiple distribution channels, including magazines, books, online, e-commerce, direct-to-consumer, and video. Some of Rodale's leading media properties include Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health, and Runner's World, as well as a stable of bestselling books including Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, former FDA commissioner Dr. David A. Kessler's The End of Overeating, and Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet, among others.