Under appropriate conditions, ocean waves may be modeled by certain nonlinear evolution equations that admit soliton solutions and can be solved exactly by the inverse scattering transform (IST). The theory of these special equations is developed in five lectures. As physical models, these equations typically govern the evolution of narrow-band packets of small amplitude waves on a long (post-linear) time scale. This is demonstrated in Lecture I, using the Korteweg-deVries equation as an example. Lectures II and III develop the theory of IST on the infinite interval. The close connection of aspects of this theory to Fourier analysis, to canonical transformations of Hamiltonian systems, and to the theory of analytic functions is established. Typical solutions, including solitons and radiation, are discussed as well. With periodic boundary conditions, the Korteweg-deVries equation exhibits recurrence, as discussed in Lecture IV. The fifth lecture emphasizes the deep connection between evolution equations solvable by IST and Painleve transcendents, with an application to the Lorenz model.