“The Reef: A Passionate History: The Great Barrier Reef From Captain Cook To Climate Change” by Iain McCalman tells the story of northeast Australia’s 1430 mile-long natural marvel from its discovery by European explorers to the ravages of climate change.

“Just who discovered the reef is a matter of conjecture. Certainly Captain James Cook encountered it in 1770 as he charted Australia’s east coast in His Majesty’s bark Endeavour.” “Those who have dived into its pristine reaches know firsthand that it is one of Earth’s natural wonders—a coral world of exceptional beauty and diversity. Yet as Iain McCalman’s “passionate history” of the reef makes clear, it is also a stage on which dreams, ambitions, and great human tragedies have been played out. He tells his story by chronicling lives that, either inadvertently or intentionally, have shaped our perception of the coralline labyrinth.”

Photo: greatbarrierreef.org