The Reef: A Passionate History

Description

There has never been a more critical time for the Great Barrier Reef. Our greatest natural landmark is now in danger of being lost forever. In The Reef, Iain McCalman delivers the first social, cultural and environmental history of this fragile global treasure. Describing twelve key encounters between people, places, ideas and biosystems, McCalman argues that the Reef was created by human minds as well as coral polyps, by imaginations as well as natural processes. Brilliantly readable and constantly surprising, The Reef enshrines the stories behind the formation of this unique phenomenon and chronicles our shifting perceptions of it.

Iain McCalman was born in Nyasaland, Africa in 1947 and now lives in Sydney, where he is research professor at the University of Sydney. He has held numerous visiting research fellowships in Britain and the United States, including at All Souls, Oxford, and most recently at the Californian University of Technology, Pasadena. In 1994 he was awarded the inaugural Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence at the Australian National University, and in 2007 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to history and the humanities. His previous books include The Seven Ordeals of Count Cagliostro, which has been translated into twelve languages, and he has been a historical consultant and narrator for a number of documentaries and films. www.the-reef.com.au