The Reef: A Passionate History by Iain McCalman

Judges' comments

Ian McCalman’s The Reef: A Passionate History describes 12 encounters with the Great Barrier Reef. It begins with the explorations of Captain Cook and Matthew Flinders and concludes with the contemporary story of naturalist John ‘Charlie’ Vernon, one of the world’s foremost experts on the reef’s abundant marine life. In between, its subjects range from Eliza Frazer’s notorious tale of being shipwrecked among the Aboriginal people, to arguments generated between Darwinists and creationists in the nineteeth century by the Reef’s extraordinary natural beauty, to how that beauty has inspired environmentalists and writers such as Judith Wright.

The Reef: A Passionate History lives up to its title: it is indeed a passionate book. Written in an engaging and accessible style, it is a heartfelt argument for the importance of the reef, not only as a unique and precious natural wonder, but as a site of great historical, scientific and cultural significance. The individual chapters work as fascinating self-contained narratives, and together they open up a multifaceted view of this wondrous subject. The book culminates in a frank acknowledgement of the existential threat now posed to the reef by its ongoing environmental degradation. The Reef is not only a vibrant history, but a work that speaks urgently to the present.