Iain McCalmanRecensioni

Loved this book. Nicely ties together the voyages of Darwin, hooker Huxley and Wallace and refutes those who try to accuse Darwin of having mistreated Wallace.

I liked the idea of telling the story of the reef through notable people... but I just felt like it unfolded in a strange way. First half covered history of white settlement and second half tried to cover the emergence of a conservation mindset and the evolution of the science. Just didn't quite work for mine.½

Imagine adventures on the high seas where intrepid explorers endure rough seas, extreme cold, heat, bandits and disease. Imagine exploration of foreign lands and foreign people. Imagine an intense, protracted struggle to introduce a new area of science amidst fierce opposition from religious circles and the scientific establishment.

The science of evolution developed out of the struggles and insights of these brave explorers during their journeys. This book captures these adventures in individual stories that overlap into a complete rendering of the birth of the theory of evolution.

Darwin may of been given credit for the theory of evolution, but he had help from his friends. Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Wallace all set sail motivated by the desire to further understand the world they lived in and the mechanisms that shaped life. All came backed changed men with exciting insights and observations on native people, plants and wildlife. Wallace spent years in Brazil. Hooker made it to the South Pole. Darwin landed on the Galapagos Islands. Huxley found the love of his life during his time exploring the south seas.

I really enjoyed this book. It isn't so much about the fundamental details about evolution as it is about the adventure and discoveries that lead to the formation of the theory. The first 2/3 of the book is dedicated to the separate voyages of Darwin, Wallace, Huxley and Hooker. The last 1/3 of the book deals with the friendships developed between the men, and the fight that occurred to firmly establish the theory. While Darwin gets the credit, Wallace developed similar ideas during the same time. Huxley and Hooker also contributed to the science of evolution with their individual insights with plants and wildlife and their unwavering support of Darwin and his theory.

If you like an adventure story, a love story and a story of scientific revolution, then this book is for you.

Recommended.

I have a fairly balanced amount of non-fiction in my reading diet, making up a consistent 25% or so of what I read. But it tends most often to be philosophy/theory or some kind of personal history/memoir, and not as much of the pure history or science. This book combines the two, really, providing an account of historical interactions with and scientific explorations of the Great Barrier Reef. It's very well-written and with the deeply personal narrative drive of the book it's easy to become invested in. Each chapter introduces us to a new figure, detailed in around 20 pages, while we linger in or return to our familiar (though vast and changeable) setting.

I'd been a little misled by the introduction and thought that the second part of the book would feature more accounts of indigenous people interacting with the Reef, and I was quite excited to hear some of these stories. However, the second part was more about the white travellers interacting with or reacting to indigenous groups. I understand, because there is far more written material for McCalman to work with, and he does give due mention of the unintended misunderstandings between the players, as well as the intentional misinterpretation recorded by whites with political or economic agendas. Still, I feel a bit bereft with having this history of interactions with an amazing geological feature, one which must have been significant in the lives of the people on Australia's north-east shore, that never fully explores how indigenous peoples understood it. McCalman makes a vague mention of a different geo-spatial understanding of the Reef, of ocean and land, and how our understanding of what the Reef is is still only a construct, a view through a frame we take for granted, but he never follows that thread.

An excellent micro-history, well written, full of adventure in the best tradition of exploring land, sea, and mind.

Joy's review: The story of the Great Barrier Reef as told the biographies of 12 individuals for whom the Reef featured prominently in their life. I thought this was a great way to present the cultural, natural and geographical history of this fantastic natural phenomenon. It's an incredibly interesting cast of characters and a wonderful book.½

Reads like a fascinating account of those who researched the GBF since Captain Cook, but ends with the inevitable consequence that modern scientists continue to reach, namely that coral is the canary in the coal mine we have been watching slowly perish.
If there was a more blatant example of the stupidity, greed and complacency of humans I'd be surprised. And now it's too late.
Go and see it soon for by 2050 it will be no more.

McCalman's book is a gem.
Describes how the scientific understanding of four of the founders of evolutionary theory was influenced by their respective years of exploration and personal field work in the Southern Hemisphere.
These voyagers inclued Charles Darwin's circumnavitation of the globe (of course) from 1831-36, Joseph Hooker (the botanist who becam Darwin's close friend who accompanied the Ross expedition to Antarctica and the islands in the Southern Ocean) from 1839-43, Thomas Huxley who joined the Rattlesnake's expedition along the east coast of Australia from Sydney to Cape York and southeastern New Guinea from 1846-50, and Alfred Wallace from 1848-66 in the Amazon and SE Asia.
Darwin and Wallace independently developed the understanding of how variation, accompanied by excess reproduction and selective elimination led to change through time and the evolution of new species. Hooker and Huxley, together with Wallace had the understanding, energy and determination to publicize and defend the theory.
The last part of the book explores the publication, conflicts and defense of the theory from its publication in 1859 through to Darwin's death in 1882.
The narrative is brisk and compelling, and the science is well explained. Even though I am an evolutionary biologist, I learned a lot of history about Hooker, Huxley and Wallace that I did not know. There are few books on the history of science that one could call page-turners that are difficult to put down. This is one.

recommended by Steve Rose. Not yet sure why