The Great Barrier Reef

• Part I. Navigators and Naturalists in the Age of Sail: 1. Quest for the great south land; 2. Voyage of the 'Endeavour': Cook and the Labyrinth; 3. Endeavour naturalists: 'a separate creation'; 4. Matthew Flinders: voyage of The Investigator; 5. The reef explored: early surveys 1821–1844; 6. Reef charts completed 1846–1862; 7. The reef as a maritime highway: colony of Queensland 1859–1900; 8. From natural history to science, 1850–1900: voyages of the Challenger and Chevert; 9. Exploitation and resource raiding 1860–1890; 10. For maximum yield: reef biology; Part II. A New Era in Reef Awareness from Scientific Investigation to Conservation and Heritage: 11. Origin and structure of coral reefs: from Forster to Darwin; 12. Darwin's legacy: coral reef controversy 1863–1923; 13. Exploitation challenged rise of ecology: the subversive science; 14. Reef research and controversy 1920–1930; 15. The Low Isles expedition 1928–1929: Planning and preparation; 16. Biological research of the Low Isles expedition; 17. From depression to war: tourism, conservation and science 1929–1939; 18. The Pacific War and its aftermath; 19. A new problem: the conservation controversy 1958–1972; 20. Crisis resolution: formation of an environmental management authority; 21. A new era: research-based management; 22. The reef under pressure: problems of management; 23. The reef as heritage: a challenge for the future.

Review of the hardback: '… a work of dazzling accomplishment, meticulously researched and scientifically accurate … the Bowen's book is …a classic, which will doubtless be referred to as long as interest in the Reef persists'. The Times Literary Supplement