The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is 344 400 square kilometres in size and is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. This comprehensive guide describes the organisms and ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as the biological, chemical and physical processes that influence them. Contemporary pressing issues such as climate change, coral bleaching, coral disease and the challenges of coral reef fisheries are also discussed.

In addition, the book includes a field guide that will help people to identify the common animals and plants on the reef, then to delve into the book to learn more about the roles the biota play.

Beautifully illustrated and with contributions from thirty-three international experts, The Great Barrier Reef is a must-read for the interested reef tourist, student, researcher and manager. While it has an Australian focus, it can equally be used as a baseline text for most Indo-Pacific coral reefs.

Marine Sergeant George P. Hutchings landed in Vietnam in 1967. Fighting near the northern Province of Quan Tri, he was deployed on hundreds of combat missions, even the dreaded nighttime "Scorpion" maneuvers. A riveting survival story, written in his matter-of-fact "in your face" style - from his entire battalion being ambushed and nearly all killed in the jungles of Medina, October 12, 1967, to his "mooning" the North Vietnamese as they shelled him on his way to the outhouse, you will not put this book down. Operation Ford, north of Phue Pi, March 18, 1968; George was caught in crossfire and shot three times in the hip with an AK-47. Acting dead as a Vietcong stuck him with a bayonet, George shot him in the head. Medi-vacced out, George was awarded the Purple Heart. Follow George's journey from a dysfunctional youth, to seeing his friends blown to pieces in the muddy battlefields of Southeast Asia, to his difficult readjustment to civilian life. His heart bare, George shares how he fell in love and after years of searching, discovered his purpose in life, which led him to his present day international projects delivering much needed medical supplies to countries in Africa. Perhaps his greatest survival skill is to never let situations get him demoralized.