The Fragile Edge: Diving and Other Adventures in the South Pacific

In The Fragile Edge, the documentary filmmaker and deep-sea diver Julia Whitty paints a mesmerizing, scientifically rich portrait of teeming coral reefs and sea life in the South Pacific. She takes us literally beneath the surface of the usual travel narrative, in an underwater equivalent of an African big-game safari. Hammerhead sharks rule a cascading chain of extraordinary creatures, from eagle rays to reef sharks, as the sound of courting humpback whales reverberates through the deep. Inspiring for both armchair and expert divers, The Fragile Edge reveals how science can extend our understanding of unfathomable waters, opening our eyes to the threats facing coral reefs and explaining why these fragile oases are vital to human survival. In this passionate, spiritual narrative of her adventures in the big blue, Julia Whitty emerges as one of our finest writers on the mystery, beauty, and fragility of the undersea world.

Julia Whitty is the award-winning author of the short story collection A Tortoise for the Queen of Tonga. Her cover articles have appeared in Harper’s Magazine and Mother Jones, where she is an environmental correspondent and blogger for the Blue Marble. She has produced seventy documentaries for PBS, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, and others. Whitty lives in northern California.