Winner PEN/USA, John Burroughs Medal, Kiriyama Prize, Northern California Book Award, finalist Dayton Literary Peace Prize

A mesmerizing, scientifically rich portrait of teeming coral reefs in the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Society Islands, and off the tiny island nation of Tuvalu. THE FRAGILE EDGE takes us beneath the surface of the usual travel narrative—to the underwater equivalent of an African big game safari, where hammerhead sharks rule a cascading chain of extraordinary underwater creatures from eagle rays to reef sharks, while the sounds of courting humpback whales reverberate through the deep.

For Julia Whitty, veteran oceanic documentary writer and producer, revelations both profound and informed ping from all directions. Loath to trade on Shark Week sensibilities, her rapture is more subtle, grand, intelligent and cosmological; and her primary devotion is to the coral reefs. Whitty’s prose is supple and scientifically informed (a rare and graceful mix), and her intimacies with the ocean’s curiosities captivate. Holly Morris, author, Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind of Heroine, Holly Morris, The New York Times Book Review

Writer and filmmaker Julia Whitty will make even the most landlocked among us feel that we have been privy to the mystery and wonder of the undersea world.The product of a scientist's mind, a sociologist's eye, a Zen Buddhist's soul, and a poet's heart, The Fragile Edge is at once a natural history, a call to action, a love song, and a prayer. Pam Houston, author, Cowboys Are My Weakness and Sight Hound, in Pam Houston, O, the Oprah Magazine

Julia Whitty is emerging as one of the must-read voices about the wet three-quarters of the planet, what we're doing to it, and why it should matter to us. This book has some foreboding, but basically it's a marvelous love story, of an affair with salt water and all its mysteries. Bill McKibben, author, Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities & the Durable Future

Forget treacly chick lit. For true escapism, nothing beats living vicariously through someone else's passion: the more exotic the better. This is why armchair travelers are sure to swoon over Julia Whitty's transporting read about her experiences diving off the coasts of South Pacific islands with such impossibly romantic-sounding names as Rangiroa, Tuvalu, and Mo'orea. Like the best nature writers, Whitty is both clear-eyed and spiritual about her subject, which in her case is even more exotic than, well, diving in the South Pacific. The author's work as a National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentarian led to an obsession with coral reefs, and her fascination with these fragile and beautiful ecosystems is the thread that binds together this elegantly observed account. As one might expect, there are plenty of adventures and colorful characters dotting the narrative, but in the end, this is a moving and illuminating love story about one woman and the fathomless deep. Elle Magazine

For those of us who can't visit the South Pacific, television documentary writer and producer Whitty gives us the next best thing. Her way with language—at times reminiscent of Lynne Cox's poetical "Grayson" -- makes readers feel they are actually part of the coral reef atoll environment, both above and below the surface. Library Journal

The Fragile Edge by Julia Whitty was for me a rich new experience, and not only because I'm a landlubber. Whitty serves a riveting and intimate adventure into the unimaginably diverse and exciting world of the South Pacific ocean world. She is at home in the scientific details and breathes life into them through a rare global perspective that puts everything into the proper perspective. A must-read.  Bernd Heinrich, author, Ravens in Winter and Bumblebee Economics

Julia Whitty is one of those rare writers who can entertain and inspire us while educating us about our exotic planet. She has a Rachel Carson-like gift for precise and illuminating prose... The Fragile Edge is so vivid and wise that it pulls you under to explore the exotic coral reefs yourself and leaves you feeling dazzled, enlightened, and concerned. Jim Lynch, author, The Highest Tide

She allows the reader to view the world of the coral reef as a living, almost intelligent organism integral to human life. This important book makes clear the absolute urgency of saving the coral reefs of the world. It is a brilliantly written work that inspires us to do just that. Ted Danson, film actor, ocean activist, BlueVoice.org