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

by Julia Whitty

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Nature, Science, Conservation, Travelogue, Environment

304 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2007

About the author

JULIA WHITTY was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and emigrated as a child to the United States with her Tasmanian father and Anglo-Indian mother. She holds dual American and Australian citizenships.

Her latest award-winning book THE FRAGILE EDGE:DIVING & OTHER ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2007.

Her first book A TORTOISE FOR THE QUEEN OF TONGA is an award-winning collection of short stories published by Houghton Mifflin in 2002 and translated into German by Marebuchverlag and Italian by Sartorio Editore.

She's Environmental Correspondent at Mother Jones magazine and a blogger at The Blue Marble. A former filmmaker, her more than 70 nature documentaries have aired on PBS, Nature, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Outdoor Life Channel, Arts & Entertainment, and with many other broadcasters worldwide. Whitty is on the Board of Advisors of BlueVoice. She lives in northern California.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrical, if slow-moving, and filled with wondrous insights, Whitty's book introduced me to yet another unfamiliar part of the world. Her descriptions of how the atolls of the Southern Pacific were formed over the eons, and recently poisoned by nuclear testing and overcrowding, are eye-opening, yet it is the world beneath the Pacific that is her true subject. Diving on the coral reefs as part of a film crew, her descriptions likely rival any footage the crew shot, as in the scene in which, watching a camouflaged predator stalk its prey, she nearly fails to see a hidden, venomous stonefish eyeing her. "Everyone is prey to the disguises of the reef," she notes. And then there are all the insights she offers into the creatures of the sea, such as the multiple ways fish "hear" and how we who live predominantly by sight are altering the soundscape of the sea. The only thing that seems a bit off--Whitty's frequent references to Jain philosophy--is eventually explained by family history.

[Valerie]

I read Fragile Edge in February in anticipation of meeting Julia Whitty at the Women on Writing Conference in March - she was the key note speaker. I had been a fan since reading A Tortoise for the Queen of Tonga when it first came out. Tortoise was an accidental find as my husband purchased it for me solely on the recommendation of the book store staff and because it had the word Tonga in the title. I was hanging out with some Tongan friends and he thought the book might interest me. Well, it did. But not because of my friends who aren't big readers themselves.

Julia Whitty's prose is so well informed and so immaculately accurate that I hestitate to speak because I fear making a misstatement in comparison with her words. While reading the book I was inspired to learn more about sea life and have found a whole new world and way of thinking of living things. Her accuracy extends to human culture and relationships as well. She explores how the changes in world climate are affecting the south sea islanders economically and culturally. The almost certain diaspora of certain island groups grieves me and makes me question my own status on dry land in California. I loved the way she integrated her yoga studies into the work as well. I kept thinking about communion. The community of animals and the community of the people. But also about how she strives for communion with the sealife when diving. The story about how the queen moray eel chooses to follow her around the lagoon one day terrified and excited me. At the same time I felt the powerful sense of communion that Julia Whitty must have felt at being recognized as an individual by this entirely different species.

I could go on like this all afternoon. After being so involved in this book I was dismayed at the news that a volcano had erupted in Tonga on March 19. Fortunately no humans were hurt but birds fell dead from the sky and the undersea life couldn't possibly have been spared.
As she says in the book though the reefs will come back and do not need people to do so but the same may not be said for the people of the reefs.

[Cathy Speirs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sensuous writing in this book is intoxicating. Whitty seems at times to be a part of the reef ecosystem…other times she is a passionate observer. Her love for the ocean and its inhabitants is beautiful and her grief as the reef is changed by human behavior across the globe created an almost existential sadness for me. The reef is so beautiful that it almost hurts…

[Beth Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Whitty's stories in The Fragile Edge The Fragile Edge: Diving and Other Adventures in the South Pacific swirl around her fascinating work as a diver and co-producer of documentary films about the marine environment. Her writing is both beautiful and educational. She held me close from beginning to end. Between memoir and nature essay, Whitty brings us along to dive with her at remote islands in the South Pacific, to witness and experience the beauty and peril of coral reefs, to understand how tight social bonds can lead to peril for a pod of spinner dolphins and deep grief for the biologist who'd studied them for decades, knew their relationships, yet could not save them. Her stories celebrate the people working on the front line to slow the demise of marine life, and show her work and passion for conservation as well. I loved this book but craved a more about her personal life.

[Carol Dix · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great dip into the marine world of South Pacific & French Polynesia, loved the writing style, and of course all the information on fish, tides, and all things ocean.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many fascinating chapters in this book that caused me to search for images of the fish the author encountered on her underwater dives. She makes nature documentaries and has made dozens of dives in the south Pacific. The book is broken into three parts, each detailing the types of reefs that border three different tiny atolls. These reefs and atolls are changing due to global warming and human activities related to tourism, fishing, and habitation. The changes are detrimental to the health of coral reefs and the aquatic life that depend on the reefs.

It is devastating to read about the destruction of coral reefs just for fishing of rare and highly sought after fish. The blind eye that average residents of Rangiroa in French Polynesia turn to the rising water and the danger of that unmistakable fact is astonishing. There was a housing boom going on when the author visited sometime in the middle 2000s. Whitty mentions that residents don't want to talk about the rising water and act as if it won't happen. The government is not unaware of the impending issues that residents will face and have filed a lawsuit in international court against the US and Australia to force these countries to pay for helping Rangiroa to deal with the costs of rising water. This case may be resolved by now, but even if it is, the atoll of Rangiroa will disappear under the waves someday.

The first two parts about Rangiroa and Funafuti, an atoll which is the capital of Tuvalu, are the most interesting. The dives and the descriptions of the fish and other marine life made me want to jump on a plane to visit. The details of what she did while on land was slightly less enticing because the reader is aware that human habitation is making things worse on the tiny islands. These islands are so incredibly remote, but what we do to accelerate global warming halfway across the world has a huge impact.

The Tuvalans face a difficult choice. If the seas rise and they stay in Tuvalu they will die. But if they leave, some part of them will die. In the event of abandonment, Prime Minister Sopoanga says "we would like to stay as close to Tuvalu as possible, where we could have the same water and the same air." Despite a prevalent Western belief that all the world desires to immigrate to its shores, the Tuvalans feel differently, and the government of Tuvalu is currently buying land in neighboring Fiji in the hope of staying close to home.

The third part was less interesting and was more depressing to me. The island of Mo'orea is less populous but the lagoon is more trashy and polluted. The attraction Whitty discusses at length in this section are the spinner dolphins. I have never seen videos of the dolphins before but I watched a couple, and these dolphins are guaranteed to make you smile. They are the only dolphin species in the world that jump out of the water and spin as they flip through the air. We don't know why they spin, but it is so fun to watch that the why doesn't matter to me. Even with this section, part three got a little more scientific and detailed in a way that wasn't as compelling as the first two parts.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and fascinating accounts from a diver and all-around ocean lover. The author also skillfully incorporates bits of Eastern philosophy and word origins. Lovely writing.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sorry to finish this book, I could have kept island-hopping in the South Pacific with Julia Whitty for another twenty chapters.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a favorite book of mine.

[Jessica Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fragile Edge is a beautifully written book with a strong, engaging female narrator and a gentle hint of Eastern philosophy that provides a fascinating subtext to the many vivid underwater scenes. So I didn't like the book very much. I maybe shouldn't have read the book knowing how much I hate underwater creatures but I thought that perhaps if I didn't have to see them I could tolerate it. Well, fuck, I still hate sharks and dolphins and anything that lives in the ocean and could possibly touch its awful little fishy parts against me if I were to go swimming near it. I'm the wrong person to read this book but I will say that if you don't have the irrational hatred of the sea that I do you will almost certainly enjoy Julia Whitty's account of diving in the South Pacific. She's incredibly likable and her genuine love of the ocean and the people she encounters along her journey almost makes me like the novel more. But those fucking awful fish. Jesus.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had high expectations due to the South Pacific subject matter (my fav part of the world) along with the reviews and awards the book has received. The book is divided into three sections and I would have given section 1 five stars and the remaining sections both two stars. That's a rough average of three. It got a little too environmentally preachy and her prose was so dramatic, long and unnecessarily extravagant. She needs to read a Hemingway book and then do a rewrite because her stories of the South Pacific do need to be told. You would not believe the things this women has seen in the ocean, truly incredible.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: Julia is a friend. But regardless, this is an unbelievably great book! Reading it is a vacation for your mind and spirit. Julia travels to (I think) 4 different fragile reefs and shares her personal experiences and observations while mixing in cool science facts. I always read fast (and quicken the pace as I close in on the finish line); but when reading this book, I purposefully slowed down and savored every page, every paragraph, every word.

[Stephanie Mayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about a woman's passion for the ocean, it's life and the South Pacific. A strong message throughout is concerning the conservation of coral reefs as well as the horrible things going on that are destroying them.

"Scientists estimate that a greater density of species exists on coral reefs than in rainforests, and that a greater biodiversity exists within the higher texa on reefs than in any of the earth's other megadiversity ecosystems." quote from Fragile Edge

[Daniel Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of ruminations, half-scientific and half-poetic, about the beauty and vulnerability of the world's oceans, with particular focus on the atolls of the South Pacific. I could have done with fewer references to Rumi and the Mahabharata and Japanese tanka poems, all of which tended to distract from -- rather than reinforce -- her larger narrative. But Whitty's love for the sea is infectious and she won me over. The perfect read to accompany a weekend of scuba diving.

[Jeri Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

having been to Rangiroa and Moorea, I was especially interested in this book. I loved the author's description of underwater life. She brings it to life! Great description of fish behavior, but in an easy-to-read way.

This book talks alot about rising water level and potential extinction of current atolls because of this.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in preparation to go diving in the South Pacific. It definitely got me in the mood. There were several quite compelling chapters - I particularly liked the description of the dynamics between cleaner fish and their clientele. That said, I got half way through and got distracted by other books and found I wasn't that drawn to go back and finish it. Maybe another time.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book—I re-read it on a trip to French Polynesia it inspired, almost 10 years after reading it for the first time. Whitty makes you feel like you’re there, in the middle of the Pacific, and her commentary is poignant and well informed. Would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Oceans of the world.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. A strange mix of Jacques Cousteau and Eat, Pray, Love. Did not know that dolphin pods sleep and swim in unison. Very strange.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book strikes a nice balance between scientific information and narrative. I like the writing style of the author, but mostly it just makes you want to take a vacation to scuba dive.

[Mckenyon2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is informative, philosophical, and poetic. She is an incredible writer and this is a beautiful book about the status of the south Pacific islands.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books of all time. Julia Whitty's love of our planet and oceans shines through in her writing. I will keep this one forever to enjoy again and again.

[paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A master diver shares her love and extensive knowledge of ocean life. Her attention to detail and nimble command of the written word provide a real treat.

[PEN Center USA · Rating 5 out of 5]

2008 PEN Center USA Award for Creative Non-fiction