Available now, The Lost Continent is a nonfiction investigation of disappearing coral reef ecosystems. Part travel narrative and part scientific exploration, it takes readers on a global journey that traces the history of our discovery of the wonder of coral systems at the very moment in history when we’re losing them. From Polynesia to South American, and from Florida to Saudi Arabia, the book offers views into people and places facing this daunting issue. The more we learn about corals and their decline—and how humans are responding to that devastation—the more we understand about ourselves and the hope, despair and courage that unites our own species.
What people are saying
“A compelling call to action.”
– Midwest Book Reviews
“This impassioned ode to invertebrate infrastructure will leave you feeling profound grief at the damage we’ve done to our planet’s reefs—and boundless gratitude to the extraordinary people still committed to saving them. ”
– Ben Goldfarb, author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
“The Lost Continent both renews my despair in reading about loss on such a colossal scale and gives me hope that the resilience of the corals and the people who are fighting so fiercely to help them will help reefs survive in our altered future.”
– Virginia Weis, PhD Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology at Oregon State University
“David Baker’s The Last Continent is at times desperate, at times hopeful, and always engaging, intelligent, and artful.”
– Patricia Ann McNair, author of Responsible Adults and And These Are the Good Times
“David Baker brings a filmmaker’s eye to this globe-trotting survey of Earth’s coral habitats, and his skills yield a series of remarkably vivid close-ups of these evasive, crucial landscapes. The resulting book is an engaging, comprehensive presentation of one of our planet’s most fascinating ecosystems.”
– Elena Passarello, author of Animals Strike Curious Poses
“The Lost Continent is encouraging in the deepest, strictest sense of the word: it’ll stir up courage in the heavy hearts of those familiar with our ecological emergency.”
– Tim Jensen, author of Ecologies of Guilt in Environmental Rhetorics and Director of Writing at Oregon State University
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