. Link image for all book categories.
. . . . All prices are $ Australian.
CORAL & TROPICAL REEFS,
and their inhabitants.
..
See also: TROPICAL REEF FISHES, GREAT BARRIER REEF (below), and the GBR as a dive destination.
CORALS - INDO-PACIFIC FIELD GUIDE
Harry Erhardt & Daniel Knop. 
At last - a first class reference on hard and soft corals, gorgonians and sea anemones that is both authorative and interesting. Like all IKAN series publication, it has the standard hardcover format, 304 pages, gloss art paer, and over a thousand full colour photographs. Divided into the accepted categories of genus within family within order, this is an excellent identification guide with generally three colour images per page, and commences with a general introduction to corals and coral reefs. Like all IKAN books it contains picture stories, eleven in this case, including essays on man's influence on coral colonies, the commercialism of red coral, coral farming, propagation of soft corals, corals unde the microscope, coral bleaching, coral spawning, and the obiquitous Crown-of-Thorns starfish. Covers the huge region from the Red Sea through to the west coast of the Americas. $76.00
CORALS OF AUSTRALIA AND THE INDO-PACIFIC
J.E.N.Veron.
If you require a book to identify corals, if you need to understand the physiology of coral colonies and habitats - if you just want a magnificent book on the foundations of the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs and atolls, then this is it. It is a massive work, extremely comprehensive as would be expected of a Principal Research Scientist with the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Commencing with a treatise on the formation of coral reefs, coral communities and coral biology, the book extends into more than 500 pages of species identification by Family, with map showing distribution. A  thorough index assists the reader/researcher. Hardcover, dustwrapper, large A4 format, 645, p, full colour throughout.
$155.00
book A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CORAL REEF
Charles Sheppard. 
Superb text based on Great Barrier Reef - building of a coral reef, ecosystem, marine animals. This is the book that gives you the real meaning behind the foundation of a coral reef, and how it evolves. 
Hardcover, 151 pages, colour. $19.95
AQUARIUM CORALS. Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History
Eric H. Borneman.
Although the book is written for those wishing to keep corals in an aquarium, this is one of the best book I have seen on the natural history of corals. And understandably so, for if you wish to keep corals in an habitat, you need to understand their natural life in some detail. It is also an excellent book as a means of identification, the greater part of the book being devoted to this. Other chapters cover the symbiotic relationship with algae, competition and reproduction, feeding, anatomy, taxonomy, and conservation. An excellent authorative book even if you have no intention to keep an aquarium. 
Hardcover, medium format 22- x 240 mm, 464 pages, full colour throughoput, index, extensive bibliography, glossary.  $94.00 
CORALS OF THE WORLD - Three Volumes. 
J.E.N. Veron (author) and Mary Stafford-Smith (Scientific Editor and Producer). 
Over 3,000 photographs are included in this definitve work on the worldd's corals. Covering three hardcover volumes in a slipcase, the 1350 pages of full colour is one of the the most comprehensive, authoritative and spectacular producctions ever given to a group of marine organisms. It now superseeds Veron's brilliant Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific first published in 1986. Apart from being an identification guide, chapters include ‘what are species?', evolution, biogeogrpahy, the fossil record, coral reefs, the structure of corals, reproduction and the history of coral studies. A glossary explains all terminology. Non technical summaries distinquish the features of the species, genera and families. This really is a magnificent work in every respect. $245.00. Highly Recommended 
CORAL REEF ANIMALS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC
'Animal life from Africa to Hawaii exclusive of vertebrates'.
Terrance M.Gosliner, David W. Behrens, Gary C. Williams. 
This is a superb full colour quarto size, 320 page softcover book containing over 1100 photographs by 52 photographers, printed on quality art paper. It covers all the invertebrate animals from Anemones to Starfish, with four species per page, each with a colour photo, and includes many temperate water species. This scientific field guide is ideal for general identification and knowledge and aimed at the sport diver as well as the more scientifically educated reader. The introduction is particularly superb giving an excellent text on evolution, animal phylogeny, and the formation of coral reefs. $74.00 
CORAL REEFS - CITIES UNDER SEA. Richard C. Murphy. $84.00
This is a book that inspires and educates. The original and imaginative theme is based on a metaphor of our own city living, describing how the life in the sea requires organisation, discipline, rules and regulations just as our society and cities demand. Each chapter depicts the community of a working life under the waves, juxtaposed with our own urban existence. Here we have, as we do, Power Plants and Farms, Waste Management and Recycling, Construction and Public Housing, Public Health, Conflict and Cooperation, Advertising, Personal Lives, and Social Security. Murphy's succinct text is illustrated by excellent, relevant, photographs, yet this is not a ‘book of underwater photographs'. Although of medium format (26 x 26 cm), it defies the definition of a ‘coffee table book', devoid of images for the sake of art, and encourages reading from cover to cover. Whereas the fine photographs are technically clean and straightforward, the inspiration comes from a realisation that there is a wondrous community beneath the sea with similar problems to that which we humans experience. A superb, unique book. Hardcover, dust jacket, 178 pages, full colour throughout. Highly Recommended
CORAL REEFS. NATURE'S WONDERS
Walter and Jean Deas. 
This is an excellent book for the identification of the main species of hard and soft corals, together with a background on coral reefs, their formation and the animals that create them. There is sufficient natural science text to be educational without being overwhelming, and is written in an easy to read style very much in the character of the authors who are well known, especially to the older breed of Australian diver, like myself. (Walt and Jean are film makers, and for many years were the dive guides at Heron Island). The sections on species identification includes up to half-page size colour images with a brief text on habitat and characteristics. Concludes with an essay on the future of the coral reefs. A very useful book.
Softcover, 289 pages, full colour throughout, index, bibliography, glossary. $38.00 
CORAL SEA REEF GUIDE.
Bob Halstead. 
An IKAN series  book. 
This full color reef creature identification guide contains exquisite underwater photos of over 1000 marine species, from the Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea, Solomon's, Vanuatu to New Caledonia.  Along with the descriptive information to identify each species, the book includes interesting behavioral and habitat information. The author, Bob Halstead, a degreed educator and scientist, is a household word in the Indo-Pacific diving industry and has made more than 7000 in the Coral Sea to amass this collection of photos. Bob, winner of multiple photographic awards, has authored several books, and published dozens of magazine articles.
Another superb book in the IKAN series, produced by Helmut Debelius, published by Sea Challeengers.
Hardcover. Approx 320 pages. $76.00 Full review
DIVING THE RAINBOW REEFS
Adventures of an Underwater Photographer.
Paul S. Auerbach, MD.
The author is better known in the USA for his excellent photography and other publications. 
This is both an inspirational small coffee table book covering several mjor dive region in the world, the marine animals and terrain, expressed with fine photography and text. Eight chapters cover: Apo Reef (Pgilippines), Truk and Pohnpei, The Caribban, the Red Sea, Galapagos Islands, Fiji Islands, Palau, and our own Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. The marine life is covered well in each area, woth single page photo-text essays. Certainly the region covered have some of the finest diving in the world. This would make an excellent gift, a guide to future diving dreams, or a souvenir of places visited. 
Hardcover, dustjacket, 236 pages, full colour on gloss art paper. 
$45.00
DIVING THE WORLD'S CORAL REEFS.
Editor Jack Jackson.
What a superb book. The photography is excellent, and the text lucid and informative. So where are thse top coral reefs. Sections include The Caribbean, Indian Ocan, Red Sea, eastern and western Pacific, the Great barrier Reef of course, Melanesia, Hawaii. Authors include Michael Aw, Bob Halstead, Angie Belcher, Ann Storrie, all of whom are familiar to Australian divers. This is a large format book, 176 pages, full brilliant colour throughout. Apart from being an exception book to own, for inspiration and memories, it would also make a wonderful gift for any diver, irrespective of experience. 
$54.95   Highly recommended.
book INDO-PACIFIC CORAL REEF GUIDE. 
Dr Gerald Allen & Roger Steene. 
A concise yet extremely valuable companion for anyone wishing to identify and understand tropical marine life. Perhaps one of the best marine books produced in Australia, it relates not only to Australian waters, but "from the shores of Hawaii to the Red Sea". All phylum are represented, extending from tiny marine worms and corals to seabirds and mammals. If ever a book should be lauded as "the best in its field" this is it. Softcover, 378, with over 1800 full colour photographs.$69.95
Highly recommended.
LIVING CORALS
B.Robin, C.Petron,C.Rives. 
This is a handy inexpensive identification guide, in full colour, 144 pages, within stiff board covers and a protective thick plastic sleeve. The formation of coral reefs and coral colonies is covered briefly, as is the nutritional cycle of the coral polyp. But what makes it such a handy book is its layout, showing the principle types of corals - hexacorallia, pctocorallia and hydrozoa, and an identification guide to the various ‘types' of coral such as the staghorn and brain corals just to name two of the fifteen ‘varieties'. $28.00 
LIVING REEFS OF THE INDO PACIFIC - 
A Photographic Guide. 
Rob van der Loos.  . 
Another excellent publication put out by New Holland. It covers the tropical area from the Seyshelles to Samoa, from southern Japan to northern Australia with chapyers on Living Habitats and the marine life that inhabit them. A valuable identification guide to the major invertebrate species, with an excellent chapter on scorpion fish. A dfourteen page chapter on photographing the animals is useful. 
Softcover, 176 pages, about 600 full colour photographs, each with a brief description of the animal, its depth, distribution, and lens used.$34.95
STAGHORN CORALS - ACROPORA. 
Dr Carden Wallac and Michel Aw.
Covers some one hundred species of Acropora, the most common hard coral within th tropical reef system
This excellent full colour book is ideal as an on-site field guide and home reference, economically priced, and yet with excellent colour photographs, one to five per page, and detailed text, surely the best value of the marine identification books.  Coverage is predominntly the Indo-Pacific, South-East Asia, west Pacific and northern Australia regions. 
Size  125 X 170 cm, full colour throughout, 158 pages.
$24.00 
STAGHORN CORALS OF THE WORLD
Carden Wallace.
Published by the CSIRO, this superb book covers the coral genus Acropora, and is a fully sscientific tretise based on the skeltal morphology and field characteristics determijed by a number of marine scientists. It is the most definitive book on the identification and study of these ‘popular' corals. Text includes distribution (with map), material examined, skeletal characteristics, field characteristics (habitat), and general information including further scientific and general reading.A must for anyone serious about their coral knowledge. 
Hardcover (laminated boards), 422 pages, A4 size, numerous mono photographs for identification, and twelve colour plates containing some fifty photographs, glossary, bibliography, further reading. $140.00 
THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. A World Heritage National Park
Photos by Gary Bell. Text by Tony Ayling.
"Be enchanted by the miraculous living wonder of the Great Barrir Reef. Colour stream from every page as art and science unite to compel raders to share in the discovery and conservation of the Earth's most beautiful habitat. Informative text, penned by esteemed marine biologist Dr Tony Ayling, coupled with award-winning photogarpher Gary Bell's vibrant underwater photography, charts the evolution, composition and day-to-day workings of the exquisite, enigmatic ecosystem". Thats from the fly of the book. To me, its a nice book of delightful photrographs that capture the essence of the Great Barrier Reef in straighforward, functional, descriptive images. With Ayling's professional yet easy to read text, the book extends beyond the traditional coffee-table picture book, into a valuable document on this marvellous of all reef systems. And it's photographed and written by Aussies, and published by an Aussie (but printed in China - you can't win ‘em all!). Hardcover, dustjacket, large landscape format, full colour throughout, 224 pages, index. Would make a great gift, not just for divers. $59.95
TROPICAL REEF LIFE.
Michael Aw
Covers the tropical invertebrates (no fishes) - sponges, sea snails, octopii, feather stars, hard and soft corals, bryozoan tunicates, etc etc. 
Full colour , an ideal on-site field guide and home reference, economically priced, and yet with excellent colour photographs, one to five per page, and detailed text, surely the best value of the marine identification books.  Coverage is predonimantly They all cover the Indo-Pacific, South-East Asia , west Pacific and northern Australia regions. 
Size  is 125 X 170 cm, full colour throughout, 158 pages. $22.00 
TROPICAL PACIFIC INVERTEBRATES - 
A Field Guide to the Marine Invertebrates Occurring on Tropical Pacific Coral Reefs, Seagrass Beds and Mangroves. 
Partick L. Colin and Charles Arneson. 
There seems to be a plethora of marine invertebrate books coming on to the market recently, and just as well as the dearth of such titles since George & George's Marine Life in the 1980s has been noticed. Like the brilliant Australian book Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Guide by Allen & Steene, and the equally superb Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific by Gosliner and others, Tropical Reef Invertebrates is superbly produced, with clear colour photographss of most species - over 2,000 photographs I would estimate. Subject chapters include sponges, cnidarian, ctenophores, worms, molluscs, crustaceans, lophophorates, echinoderms and ascidians. 
Softcover, 295 pages. medium format, full colour.  $89.95
GREAT BARRIER REEF
AUSTRALIA'S GREAT BARRIER REEF - A SHORT STAY GUIDE
This is the ideal book for anyone wanting to visit the Great Barrier Reef. It is cheap in its price but not its content, having over 208 pages, covering the shore-based points of departure, the islands, and of course the reef itself. It includes diving and the dive tour operators. It tells you where and how you can dive the reef, the good and the not so good places, and where to learn to dive. It includes accommodation, how to get here, and points of interest, especially of not a diver or inbetween dive days. And if something is not up to an acceptable standard, the book tells you so. This really is a most useful book for anyone not familiar with ‘The Reef', and an absolute must for any overseas visitor. Sotcover, 208 pages, colour maps and photos. Great value, great information. 
$9.50
AUSTRALIA'S GREAT BARRIER REEF
McLeod, Coleman and Howes.  $8.00
A very pleasant souvenir-type book on the marine life of the Great Barrier Reef. Softcover, 32 p, full colour. 
AUSTRALIA'S GREAT BARRIER REEF IN COLOUR
Keith Gillett.  $12.00
A small informative guide with concise text. Excellent reading. Hardcover, 96 pages, colour. 
CORAL REEFS - NATURE'S RICHEST REALM - Roger Stene. 
See listing under Photographic Pictorials.
book EXPLORING AUSTRALIA'S GREAT BARRIER REEF 
Lester Cannon and Mark Goyen 
Interesting, well-written text, with excellent photographs. 
A very useful and informative book. 
Hardback, 240p, full colour, large format 230x300mm. $42.00 
GREAT BARRIER REEF
Neville Coleman.
One of the excellent World of Water Wildlige Guides.
This is a very handy and informative marine life guidebook covering predominantly the fishes and invertebrate lif, but also reptiles, mammals and crustacea. There are over 500 full colour photographswith brief text to each. Brief tourist information is also mentioned, including a section on reef walking, snorkelling and scuba diving. Includes also th marine life of the Keppel Islands, and the Whitsundays. Softcover, 80 pages, full colour, scientific name index.
$27.50
WONDERS OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. 
T.C.Roughley.
This is the classic book on the Great Barrier Reef, first published in 1936 with many reprints since. It gves an early aspect of how the reef was perceived and used commercially, with little thought to tourism at the time. The chapter Wealth from the Reef gives you an idea of how the marine life could have been exploited. The book gives an excellent description of the marine life - the corals, fishes, mammals and invertebrates. Hardcover, 280 pages, colour and mono plates. Well out of print of course, but we usually have good copies, either with original dust jackets or ccomputer generated cover based on the original. 
SECOND-HANDPrice is around $35.00
Oceans Enterprises, 303 Commercial Road, Yarram, Vic 3971, Australia.