Fire in the Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean

A scientific detective story, grippingly told by an award-winning journalist: A mysterious, deadly infection is killing off one of the ocean's most beloved and ancient creatures. Why? And what does it mean about the fate of the oceans?

Sea turtles have existed since the time of the dinosaurs. But now they are dying, ravaged by a gruesome plague that some biologists consider the most serious epidemic now raging in the natural world.

What is happening to the sea turtle, and how can it be stopped? Osha Gray Davidson tracks the fervent efforts of extraordinary scientists, marine biologists, veterinarians, and others racing against the clock to unravel this complicated biological and environmental puzzle and keep the turtles from extinction. He dives with Ursula Keuper-Bennett, a schoolteacher whose relationship with a Hawaiian turtle changed her life and led to major discoveries about turtle social life and communication, and visits eminent sea turtle scientist George Balasz. He follows the fates of particular turtles, revealing their surprisingly distinct personalities and why they inspire an almost spiritual devotion in the humans who come to know them. He also explores through vivid historical examples the history of our relationship to the sea, opening a window onto the role humans play in marine die-offs and extinctions.

Beautifully written, intellectually provocative, ultimately terrifying, Fire in the Turtle House reveals how emerging diseases wreaking havoc in the global ocean pose an enormous, direct threat to humanity. This is science journalism at its best.

Osha Gray Davidson is the author of several books including The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in History; and The Enchanted Braid: Coming to Terms with Nature on the Coral Reef, a finalist for the Natural World Book Prize. His work has appeared in many publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, and The New Republic. He currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa.