{"product_id":"where-corals-lie-a-natural-and-cultural-history-9781780239347","title":"Where Corals Lie: A Natural and Cultural History","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor millennia  corals were a marine enigma  organisms that confounded scientific classification and occupied a space between the animal and plant kingdoms. Our cultural relationships with coral have been similarly ambiguous. The danger posed by unseen underwater reefs led to an association of coral with death and interment that has figured in literature  poetry  music  and film  while the bright redness of precious Mediterranean coral was associated in European and Indian mythology with its origins in blood and gore. And yet  coral skeletons have long been prized as jewelry and ornament  featuring prominently in Renaissance cabinets of curiosities. Opening the door onto these most peculiar of animals  this unique book treats the many manifestations of coral across biology  geology  and culture.  Today  the tide of danger flows in reverse. Seen as rainforests of the sea  coral reefs have become emblematic of the fragility of marine biodiversity  their declining health a warning sign of the human-driven climate change that has produced warming seas  ocean acidification  and rising sea levels. Looking at corals as builders of islands and protectors of coastlines  as building materials themselves  as well as at the myriad ways in which diverse corals have come to figure in art  medicine  folklore  geopolitics  and international trade  Where Corals Lie reveals how the threatening has become threatenedand of the danger this poses to humans. Exceptionally embellished with a wide range of biological illustrations  underwater photography  and fine art  Where Corals Lie is a beautiful and informative resource for anyone interested in ocean environments and the cultures that flourish or fail there.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45657471254581,"sku":"ByrdShop_1780239343","price":39.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781780239347.jpg?v=1782041879","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/where-corals-lie-a-natural-and-cultural-history-9781780239347","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}