LAUSR

My first thoughts on this book were unkind: ‘It’s a diary, so don’t expect too much’. Yet this book is so much more than a diary.As an historical document, this text has much of interest. There are detailed descriptions of many of the physical and biological aspects of Marion Island (and neighbouring Prince Edward Island), with sections as diverse as climate and animal behaviour, all supported by the author’s own photographs and even some data figures. Modern and future Marion Island explorers will be able to see the evidence of changes in the locations, numbers and distributions of plant and animal populations in this intervening period. Sadly, some of the evidence of previous human activities seen by Huntley and his colleagues on Marion Island will disappear in the intervening years.