When London street musician James Bowen found an injured cat curled up in the hallway of his apartment building, he had no idea how much his life was about to change.

On 4 June 1629, the Batavia, pride of the Dutch East India Company Fleet, was wrecked on her maiden voyage in a seemingly empty expanse of the Indian Ocean. The question "how did this happen?" led to 300 years of investigation by those curious to solve the enigma: what are corals, and how are coral reefs formed? Relying heavily on primary source material Part 1 traces the sequential evolution of scientific thought and practice as the author explores...