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In 1883 all plant and animal life was obliterated by a massive eruption on the island of Krakatau in the Sunda Strait near Java, which destroyed two-thirds of the island. After the eruption, Krakatau provided a unique opportunity to study the colonization of a sterile area by plants and animals across a sea barrier and the gradual incorporation of the newcomers into the developing ecosystem. Now, just over a hundred years later, the island is covered in secondary forest, which supports over 200 species of plant, 70 species of vertebrate, and thousands of invertebrates. Thornton's comprehensive account tackles many of the questions and controversies surrounding the eruption and its aftermath.