Using Prince William Sound (site of the Exxon Valdez disaster) as a case study, the author describes what happens to the environment after a catastrophic assault - how scientists try to measure the changes and how nature adapts.
"Wheelwright's rigorous quest for the truth about the actual effects of the oil on sea otters, bald eagles, fish, and other wildlife, as well as on the indigenous peoples, has produced an account that is startling and disturbing and also superbly absorbing."
- George Schaller