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Islands Under Fire: the Improbable Quest to
Save the Corals of Puerto Rico.

Square One Publishers
Publication date: 9/21/2012
Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Square One Publishers

Islands Under Fire explores how the need to protect our fragile marine environment can bring meaning and direction to a young person’s life. It’s also a portrait of a relatively unknown part of America: Puerto Rico and the Spanish Virgin Islands. This is the little known story of how the US Government, in particular the Navy, almost destroyed pristine coral reefs to provide a target for gunners. The author’s humorous look at his role in the sometimes absurd tale of how locals, politicos and mariners came together to save the reefs is a lesson for us all.

The conservation efforts represent a perfect example of what highly-motivated citizens and political leaders can achieve when taking action to protect what they love. In the case of the Culebrans, their tranquil island paradise was being shelled into oblivion by the US Navy. The author, hired as captain of a small research vessel, led the underwater search for evidence of the coral reef damage that would be used to convince the US Government to stop its bombardment of the island. His role enabled the Culebrans to gather proof of the destruction that ultimately convinced everyone, including President Nixon, to stop the carnage.

Praise for Islands Under Fire

“Islands Under Fire held me spellbound from the first page. This is an exuberant tropical adventure regaled with gusto, and with exquisite prose that brings the colorful Puerto Rican characters to vivacious, chromatic life. McCarey’s keen-eyed observation and understanding reflect a deep affection for Puerto Rico and the people of Vieques and Culebra, whose Caribbean paradise suffered decades as a bombing range.”
Christopher Baker, Lowell Thomas Travel Writer of the Year

“In every phase of this fast moving, inspiring story, McCarey gleans his life's most essential moments, both hurtful and hilarious, nourishing himself for his next improbable adventure. Islands Under Fire is a new kind of narrative: part “Liar’s Club” and part “Lonely Planet”, bundled into one terrific book.”
David Hamlin, executive producer, National Geographic Television

"Kevin McCarey is an imaginative talent with a gift for the magical and mystical. His writing reveals a rich understanding of Puerto Rico and its people - reveling in their humanity and their eccentricities."
Vivian Schiller, chief of NBC News Digital

"This memoir, part travelogue and part natural history, is rich with humor, misadventure, and triumph. McCarey's writing is a pleasure, his penchant for simile and skill with dialogue particular delights.... Readers will learn about the history of Puerto Rico, its marine ecology, political landscape, and a bit about boats as well—all of which McCarey folds seamlessly into his fine seaman's tale... McCarey's maiden voyage into contemporary maritime non-fiction is an engrossing and joyful trip."
STARRED review Publishers Weekly

“It is flat-out brilliant.  I especially love the beauty of the ending.  And McCarey’s ability with bringing characters to life is inspiring.”
T.C. Boyle, novelist, Tortilla Curtain, The Women

“I think it's terrific -- funny, poignant, a good read.”
Mitchell Burgess, writer-producer, Northern Exposure, The Sopranos

“Kevin McCarey, an outstanding writer and renowned filmmaker, has a deep compassion for the natural world. His new book Islands Under Fire takes the reader on a wild, entertaining, and unforgettable ride. So compelling is the story that the lessons embedded in it about the vital need to conserve our marine resources and protect coral ecosystems are absorbed effortlessly. I urge you to read it.”
Chris Palmer, author of Shooting in the Wild.

“Many of the books about the parlous condition of non-human life on earth currently being published engender such a bleak aura of disaster that the reader tends to be turned off. Islands Under Fire is an exception. Although it extols the urgent necessity of finding a new way of dealing with non-human life, it does not belabor the reader or preach at him. It gets across the message so skillfully imbedded in a damn good story that I for one could not put it down.”
Farley Mowat, author, Never Cry Wolf, A Whale for the Killing