Survival of the sea turtles.

While sea turtles have long outlived the dinosaurs, their fate is now in serious jeopardy. Osha Gray Davidson explores the current plight of these magnificent reptiles in Fire In The Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and The Fate Of The Ocean (Public Affairs Books, $15). Worldwide, sea turtles have been struck by a deadly tumor-causing epidemic, fibropapillomatosis, FP (See Ask E, May/June 2002). The rise of factory farms, growing human populations along the coast, and discharge of garbage into the oceans are some of the other threats to sea turtles. Davidson skillfully takes the reader on a tour of the oceans, exploring the history and future of sea turtles along the way.

To learn even more about sea turtles, check out the beautiful photographs and engaging narrative in Sea Turtles of the World (Voyageur Press, $29.95) by Doug Perrine. He looks at the lifecycles of these endangered creatures, and explores their long history. Examining the green sea turtle, loggerhead, hawksbill, olive ridley, Kemp's ridley, Australian flatback and the leatherback, Perrine also explains the conservation attempts to protect these specific species.