John Büsst bohemian artist and saviour of reef and rainforest By Iain McCalman, Sydney, NSW<scp>:</scp>NewSouth Books, University of New South Wales Press. 2024

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book by my wife. I will admit that it was not initially at the top of my reading pile. But I started thumbing through the images in the book (albeit poorly reproduced—see my gripe below) and became fascinated by the character, John Büsst, at the centre of this new book by highly respected Professor of History, Iain McCalman. I had never heard of John Büsst, just as I suspect many others are unaware of the actions of a very important person that played crucial roles in Australian environmental history. John Büsst was born in Bendigo, Victoria and was a celebrated artist. He moved to Queensland, and in the 1960s and 1970s, he became an important and eventually highly successful environmental activist. John Büsst. Bohemian artist and saviour of reef and rainforest provides some fascinating insights into far-sighted efforts to protect some of Australia's most iconic and important coral reef and rainforest ecosystems. It might be hard for some younger readers to comprehend that plans were well advanced to not only drill the Great Barrier Reef for oil and gas but also to harvest the coral and crush it to produce fertilizer to grow sugar cane! As so eloquently stated by John Büsst, this ‘use’ of coral reefs was akin to ‘bulldozing the Taj Mahal to make road gravel’. Indeed, I have often wondered myself, for example about the outcry over the damage to iconic buildings such as the Notre Dame, yet the deafening silence about the logging of centuries old trees like those in Tasmania that are at least the ecological equivalent of these built monuments. Much of the book is quite engaging and well written, as might be expected from an experienced author with an extraordinary track record in documenting environmental history. The descriptions of the ‘backstories’ to particular decisions around the protection of reef and rainforest in Queensland are especially intriguing, particularly the connections with poets, Premiers, and even a Prime Minister. John Büsst was clearly charismatic, creative and years ahead of his time. A key aspect of the book, at least for this reviewer, is its perspective on the history of where conservation and environmental protection has come from—and the kinds of people to which we are indebted to for literally saving the Great Barrier Reef and the tropical rainforests of Queensland. There are lessons for current and future times, particularly regarding the kinds of misguided perceptions and policies that can have enormously detrimental environmental impacts, that are, in some cases, irreversible. Many wonderful places are only protected until the next inappropriate resource management proposal. If I have one criticism of the book John Büsst. Bohemian artist and saviour of reef and rainforest, it is the quality of production. The text is densely spaced and at times cluttered and not easy to read—at least for the tired old eyes of this reviewer. The reproduction of images is poor, which is a shame, especially for historically important photos such as those of John Büsst with iconic Australians, such as Judith Wright and rainforest guru Len Webb. I fully understand the cost pressures of book production these days, but it is problematic that a book first published in 2024, looks like an imprint from a century earlier. I am sure that how a book is presented impacts decisions about whether someone elects to buy a book (or not). However, my sincere hope is that the lack of visual appeal of the book does not dissuade others from reading about what is a fascinating part of Australian history, a fascinating character who has made a major contribution to the protection of this nation's natural heritage, and the importance of efforts to protect the environment. David Lindenmayer: Conceptualization (lead); investigation (lead); writing – original draft (lead); writing – review and editing (lead).