The crown-of-thorns story takes readers on tropical expeditions around the world, and into both marine Laboratories and government committees, where scientists rigorously search for answers to the main profound questions surrounding this event. Were these fierce starfish outbreaks the kind of manmade disaster heralded by such environmentalists as Rachel Carson in Silent Spring? Indeed, discussions of the cause of the starfish plagues have involved virtuaLLy every environmental issue of our time -- over-fishing, pesticide use, atomic testing, rain forest depletion, and over-population -- but many marine biologist maintain that the recurrent epidemic are a natural feature of coral-reef Life epidemic that should not to be tampered with until we know the scientific truth of the crisis. But should we search for the scientific truth before taking action? And what if an environmental emergency cannot wait for a rigorous scientific search for "the truth?"