“Unpredictable and amusing and informative and original, cavorting between biology, history, travel writing, and memoir.”—Mark Kurlansky The Whale by Philip Hoare is a enthralling and eye-opening literary leviathan swimming in similar bestselling waters as Cod and The Secret Life of Lobsters. Winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction, The Whale is a lively travelogue through the … The Whale is a lively travelogue through the history, literature, and lore of the king of the sea—the remarkable mammals that we human beings have long been fascinated with, from Moby Dick to Free Willy. Bestselling author and naturalist Bernd Heinrich calls it, “a moving and extraordinary book,” and Hoare’s sparkling account of swimming with these incredible behemoths will delight whale and wildlife aficionados, lovers of the sea and sea stories, as well as the socially and environmentally conscious reader.
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This book was not at all what I expected from the promo. I found it wordy & annoying & did gave up reading after about 1/3.
One of my bucket list items was to go whale watching, which I was lucky enough to do off the coast of Mexico a couple of years ago. So a book about whales seemed to be right up my alley. Perhaps my expectations for the book were off, but this book seemed short on information, and long on side bar . So I didn’t bother to even finish.
I thought the description wasn’t very indicative of the content.
I have been a student of the whale industry for over 60 years. I have studied and learned a lot. I was hopping to learn more from a professional. I was disappointed. This book is a romanticized story of some one who loves whales. So What? Where is the story to help us understand whales and help us to save them from the greed and avarice of man kind.
I like whales. I like whale watching and I like science writing. So, I figured why not? The answer is that, I’m sorry, but it was really, really boring. As in, at one point I was hoping that hour-after-hour might lull me to sleep, but no dice and so I continued, awake but bored across the Pacific and home.
Much of the book – or at least of the first half – read like an erudite book report on Moby Dick, which I didn’t read for a reason. The history of whaling in America was fascinating, especially knowing a different side of the industry from The Richest Woman in America. Occasionally, Philip Hoare would offer some nice insight, such as his observation that, “through whaling, America reached across the world for the first time; whaling exported its culture and ideas,” but mostly I was bored. Also, his case – or mine – was not helped by my visions of whale bacon, a Japanese delicacy on display at the Tsukiji Fish Market, and which I could not sufficiently banish, especially during Hoare’s descriptions of rending the blubber. On the other hand, the comment about America exporting itself through whaling probably stuck because of the way our Tsukiji market guide noted that it was the Americans who taught the Japanese to hunt whales. Whatever the case, between my visions of whale bacon and the tiresome Moby Dick, I was done for.
It’s not bad. It’s just not what I wanted. DNF
It was not scientific, rather anecdotal and about people’s exploitation of whales.
I found it most informative about the life cycles of the various whales that inhabit our oceans. living close to the Northeast coast we have enjoyed many whale watches over the years. I think you may enjoy boning up on the various types. It uses as its guide Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’ and expands from there. It’s interesting reading but gets somewhat technical at times.