Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling | 
| Author: Andrew Darby
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $5.90
You Save: $19.10 (76%)
New (37) Used (13) from $5.61
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 157240
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0306816296
Dewey Decimal Number: 551
EAN: 9780306816291
ASIN: 0306816296
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From one-hundred-fifty-ton barnacled Blues to the sleek, embattled Minke, whales have been hunted worldwide to near extinction. Despite efforts to halt the killing, the future of these majestic mammals-known as “mind in the water”-is again in jeopardy. With passion and engaging detail, Andrew Darby profiles each species of whale and its place in this great drama. From the wooden harpoons of aboriginals in “cockleshell” vessels, to the high-tech killing machines of today’s lawless Russian whalers and smooth-talking Japanese “scientific” crews, Darby chronicles the evolving pursuit of whales and its significance to our humanity. Fans of well-written history, as well as those fascinated by whales and the fierce international conflict surrounding them, will be swept into the very heart of whaling.
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| Customer Reviews:
A Great History Read May 29, 2008
"Harpoon" does a wonderful job of exploring whaling from the hey day of the 19th century to the factory fleets of the mid 20th to the current days of "scientific" whaling.
The book is roughly broken into sections according to whale species, and one of the best parts of "Harpoon" is reading about the different major whale species. Darby gives us a glimpse into the lives of these whales, from the days when one could see Right whales off the Australian coasts every day up until the current day, when scientific seach planes are hard pressed to find them.
In addition to telling us the whales, and the nuts and bolts of whaling itself, Darby follows the evolution of the International Whaling Committee, and all the diplomatic drama around trying to preserve, utilize, and protect the world's whales.
This was an incredibly informative book, and not a page went by where I didn't learn something new. While very anti-whaling, Darby does not demonize whalers themselves, up to the point of interviewing retired whalers themselves. This is an excellent read anyone who is interested in whales, whaling, or nautical history would enjoy.
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