In 2003, K-Dog swam quickly through the waters of the Persian Gulf. He had an important job to do. The enemy had hidden sea mines in the water. K-Dog had to find the bombs so that they wouldn't explode and destroy U.S. ships. Although K-Dog's name makes some people think he is a dog, the expert swimmer is actually a bottlenose dolphin. He was trained by the U.S. Navy to protect American sailors and ships from danger. In Dolphins in the Navy, kids get a behind-the-scenes look at the way the U.S. Navy trains dolphins so that they are prepared to help out at a moment's notice. From hunting for deadly sea mines to searching for enemy divers, these heroic animals help out in ways that no humans ever could. Full-color photos and dramatic true stories bring these courageous sea animals and their brave missions to vivid life.
In this memorable first book, Behind the Dolphin Smile, Richard O'Barry told the inspiring story of his personal transformation from world-famous dolphin trainer (Flipper was his pupil) to dolphin liberator. Now, in To Free a Dolphin, he passionately recounts the dramatic story of his heart-breaking campaign to release captive dolphins back into the wild. With wit and insight he chronicles the extreme opposition he has faced from bureaucrats, major players in the captive-dolphin industry, rival wildlife groups, and well-meaning sentimentalists. He introduces readers to famous show animals he has helped, including Bogie and Bacall of Key Largo. And, most fascinating, he describes his struggles to deprogram and rehabilitate dolphins emotionally scarred from years of captivity--struggles that become battles for the animals' souls.
Discusses the U.S. Navy's use of dolphins including dolphin behavior and training, tasks learned, participation in world conflicts, and the Navy's Marine Mammal Program.
Winner of the 2015 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award: “Horwitz’s dogged reporting…combined with crisp, cinematic writing, produces a powerful narrative…. He has written a book that is instructive and passionate and deserving a wide audience” (PEN Award Citation). Six years in the making, War of the Whales is the “gripping detective tale” (Publishers Weekly) of a crusading attorney, Joel Reynolds, who stumbles on one of the US Navy’s best-kept secrets: a submarine detection system that floods entire ocean basins with high-intensity sound—and drives whales onto beaches. As Joel Reynolds launches a legal fight to expose and challenge the Navy program, marine biologist Ken Balcomb witnesses a mysterious mass stranding of whales near his research station in the Bahamas. Investigating this calamity, Balcomb is forced to choose between his conscience and an oath of secrecy he swore to the Navy in his youth. “War of the Whales reads like the best investigative journalism, with cinematic scenes of strandings and dramatic David-and-Goliath courtroom dramas as activists diligently hold the Navy accountable” (The Huffington Post). When Balcomb and Reynolds team up to expose the truth behind an epidemic of mass strandings, the stage is set for an epic battle that pits admirals against activists, rogue submarines against weaponized dolphins, and national security against the need to safeguard the ocean environment. “Strong and valuable” (The Washington Post), “brilliantly told” (Bob Woodward), author Joshua Horwitz combines the best of legal drama, natural history, and military intrigue to “raise serious questions about the unchecked use of secrecy by the military to advance its institutional power” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
The lives of a young Wyoming cowboy turned Navy Mammal Handler, Brent Harris, and a delightful green-eyed southern girl, Katie Donavan, are woven together by the events in the life of a young Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, Alika, in this heartwarming story--a fable of loyalty, gallantry, hope, and love. Brent, a horse trainer with a special gift, joins the Navy fresh out of high school to see the world. When a Navy notice asking for volunteers for the Navy's Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) is announced, Brent gives up a glittering career to become a mammal handler. His decision, not easily made, fulfills a long time spiritual oracle he believes has called upon him. He is assigned to Alika, a spirited, orphaned dolphin with some issues. Through her unrelenting effort, Katie locates the little dolphin she helped rescue years before and coordinates a field trip for a group of marine biology students to a little known Navy command at Point Loma, California. There, she is reunited with Alika, now a certified Fleet Mk-7 Mine Hunter dolphin. The reunion was a euphoric triumph but made even more spectacular by Katie's chance introduction to Brent, Alika's handler. Love blossoms for Brent and Katie, but the clouds of war form in the Mideast. On March, 20th, 2003 the US coalition of nations initiate Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)--the second gulf war. Brent, Alika, and other mine-hunting teams from NMMP deploy to the mid-east; they are integral to the OIF campaign and are of the first called into action. Three days after the task of clearing sea-mines from the port of Umm Qasr begins, Brent suffers a brutal attack from a bull shark. Alika exacts retribution and dispatches the shark then tows Brent to safety, saving his life. Brent had a promising future. He had gained so many things--some through hard work, diligence, and good decisions but most through the grace of God. He had completed a mystical calling, which, five-years earlier had beckoned him. But now, it seemed, one by one, his life's greatest treasures were being systematically stripped from him. He'll recover from his physical wounds, but the real devastation is the reality that he will be discharged from the Navy, lose his job, his dolphin, and likely, his one true love--Katie. But Katie has other plans. She comes to Brent with hope, salvation, and a promise. For the first time Alika testifies to the unwavering bond of loyalty and trust dolphins share with their handlers. Alika is a must read for those kind souls who thrive on animal stories or who are allured to the majestic and mysterious mammals who live in the sea and befriend man.
Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kep beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache, for not only was mere subsistence on so desolate a spot a near miracle, but Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guard against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. More than this, it is an adventure of the spirit that will haunt the reader long after the book has been put down. Karana's quiet courage, her Indian self-reliance and acceptance of fate, transform what to many would have been a devastating ordeal into an uplifting experience. From loneliness and terror come strength and serenity in this Newbery Medal-winning classic.
A taught, high-concept thriller that humanizes the men and women behind military espionage. James Grundvig’s Dolphin Drone takes us into the complex underworld of global terrorism with razor-sharp plot twists, remarkable characters, and fascinating insight into the technological advancements of the US Navy. Using dolphin sonar-tracking technology, Ex-Navy SEAL Merk Toten stumbles of freshly laid Iranian sea mines while conducting surveillance on two US ships that were hijacked by Somali pirates on the Strait of Hormuz. This discovery occurs on the same day that a fake intelligence report draws three US drones away from the Persian Gulf. Toten investigates the parallel events to uncover a new super-terrorist group made up of a network of Somali warlords, Islamic assailants, Yemen-based terrorists, and ISIS sympathizers. When Merk Toten and the beautiful CIA Operative Jenny Myung King discover a plot by this new terrorist organization to bomb New York Harbor, the duo must race against the clock to stop the devastating attack. Dolphin Drone is a tense thriller that combines cutting-edge marine technology, high-stakes undercover operations, and complex and frightening political underpinnings. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Dolphin culture evolved over millions of years so they could remain perfectly attuned with their world, the ocean. But the growing pressure of man's activities become intolerable and in frustration they seek an aggressive new path, making a shocking departure from the ancient philosophy that has guided them so well through the millennia.
The essential guide to the world's submarines, this Covert Shores recognition guide has over 80 full color profiles profile drawings of the submarines in service with the world's navies. These include many submarines which are not widely known of, let alone covered in other books.* Original color illustrations* Silhouettes with Recognition notes* Specifications* History and descriptions* Large format, full colorThis book is ideal for serious submarine enthusiasts and casual readers alike. If you, or those around you, have served aboard submarines then World Submarines will prove an invaluable reference book.
