San Franciscan Eddie Mellish, during teenage adventures with friends Grizzy and Jomo, develops an obsession with whales. As a student of zoology, he books a whale-watching trip in Hawaii, where two people end up in the water. Years later, he finds himself studying under a professor who was on the same boat. But their friendship is stretched to breaking point when they realise both have incriminating secrets. Eddie also discovers truths about Grizzy which his best friend might not want to know. The action zips between San Francisco, Hawaii, Cambridge and the rugged Cornish coast. While romance and careers beckon from both sides of the Atlantic, Eddie is sucked into a web of blackmail, as this novel hurtles towards a nail-biting climax.
Winner of the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction * Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award A “delving, haunted, and poetic debut” (The New York Times Book Review) about the awe-inspiring lives of whales, revealing what they can teach us about ourselves, our planet, and our relationship with other species. When writer Rebecca Giggs encountered a humpback whale stranded on her local beachfront in Australia, she began to wonder how the lives of whales reflect the condition of our oceans. Fathoms: The World in the Whale is “a work of bright and careful genius” (Robert Moor, New York Times bestselling author of On Trails), one that blends natural history, philosophy, and science to explore: How do whales experience ecological change? How has whale culture been both understood and changed by human technology? What can observing whales teach us about the complexity, splendor, and fragility of life on earth? In Fathoms, we learn about whales so rare they have never been named, whale songs that sweep across hemispheres in annual waves of popularity, and whales that have modified the chemical composition of our planet’s atmosphere. We travel to Japan to board the ships that hunt whales and delve into the deepest seas to discover how plastic pollution pervades our earth’s undersea environment. With the immediacy of Rachel Carson and the lush prose of Annie Dillard, Giggs gives us a “masterly” (The New Yorker) exploration of the natural world even as she addresses what it means to write about nature at a time of environmental crisis. With depth and clarity, she outlines the challenges we face as we attempt to understand the perspectives of other living beings, and our own place on an evolving planet. Evocative and inspiring, Fathoms “immediately earns its place in the pantheon of classics of the new golden age of environmental writing” (Literary Hub).
"In Watching Giants: The Secret Lives of Whales, Elin Kelsey provides an in depth look into one of the world's most magnificent creatures. I'm sure these stories will amaze and inspire you as they did me. A joy to read."--Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace "Watching Giants is a wonderful book about animals whose complex social relationships and deep emotional lives are difficult to observe and even more difficult to understand. I know for certain that after reading this book, others will learn as much about whales and their underwater environment as I did from traveling with Elin Kelsey."--Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals, Animals Matter, and Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals "Prepare to be immersed in a different world. Like sitting down to a long dinner with a delightful and erudite friend who is about to tell you everything you need to know about the ocean, this absorbing book will let you see the ocean and its creatures in a way that you never imagined possible."--Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals "Watching Giants reads like dispatches from the frontiers of marine science, covering everything from homosexuality in dolphins to whale intelligence, culture, and conservation with extraordinary insight. Superbly written and highly recommended."--Erich Hoyt, Senior Fellow, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, and author of Creatures of the Deep
"Eye of the Whale focuses on one great whale in particularthe coastal-traveling California gray whale. Gray whales make the longest migration of any mammal - from the lagoons of Baja California to the feeding grounds of the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia (nearly 6,000 miles). That the gray whale exists today is nothing short of miraculous. Whaling fleets twice massacred the species to near extinction - first during the nineteenth century and again during the early part of the twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
A young woman is perplexed by recurring dreams but finds herself catapulted to the edge of a parallel universe of immortality when her husband and son are killed in a car accident, after which she becomes aware of a ghostly presence. As this presence reveals himself to her, she learns he is someone who last reincarnated in 1776 and has come to help her reach within and find her inner strength and the will to go on. The more he reveals himself to her, she learns why he is so familiar to her and why she is so significant to him. Through the intense and sometimes comical relationship that develops between them, she finds healing, wholeness, and the ability to allow herself to be free to live and hope again. It is intensely romantic and filled with a measure of suspense with a slight touch of comedy as you cross the bridge between two parallel realities.
In Pursuit of Leviathan traces the American whaling industry from its rise in the 1840s to its precipitous fall at the end of the nineteenth century. Using detailed and comprehensive data that describe more than four thousand whaling voyages from New Bedford, Massachusetts, the leading nineteenth-century whaling port, the authors explore the market for whale products, crew quality and labor contracts, and whale biology and distribution, and assess the productivity of the American fleet. They then examine new whaling techniques developed at the end of the nineteenth century, such as modified clippers and harpoons, and the introduction of darting guns. Despite the common belief that the whaling industry declined due to a fall in whale stocks, the authors argue that the industry's collapse was related to changes in technology and market conditions. Providing a wealth of historical information, In Pursuit of Leviathan is a classic industry study that will provide intriguing reading for anyone interested in the history of whaling.
This exquisite book is a rare jewel in the literature of Mexico and its little-known peninsula, Baja. Describing her adventures on this austere and beautiful slip of land, C. M. Mayo creates a multi-layered map of place filled with daredevil aviators, sea turtle researchers, Stone Age cave painters, and countless other colorful characters. Covering Baja from Cabo San Lucas to Tijuana, Mayo's wit and curiosity help her weave a story that seamlessly combines history, myth, art, and local color.
An updated edition of the book that helps plan a whale-watching trip. With new information regarding whale tours in North America, this valuable guide explains everything from where to see these magnificent animals and what a tour will cost, to what to watch for and what to wear. Includes updated information on pricing, dates, tour operators, and contact information. 35 illustrations.
Southern Africa has some of the best whale and dolphin watching opportunities in the world, with over half of the world’s species being found in our waters. Watching Whales & Dolphins in Southern Africa is an essential guide to watching the region’s 12 more common species. In addition to species accounts and charts that aid identification, this guide provides detailed information on cetaceans – their evolution, senses, behaviour, classification and anatomy. Multiple, clear images, both photographic and illustrated, help identify each species by showing how to read the partial signs that cetaceans usually offer, such as a flipper, tail, or even just their ‘blow’. The book also discusses the tragic toll that hunting has had on whale populations, and the ongoing struggle to protect these majestic mammals. This is an invaluable guide for anyone wishing to know more about whales and dolphins of the region.