The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea

By Philip Hoare
Hardcover : 464 Pages
February 2, 2010

It's a bit hard to describe exactly what The Whale is. It's part biology, part history, part memoir, part literature, part travel guide. Overall, it is the story of the author and his experiences with whales. A great deal of this book deals with the whaling industry, paralleling the author's journey with Moby Dick, Ishmael, and the life of Melville himself. But at the same time it is a work of natural history, explaining the hows and whys of whales and their place within the ocean and within human history and industry. It was a fascinating work, and the inspiration for at least one of my posts (with more to come I'm sure.)

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