Description
Book SynopsisThe result is a single volume that offers a comprehensive understanding of North Atlantic right whales, the role they played in the many cultures that hunted them, and our modern attempts to help them recover.
Trade ReviewAlthough the text is written for a technical audience, the lucid and fluid narrative is combined with sufficient engaging descriptions to make this work accessible to all audiences. Statistics about whale populations and whaling are present, but unlike many books on whaling that overwhelm readers with extensive tables, quantitative information is placed judiciously in the narrative to illustrate specific points. The figures are well-rendered and useful. Recommended.
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ChoiceThe back cover states that the work is a masterpiece and I have to agree. Whatever you want to know about Atlantic whaling, its history and the eventual conservation of whales, this is the text to read.
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The BiologistThis book’s highly detailed historical record without a doubt required an enormous effort to research, assemble, and present for a popular audience... Laist’s treatment of the right whale encompasses its entire history, from years of exploitation, to the first conservation concerns, to current threat-mitigation actions.
—Irina S. Trukhanova, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Polar Science Center, Seattle, WA,
Conservation BiologyTable of ContentsChapter Title Preface I A Right Whale Named Nantucket II What's In A Name? III Foraging with a Smile IV. Evolution V. The Origin of Whaling VI Medieval Whaling in Northern Europe VII Ghost Whalers VIII Basque Whaling in Terranova IX The Dawn of International Whaling X A Fitful Start for Colonial Whalers XI Long Island Whaling XII Cape Cod Whaling XIII Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Cape May XIV Whaling in North Carolina and the Southeastern United State XV Estimating Pre-Exploitation Population Size XVI A Second Chance XVII A Dedicated Recovery Program XVIII Nobody Wants to Hit a Whale XIX. Slow Speed Ahead XX Entanglement XXI Oh What A Tangled Web XXII Ten Thousand Right WhalesAcknowledgementsReferencesIndex
