{"product_id":"sea-otters-9780803284401","title":"Sea Otters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e Outstanding Academic Title\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e More than any other nonhuman species, it was the sea otter that defined the world’s largest oceanscape before the California gold rush. In addition to the more conventional aspects of the sea otter trade, including Russian expansion in Alaska, British and American trading in the Pacific Northwest, and Spanish colonial ventures along the California coast, the global importance of the species can be seen in its impact on the East Asian maritime fur trade. This trade linked imperial China, Japan, and indigenous Ainu peoples of the Kurile Islands as early as the fifteenth century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In Sea Otters: A History Richard Ravalli synthesizes anew the sea otter’s complex history of interaction with humans by drawing on new histories of the species that consider international and global factors beyond the fur trade, including sea mammal conservation, Cold War nuclear testing, and environmental tourism. Examining sea otte\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Cute, beloved and once exploited for their fur, sea otters have now become an icon of conservation. How they once came close to, and then bounced back from, extinction is a five-centuries-long tale of international intrigue, trade, conservation and ecotourism.\"—John R. Platt, \u003ci\u003eRevelator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Histories of animals continue to proliferate with the ongoing \"animal turn\" in the humanities and social sciences. Ravalli's \u003ci\u003eSea Otters: A History\u003c\/i\u003e joins these still-swelling ranks, contributing significantly to our understanding of the contingent nature of the historical experiences of one animal species and human's relationships with it. . . . Ravalli's deft reading of the history of the sea otter (\u003ci\u003eEnhydra lutris\u003c\/i\u003e) as a history of a global Pacific, and especially the trade in highly valued sea otter pelts, demonstrates how global events might affect a raft of otters and regional otter populations.\"—J. W. Cox, \u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eSea Otters\u003c\/i\u003e is a concise, accessible book that will engage readers interested in sea otter history.\"—M. Blake Butler, \u003ci\u003eCalifornia History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eSea Otters: A History\u003c\/i\u003e [is] a highly readable and detailed overview of the impact of the sea otter trade on the history and ecology of the North Pacific.\"—Les Beldo, H-Environment\u003cbr\u003e\"[\u003ci\u003eSea Otters: A History\u003c\/i\u003e] provides readers with a fascinating overview of the life, times and history of the smallest marine mammal in the North Pacific Ocean. It is at once natural history, commercial history, imperial and nation defining history, species extinction history, conservation history and tourism\/entertainment history.\"—Robin Inglis, \u003ci\u003eOrmsby Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Expertly integrating history and biology, this is the one book that tells the full, tragic story of the sea otter from its near extinction to its elevation to icon of cuteness. The sea otter, as Ravalli masterfully relates, has long been at the center of politics, conservation, and tourism in the North Pacific. Before you visit the sea otters at a Pacific aquarium, read this book to understand the fascinating history of how these creatures got there, and how they very nearly did not make it.”—Ryan Tucker Jones, associate professor of history at the University of Oregon\u003cbr\u003e“Well-researched and succinctly told, this is the story of the late eighteenth-century sea otter trade that decimated a unique marine species and revolutionized the Pacific Rim by introducing coastal communities to a global capitalist system.”—Jim Hardee, editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Here is the story, richly told, of how these vulnerable mammals—the ermine of Asian markets—were pursued for their lustrous skins and hunted to near extinction. The quest eventually generated a rivalry between seafaring nations and Indigenous peoples along islands and coasts from China to Mexico.”—Barry Gough, professor emeritus of history at Wilfrid Laurier University and author of \u003ci\u003ePax Britannica: Ruling the Waves and Keeping the Peace before Armageddon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eList of Illustrations    \u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments    \u003cbr\u003e Introduction    \u003cbr\u003e 1. Rakkoshima, the Sea Otter Islands    \u003cbr\u003e 2. \u003ci\u003ePromyshlenniki\u003c\/i\u003e and Padres    \u003cbr\u003e 3. Boston Men    \u003cbr\u003e 4. Near Extinction and Reemergence    \u003cbr\u003e 5. Nukes, Aquaria, and Cuteness    \u003cbr\u003e Conclusion    \u003cbr\u003e Appendix: List of Vessels Engaged in the California Sea Otter Trade, 1786–1847    \u003cbr\u003e Notes    \u003cbr\u003e Bibliography    \u003cbr\u003e Index    \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48737398325591,"sku":"9780803284401","price":31.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780803284401.jpg?v=1723811164","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/sea-otters-9780803284401","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}