The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea (P.S.) - Softcover

Hoare, Philip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061976202 ISBN 13: 9780061976209

Publisher: Ecco Press, 2011

Synopsis

"Unpredictable and amusing and informative and original, cavorting between biology, history, travel writing, and memoir."

--Mark Kurlansky

The Whale by Philip Hoare is a enthralling and eye-opening literary leviathan swimming in similar bestselling waters as Cod and The Secret Life of Lobsters. Winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction, The Whale is a lively travelogue through the history, literature, and lore of the king of the sea--the remarkable mammals that we human beings have long been fascinated with, from Moby Dick to Free Willy. Bestselling author and naturalist Bernd Heinrich calls it, "a moving and extraordinary book," and Hoare's sparkling account of swimming with these incredible behemoths will delight whale and wildlife aficionados, lovers of the sea and sea stories, as well as the socially and environmentally conscious reader.

About this title

Product Description:

Rare Book

Review:

"This singular, magnificent book inspires both awe and shame--awe of the whales, shame of the human species that has tried to destroy them. In the end, Hoare's virtuosic sympathy for his subject makes you believe in the better angels of our nature."--Alex Ross, bestselling author of THE REST IS NOISE

"A wonderful read!... Hoare magnificently weaves together his own experiences with stories about literary giants whose writings were inspired by whales--Melville, Hawthone, and Thoreau--and he captures the utter beauty, size, and power of the whale."--Lynne Cox, author of GRAYSON

"Hoare is a splendid writer and a beguiling guide. I found the spell (he) casts powerful and difficult to shake."--Cleveland Plain Dealer

"[Hoare's] work is rigorous, something every serious student of whales--and, more widely conceived, of the natural world--will want to have at hand."--Washington Post

"You don't have to love Moby Dick to love this book. But if you do, THE WHALE is probably one of the most sublime reading experiences you'll have this year."--NPR's All Things Considered

"Philip Hoare's writing is quite untrammelled by convention and opens up astonishing views at every turn."--W.G. Sebald

"Philip Hoare's THE WHALE is everything you want from a book. It is unpredictable and amusing and informative and original, cavorting between biology, history, travel writing, and memoir with an engaging sense of the subject's charisma. And the book is even handsome."--Mark Kurlansky, author of SALT and COD

"Genius ... THE WHALE (is) a rhapsodic mediation on all things cetacean. Hoare is always on the lookout for the revealing detail. He also has a finely tuned sense of perspective and pacing."--Nathaniel Philbrick, New York Times Book Review

"A love letter to the 'largest, loudest, oldest' mammal ever to have existed....Salted with astounding facts...this is an exhilarating valentine."--People

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0061976202
• ISBN 13: 9780061976209
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480