Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) [Hardcover]

Andrew Darby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008 | Series: A Merloyd Lawrence Book

From one-hundred-fifty-ton barnacled Blues to the sleek, embattled Minke, whales have been hunted worldwide to near extinction. Despite efforts to halt the killing, the future of these majestic mammals-known as “mind in the water”-is again in jeopardy. With passion and engaging detail, Andrew Darby profiles each species of whale and its place in this great drama. From the wooden harpoons of aboriginals in “cockleshell” vessels, to the high-tech killing machines of today’s lawless Russian whalers and smooth-talking Japanese “scientific” crews, Darby chronicles the evolving pursuit of whales and its significance to our humanity. Fans of well-written history, as well as those fascinated by whales and the fierce international conflict surrounding them, will be swept into the very heart of whaling.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Darby, an Australian journalist who has covered the whaling industry and the international politics of whaling since the founding of the International Whaling Commission in the early 1960s, has produced a definitive work on the past and the present of whaling. Although he does provide background material from the 19th century and earlier, his emphasis is on the 20th century industrial whaling boom, when flensing stations on shore and on ships processed dozens of whales each day. With each new technology (faster steamships, mechanical harpoons), more and more species became vulnerable-Darby, in fact, organizes his history by species, beginning with the Right Whales-and heartbreaking accounts of the killing make this excellent book a difficult read. Aside from usual suspects (the Soviet Union and Japan in the Southern Ocean), Darby finds whaling piracy in the birth of the famed Onassis family fortune. Darcy tracks international efforts to curb whaling, which have been stymied through the years by diplomatic maneuvers and outright fraud, concluding that decades of work by both ecologists and governments have still not guaranteed that any species will survive human predation; one hopes his exceptional history will act as a bulwark.
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From Booklist

In this devastating indictment of the International Whaling Commission’s ineffectiveness over the years, Darby, an environmental reporter and longtime observer of the whaling industry, delivers a blow that succeeds in its goal to shock. By focusing on the history of the hunting of specific whales, Darby reveals how early practices culminated in twentieth-century losses that have left many cetacean species severely endangered. The flagrant violation of international law by the USSR during the cold war receives special attention, as does the current controversial scientific culls by the Japanese. The author attends IWC annual meetings and exposes the commission’s dysfunction and lack of scientific credence while continuously questioning why whales must be hunted when the meat is often not eaten. It would have provided a richer context for his argument if Darby had matched discussion of Japanese assertions that whaling is crucial to their culture with the sometimes brutal treatment of cattle in Western countries. Nonetheless, Darby’s report on the ongoing struggle over the fate of whales, an ecological and moral struggle, is valuable. --Colleen Mondor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306816296
• ISBN-13: 978-0306816291
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great History Read, May 29, 2008

By 

J. D. MacGregor (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) (Hardcover)

"Harpoon" does a wonderful job of exploring whaling from the hey day of the 19th century to the factory fleets of the mid 20th to the current days of "scientific" whaling.

The book is roughly broken into sections according to whale species, and one of the best parts of "Harpoon" is reading about the different major whale species. Darby gives us a glimpse into the lives of these whales, from the days when one could see Right whales off the Australian coasts every day up until the current day, when scientific seach planes are hard pressed to find them.

In addition to telling us the whales, and the nuts and bolts of whaling itself, Darby follows the evolution of the International Whaling Committee, and all the diplomatic drama around trying to preserve, utilize, and protect the world's whales.

This was an incredibly informative book, and not a page went by where I didn't learn something new. While very anti-whaling, Darby does not demonize whalers themselves, up to the point of interviewing retired whalers themselves. This is an excellent read anyone who is interested in whales, whaling, or nautical history would enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A survey of international debates about whaling and its ethics, July 13, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) (Hardcover)

Societies have hunted whales over the centuries. In "Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling" environmental reporter Andrew Darby covers the history of the commercial whaling industry around the world, from early wooden arrows to the grenade-tipped harpoons of the Japanese industry. Even more important is a survey of international debates about whaling and its ethics, making "Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling" a top pick for any library strong in environmental history.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting anecdotes, January 21, 2009

By 

Enjolras (Springfield, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) (Hardcover)

This is a very interesting book about the debates at the International Whaling Commission. Particularly insightful are the sections on Soviet and Japanese whaling. While expressing his own anti-whaling preferences, Darby tries to express the Japanese whaling position for his readers. He goes beyond the news to explain the national interests and philosophies driving Japan. My only wish is that the author had focused more on these issues rather than other topics he addresses, such as Australian whaling.