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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whales' Tales, August 26, 2002
Alexandra Morton learns from listening to whales. It is surprising to think that only a few decades ago, no one had studied, much less made commercial recordings of, the voices of whales. Some, like the eccentric researcher John C. Lilly, had made much of the vocalizations of dolphins, but we knew a lot more about the animals who sang in the air where we could hear them. Morton has written about her scientific career in _Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us_ (Ballantine Books). There is a good deal of scientific information in it, often understated and certainly not with the sort of detail Morton must use in her papers. She can specify that orcas do not use a single sound to match a single behavior, for instance; it is the frequency of the sound that makes a difference, signaling tranquility or the need for a pod to change direction. Resident orcas, near the shore, could be vocal and splashy, because the fish on which they feed have not learned to listen for them. Transient orcas, traveling the seas and living on alert mammals that pay attention to sounds of danger, have evolved to be quieter and more stealthy. There's plenty of general science in the book, about how orcas fish, mate, socialize, and raise families. But Morton's volume is one in a series of an appealing subgenre of memoir, that of the woman scientist. She was a high school dropout because she wanted to do research on mice more than doing regular studies. She chanced upon a job with maverick dolphin investigator, John C. Lilly, and then went on to do sound studies on orcas in tanks at Marineland. In 1979, she began to listen to orcas in the wild, using hydrophones originally developed to track submarines. At that time, orcas were a mystery; how they socialized, where they wintered, even what they ate could only be guessed at. Morton helped provide her share of answers, especially those bearing on their language. She married a man who photographed orcas underwater; he was eyes and she was ears. They had a son, and some of Morton's most endearing words have to do with how, in an extreme environment and with research duties looming, she handled little Jarret. She had to deal with widowhood, and primitive conditions in a wild area, but she loved the work. Sadly, her whales were driven away from her home waters because of salmon farming, which Morton covers in the last part of a the book. Not only the whales have suffered. Morton is not a pessimist. Her book shines with hope for her whales and her planet, but she makes it clear that we are going to make mistakes in predicting how we can "control" nature. She has become an ecological advocate for her home territory, learning such useful techniques as bypassing local government and talking (via Internet) to an expert she can partner with to do research on the respective individual effects of salmon farming on her world. Her findings are getting easily published this way without delay or grant-seeking. She is making a difference; it isn't known if it will be enough. Her book is a wonderful examination of a life she has lived on her own terms, and lived well. It is easy to catch her enthusiasm, and this would be a wonderful book for a young person interested in science.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eyes of the Raincoast, May 13, 2002
This is the autobiography (so far) of whale researcher Alexandra Morton who came to the remote Broughton Archipelago in 1984 to study orcas and was herself woven by nature into the warp and woof of that amazing place. While telling a fascinating story the book imparts a great deal of knowledge in so painless a manner that we hardly notice. We learn, for example, that there are three kinds of orcas: "residents," who eat mostly fish; "transients" who eat mostly seals and sea lions; and "offshores" who--nobody knows for sure--may well eat mostly sharks. Though whales, both captive and free, are the stars of this story, the real star is the Broughton itself with its myriad islands and channels, its sunny summer breezes and howling winter storms. With so few people living in the Broughton, the BC government pillages its islands with clearcuts, and both levels of government cooperate to pollute its waters with open netcage salmon farms. Courageous residents fight a running battle to protect the wild coast and wild fish they love from the blindness of bureaucrats and the greed of multinational corporations. This wonderful story, which is all true, will make you cry for the ocean, and at the same time renew your hope in the power of courageous people to change the world. If you have a kayak, go and paddle through the Broughton that Alexandra and her friends are fighting to save for us. You might even be able to help.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Listening to Whales By: Alexandra Morton, November 30, 2005
This review is from: Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us (Paperback)
'Listening to Whales' was a touching story of how a women's life was enchanted through her passion for marine life. We follow the author, Alexandra Morton, through her life and career- which often go hand in hand- as she evolved as a marine scientist and a woman devoted to her love: the orcas. We are taken from her first job as an acoustics expert in Marineland to her more profound passion which is to examine the killer whales in their natural habitat; the open ocean. This book was not only captivating, but as I read through it I learned so many fun facts about orcas and dolphins and the life of a marine enthusiast.
My favorite aspect of the book was the way she explained how her extreme passion for orcas came to be. I loved learning about how her love for marine life evolved from her love of frogs and grew from there. I find it so fascinating that as a small child something like loving frogs has evolved for decades and turned into her fulltime career. It proved how dedicated she has been to her work for so long and how there is constantly so much more to learn. I loved how she dedicated her young life to follow her dream, and this story showed how far you can come if you are persistent and dedicated.
There wasn't any specific part of the book I didn't like. It was a story of this brilliant woman's dreams and stories, I don't think anyone is to say there was something wrong with it; it's an unedited, unchangeable story of her life. I think she had a good balance of her life-stories and experiences and her knowledge and history of her life with the whales. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in marine life or anyone who has a passion that they want to persue. It's a very inspiring story, which makes the book good for almost anyone.
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