Customer Reviews

'The Moon by Whale Light: And Other Adventures Among Bats, Penguins, Crocodilians, and Whales

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think this was the first book by a naturalist that I ever read (and it was many years ago that I first read this book) that was utterly enchanting and engaging. Most books of this nature are didactic with occasional leaps into literary writing. Ackerman, in contrast, balances fact with fancy and reality with conjecture; she balances personal experience with the universal; she asks original questions that have no known answers; she merges conversation with conservation; she gives us a sense of who she is without losing the thread of what she's writing about. Not being particular scientific, I was surprised to find myself clinging to every word, reading the book straight through in perhaps two nights of bedtime reading.
The chapters on diverse topics can be read separately as individual essays, but there's a sense of progression of Ackerman's life that lends a personal touch to the book. These wonderful essays found their first home in The New Yorker. Subjects are all over the map: bats, alligators, penguins, and of course the whales of the title, which reads like a misprint - but isn't. In the process, Ackerman underscores man's responsibility to act in the protection of the world's other creatures: we are but one among many (and we're hugely outnumbered, BTW).
Besides being a perfect melding of animal lore, objective study, and conservation, The Moon by Whalelight is an example of nonfiction storytelling at its best.

This book is like an adventure from the coast of America to the long mystery Nile River and finish up in the Antarctic. Each person in this world has an individual characteristic and an individual life; animals are the same. From small creature like bats to large creature like whale each has its own life and living habit. By reading this book, I obtain a lot of informative scenes which the author, Diane Ackerman, describes it beautifully. I love this book because the author portrays the attractive living environment and the living habit of the bats,whales, crocodiles and penguins. Every one should read this book. I highly recommend this book for those student who need to read a non-fiction science book. Here is a little information for all students: "This is a wonderful science book." Don't panic if you have to do a non-fiction book report next time. "The Moon by Whale Light" is your best choice.

Diane Ackerman's sharp observations, poetic descriptions, reflective commentary, and search for knowledge make this an enjoyable reading experience. My favorite piece was the one on bats, with their amazing echolocating screams, biological helpfulness for making many plants survive, and intriguing wing designs. Ackerman does a good job of dispelling many horror stories about bats, showing how they have gotten a bad rap over the years. Her article on crocodiles was also enthusiastic and winsome. I thought the whale essay was a little slow and monotonous in parts, otherwise I would give this book a five star rating. Definitely a good book to read by the fire or relax with at the beach.

Naturalist-writer Diane Ackerman writes passionately about several animals and their habitats in this collection of nature essays. In sensuous prose she captures the experiences of whale watching, alligator sexing, bat investigating, and visiting Antarctica to view penguins in the wild. Ackerman gets up close and personal with these intriguing creatures, using poetic prose to describe their habitats, habits and appearance. Not only do the animals come alive, so too do the naturalists and various people she meets in her travels.

Here is an author I would like to call and thank. Not only is she articulate, poetic and interesting, but her fascination with and love for her subjects shines in every essay she writes.

Here is the very special world of a woman who sees with the clarity of a scientist and writes with the perception of a poet. Moreover, she writes from her own experiences hanging out in front of bat caves, tackling 500 pound alligators and cuddling baby penguins in refrigerated nurseries. Nothing stops her and not much phases her, but a lot of what she sees and experiences makes her stop and think. It is the thinking that attracts me as much as her stories. She is hard at work on her own vision of the world and the place human beings occupy in it. It is a vision worth considering.

Expect to be drawn with lyrical, insightful writing into the worlds of the creatures Ackerman studies, but expect to find yourself looking down the throat of some tough questions as well. I always come away from one of her books with some new thoughts to chew on. This book shouldn't be missed.

I was assigned to read this novel for an English class and was not excited to dive into a scienc book. But the depth of Ackerman's poetic words creates had changed my thought. The Moon by Whale Light not only capivates the reader's thoughts of the endless beauty of the natural world but also inhances our appreication of well-written literature. Needless to say I will be asking for another of Ackerman's poetry books for under the Christmas tree.

Diane Ackerman published poetry and nature reporting for a variety of publications before she began publishing books. This particular book is a compilation of essays that were originally published in shorter versions in The New Yorker. The essays are on bats, crocodilians (mostly alligators), whales, and penguins, and they generally include factual information about the animal in question as well as Ackerman's musings on them. Ackerman's background in poetry is clear - some of her asides on the animals and the scenery seem like the beginnings of poems. This would be a good book for a youngster who's interested in biology - there is some frank talk about animal sex and death, so I would recommend it for ages 10-16 or so.

This is a beautiful book, full of vivid descriptions and scientific information presented as lyrical prose. I read it for the first time 15 years ago and still remember it - it imprinted itself on my soul. A must-read for anyone who loves animals.

"The many colors were in the ever-bluing sky, in the cloud formations, the muted light, the midnight sun, the auroras dancing over still waters with icebergs and crash ice, and in areas that dazzled like small hand mirrors, through which black-and-white penguins dove." ~ pg. 233

Diane Ackerman is a woman who throws herself into her research with a sense of abandon. She blends her own experience with mythology and interesting facts and turns each journey into an exciting adventure. In this book she explores the worlds of bats, crocodiles, whales and penguins.

When discussing bats she writes so beautifully you can almost imagine having a bat as a pet, and some people do. They seem cuddly and cute! This was a surprise and anyone who is afraid of bats should read the first section. Not only are they loveable, they help to pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for trees.

The section on whales is magestic and awe inspiring. We learn about whales that "sail" and learn about various whale behaviours. Diane swims with a mother and a baby whale and they seem to be watching her as much as she is observing them.

To complete the book, a section on penguins looks at how they live in captivity vs. how they live in the wild. A close encounter with an attacking leopard seal adds excitement to the story about Antarctica. In each story, Diane Ackreman shows incredible bravery and makes you long for your own nature adventure. If you love this book, you may also enjoy:

A Natural History of the Senses
Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden
An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain

~The Rebecca Review
Once I held a baby bat in my hands
as a child in Africa...

This book encompasses the best of both poetry and natural beauty. Though Dr. Ackerman does sometimes get lost in the turn of a phrase, one cannot help but be caught up in her passionate adventures and her reverence for nature.