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Eric Jay Dolin

Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America Hardcover – July 2, 2007

by Eric Jay Dolin (Author)

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A Los Angeles Times Best Non-Fiction Book of 2007
A Boston Globe Best Non-Fiction Book of 2007
Amazon.com Editors pick as one of the 10 best history books of 2007
Winner of the 2007 John Lyman Award for U. S. Maritime History, given by the North American Society for Oceanic History

“The best history of American whaling to come along in a generation.”―Nathaniel Philbrick

The epic history of the "iron men in wooden boats" who built an industrial empire through the pursuit of whales. "To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme," Herman Melville proclaimed, and this absorbing history demonstrates that few things can capture the sheer danger and desperation of men on the deep sea as dramatically as whaling. Eric Jay Dolin begins his vivid narrative with Captain John Smith's botched whaling expedition to the New World in 1614. He then chronicles the rise of a burgeoning industry―from its brutal struggles during the Revolutionary period to its golden age in the mid-1800s when a fleet of more than 700 ships hunted the seas and American whale oil lit the world, to its decline as the twentieth century dawned. This sweeping social and economic history provides rich and often fantastic accounts of the men themselves, who mutinied, murdered, rioted, deserted, drank, scrimshawed, and recorded their experiences in journals and memoirs. Containing a wealth of naturalistic detail on whales, Leviathan is the most original and stirring history of American whaling in many decades. 32 pages of illustrations

Print length

480 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

July 2, 2007
Dimensions

6.7 x 1.4 x 9.6 inches
ISBN-10

0393060578
ISBN-13

978-0393060577
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this engrossing account, Dolin (Political Waters) chronicles the epic history of the American whaling industry, which peaked in the mid-18th century as "American whale oil lit the world." Temporarily dealt a blow by the Revolutionary War, whaling grew tremendously in the first half of the 19th century, and then diminished after the 1870s, in part because of the rise of petroleum. Many of America's pivotal moments were bound up with whaling: the ships raided during the Boston Tea Party, for example, carried whale oil from Nantucket to London before loading up with tea. Dolin also shows the ways whaling intersected with colonial conquest of Native Americans—had Indians not sold white settlers crucial coastal land, for example, Nantucket's whaling industry wouldn't have gotten off the ground. He sketches the complex relationship between whaling and slavery: service on a whaler served as a means of escape for some slaves, and whalers were occasionally converted into slave ships. This account is at once grand and quirky, entertaining and informative. 32 pages of illus. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Many people regard the hunting of whales as an archaic and even barbaric practice that threatens a magnificent, highly intelligent animal with extinction. The Japanese have been particularly scorched recently for their refusal to abide by various conventions to limit whaling. So it is useful, as well as very interesting, to be reminded of how integral a role whaling has played in our own national development. Dolin, who has written extensively on the marine world, has crafted a survey of the whaling industry over the past four centuries. It began in North America early in the seventeenth century and reached its peak in the midnineteenth century. Whaling was critical in the economic growth of New England, and whale products flooded international markets. Dolin provides wonderful, exhilarating accounts of whaling expeditions and illustrates just how dangerous the profession could be. He also describes (in sometimes gruesome detail) the industrialized processing of the fruits of the hunts. Even those adamantly opposed to the industry will find this to be a finely written account of a once-burgeoning industry. Freeman, Jay

About the Author

Eric Jay Dolin is the author of the bestselling Leviathan: The History of Whaling In America, which was chosen as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and The Providence Journal, and was chosen by Amazon.com's editors as one of the top ten history books of 2007. Leviathan also won the 2007 John Lyman Award for U. S. Maritime History, and the 23rd Annual L. Byrne Waterman Award, given by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, for outstanding contributions to whaling research and history. His last book, Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America, was chosen by New West, The Seattle Times, and the Rocky Mountain Land Library as one of the best nonfiction books of 2010, and it also won the 2011 James P. Hanlan Book Award, given by the New England Historical Association. A graduate of Brown, Yale, and MIT, where he received his Ph.D. in environmental policy, he lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 1st Edition (July 2, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393060578
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393060577
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.9 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.7 x 1.4 x 9.6 inches

Customer Reviews:

244 ratings

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5 star		74%
4 star		16%
3 star		8%
2 star		1%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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J. L. DeCastro

Interesting Maritime History

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

NON-FICTION, MARITIME HISTORY, WHALING

Author, Eric Jay Dolan covers the topic of Whaling in America - primarily the New England States - from "shore whaling" by Native Americans, through the "golden age", to the decline of whaling due to the discovery of petroleum. The topic is thoroughly researched. Anecdotes and the retelling of sea stories keeps this read lively! Of interest to academics and lay readers of American history.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mark R. Brewer

Out in the Deep

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2014

The age of whaling is seen today as a romantic, glorious period, filled with adventure. It was also viewed that way by many people back in the 1850s, when whaling was at its peak. It was certainly adventurous enough when a whale was sighted and the men took to rowboats to pursue the great beast. They risked life and limb. But there were periods of hard work and boredom in between these sightings. And as for romance and glory, there was none. They lived below deck in cramped, filthy quarters which they shared with rats. The food they ate was only passable when they set out, and after a few weeks, the meat started to go bad, the hard crackers would get worms, and the water would begin to stagnate. Many a young man regretted signing on within days of setting out.

LEVIATHAN tells the tale of whaling in America from its earliest days in the 1600s until its death in the early 20th century. If you want to know all about this way of life and about the different whales these men pursued, this is surely the place to turn.

15 people found this helpful

Paul Andre Gosselin

As it happened !

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2020

Great whaling book from the perspective of the era.
Author warns reader that this is not seen through modern sensibilities and does not try to pass judgement on the ,seemingly to our modern point of view, barbaric and short sighted ways the whales were brought to the brink of extinction !!
Rather.in it's sobriety it is a cool warning to us "moderns" to look well at what is right in front of us instead of judging bygone practices and mistakes.

One person found this helpful

Chris G.

The Leviathans of the deep sea

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2019

The book was a fascinating read, chronicling the history of whaling in America from the 1600's and continuing into the 20th century. The author gives an intriguing account of how the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and WWI had a significant impact on the whaling industry in the United States. And these are just some of the many interesting facts he presents about whaling in America. I plan on reading the book several more times.

Shane Hensley

Everything you ever wanted to know about whaling

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021

At least in North America and from a Western viewpoint...no recorded information prior to that that I know of.

The book is detailed and exciting, and really brings home the challenges the whalers face. It doesn't glamorize whaling, btw, it was a horrible, bloody business. But this is history, not advocacy, and I think should be read in that regard.

How Americans used the whale

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2010

Unsurprisingly, Eric Dolin provides us with a history of American whaling. What is surprising, though, is the enjoyable way in which he tells the story.

This is not a dry academic history, nor is it an economic history of the impact whaling had on the growth of America. Instead, it is the tale of how Americans, starting in earliest years of colonization, and running through the demise of whaling just after World War I, were shaped by the pursuit of these giants of the deep.

Dolin spans the globe in his tale - he tells the reader of early whaling just off the East coast of the United States, he discusses ships chasing whales around the Cape Horn, up into the Arctic, and even in the South Pacific, near Australia. His history focuses on the men (and sometimes women) who worked on the boats and what these folks did with the whale.

Naturally, it is a sad tale to know that Americans used a very small portion of the whale and simply discarded the remainder of the carcass, but it is important to know why - and Dolin gives us that information; he tells us that the whale oil was the desired product, and only part of the whale was needed for that product.

Overall, I enjoyed the book a tremendous amount - I could smell the salt in the air during the whaling voyages, and I could envision the docks teeming with activity when the ships were either setting out or returning from their (often) several year treks around the globe. Fascinating reading for anyone with any interest in American history, critical reading for anyone with an interest in how Americans viewed the whale and other creatures of the deep during this 300 year period.

9 people found this helpful

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JDavison

Highly readable & wide-ranging study

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2013

This book covers the history of the American whaling industry in the age of the hand-thrown harpoon. As well as being rich in the detail and experience of the whaling crews, we read a fair amount of whale biology and all sorts of interesting details such as the cruise of a Confederate warship during the Civil War which captured and destroyed dozens of Union whalers, or the trapping of Artic whalers in the ice when the weather turned against them.

We also hear of such connected matters as ladies' corsetry (whalebone-based underwear) and the social aspects of whaling ports. Sperm whales are very much the star whale, with the two occasions when a sperm whale sank a whaling ship briefly covered. The economics of whaling are an important theme throughout.

For readers looking for a study of modern industrialised whaling and the struggle to bring these creatures back from the brink of extinction, this is not the book to read as it is very much focused on pre-modern whaling. For modern whaling, see:

Harpoon: Into The Heart Of Whaling

It should be noted, though, that Dolin makes it quite clear that even with hand-thrown harpoons, man had seriously damaged the the population of the great whales well before the widespread use of modern canon-fired harpoons.

4 people found this helpful

Garry

Whale Meat Again (Dont know where, don’t know when ?)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2020

A thorough study of the history of whaling in northeastern America, including graphic descriptions of the dangers and barbarity of the work.

A C SPARKES

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2017

Good perspective on whaling generally and American whaling specifically. extremely useful and well written.

L. Aßmann

Good read, but beware: Audiobokk a veritable 'sleeping pill'

Reviewed in Germany on November 8, 2020

Habe das Buch 2010 in Amerika gekauft. Sehr schöner Abriss über die Geschichte des Walfangs in America. Auch in Kombination eines Besuches des Whaling Museums in New Bedfort ( Mass.) ein tiefer Einblick.
Habe dann das Audiobook im Super Disocunt einige Jahre später gekauft; der Leser James Boles ist ein Katastrophe. Wenn man auf der Autobahn einschlafen will, ein Muss. 1 bis 2 sterne nur.

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