The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea

This book was a bit misleading. I expected to read about whales in their variety and complext and in fact got a book far more about whaling and 80% about sperm whales. It's very informative, and if you're a Moby Dick fan, the first half pretty much follows Melville's life as it relates to whales. It's hard to read about the slaughter, the reasons for the slaughter, and the gruesome details of the whaling industry. The later chapters get more into modern relationships with whales including whale watching and the last vestiges of people still clinging to the whale products industry (amberghris is gross, y'all). While I learned a lot, it's hard to say I enjoyed the book. It was graphic, realistically pessimistic, and just not what I wanted from the subtitle “In search of giants of the sea.” If you are looking to read a natural history of whales, not for you. If you are looking to read a history of human interaction with whales/literary examples of whales, then this is definitely a book you want.

I was expecting The Whale to be just that, a book about whales. And it is, but it is so much more. The Whale is a meditation on whales, on Moby Dick, on loss, on whaling, on history, even on life. Philip Hoare writes from a position of deep knowledge as well as deep love, and he writes about his subjects—whales, Herman Melville, whalers, whaling ships—as a starting point for his thoughts about vast themes—history, loss, loneliness, human connections—eloquently, almost following the model of his much-admired author, Melville himself.

The Whale is a perfect book to read alongside Moby Dick. I recommend watching Philip Hoare's documentary, The Hunt for Moby Dick, too.