CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS
Whales and whaling.
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Please note: The books are listed for interest only,
and not offered for sale.
I loathe the subject. The thought of killing a whale disgusts me, and yet it must be accepted that this was, in times gone by, a traditional means of obtaining food and useful whale products. But no more. We have no need to kill whales, and for the Japanese to suggest that it is acceptable to kill for 'scientific purposes' is nothing but ignorant, arrogant and disgraceful. See also sailors and sea travel. |
A WHALE FOR THE KILLING
Farley Mowat. William Heinemann Ltd., London. 1973. (as shown) First published in Canada by McClelland & Stewart Ltd, 1972. Hardcover, dustjacket, 239 pages, no illustrations, no index. A classic, by one of the great Canadian authors. [ps] |
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THE HUNTER AND THE WHALE
Laurens Van der Post. First published 1967. Many publishers over many editions. On right (black jacket): The Companion Book Club, London. (no date). Hardcover. Below (yellow and blue jacket): Reader's Book Club, in association with The Companion Book Club. 1969. Hardcover.
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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF WHALES
Robert Burton Published by Andre Deutsch Limited., London. 1973. Second edition (as shown) revised 1980. Hardcover, dustjacket, 185 pages, index, further reading, mono photographs, charts. From the fly: "The first part of this book (which Robert Burton has brought up to date for this edition with extensive revision) presents a concise account of all that men have yet learnt about the various species of whale that make up the basis of the major whaling industries: the right whale, the gray whale, the rorquals (which include the blue, the fin, the sei, the minke, the Bryde's and the humpback whale), and the sperm whale (the most famous of which was Moby Dick). It also touches on the killer whale and other species. In the second halfMr Burton turns from the life of whales to their death, insofar as it is dealt out to them by human beings. His authoritative history of the whaling industry includes descriptions of the different methods of hunting and butchering used by whalers, and an account of the aUempts which have been, and are being, made to control the whaling industry and prevent the overhunting which has already wiped out some local stocks (the equivalent of human nations) and continues to threaten whole species. Mr Burton's attitude is not a sentimental one. He recognises that man has hunted whale out of genuine need for the products yielded by the latter. But the very sobriety of his approach to the subject makes his final question the more moving: 'Will the time come when the last lonely whale scours the ocean, calling in vain for its companions, as is already being proclaimed in popular song?' " [ps] |
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WHALE ADVENTURE
Willard Price Published by Jonathan Cape, London, 1962. Hardcover, dustjacket, 190 pages, line darwings. A novel by a well-known author. From the fly: "From Honolulu, where their Volcano Adventure ended, Hal and Roger Hunt sail in an old whaling barque which they have joined for a three weeks voyage, together with a naturalist seeking specimens for aquaria on the mainland. Not only the barque is old-fashioned: her captain is a primitive brute who from the start is prejudiced against the 'young gennelmen' and loses no opportunity to discomfort them. In consequence, although their voyage is short they learn quickly, and the hard way, what life was like aboard a whaling vessel until the modern system of factory ships was introduced. As in all WitIard Price's adventure stories excitement is kept at high pitch, yet much interesting and unusual information is skil- fully woven into the story without in any way slowing down the action. Indeed Whale Adventure is perhaps the most dramatic of the adventures he has given us so far: mutiny, shipwreck, sharks and the whales themselves: never a dull moment." [ps] |
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WHALEMEN ADVENTURERS
W.J.Dakin The Story of Whaling in Australian Waters and Other Southern Seas Related Thereto, From the Days of Sails to Modern Times. First published by Angus & Robertson, Sydney eytc., in 1934. Revised edition in 1938. This edition published by Sirius Books, 1963. Hardcover, dustjacket, 285 pages, mono photo plates section, index, bibliography, whalking regulations, draft convention of the League of Nations, Geneva, 1930. Dakin is one of Australia's most respected marine naturalists. Board covers aare line illustrated. From the fly: "Whalemen Adventurers is a history of whaling in Australia, New Zealand and the South Seas from 1789 to the 1930s. Dr R. G. Chittleborough, senior research officer in the Division of Fisheries and Oceanography of the C.S.I.R.O., in his foreword, summariZes later developments. Ranging from the days of sail to modern international efforts for the control of whaling, Professor Dakin draws on whalers' log-books and other sources to give vivid pictures of the excitement of the chase or to select one dramatic incident - how it feels to be on ai sailing-ship when the pots of boiling whale oil catch fire. Not the least of the book's attributions is the way it lights up, with colourful and often turbulent history, such long-settled places as the Sydney suburb of Mosman, to which the over- ripe try-pots were removed from the present site of the Opera House; Ben Boyd's Twofold Bay; Port Elliott and Victor Harbour; Portland, Victoria, where the colonizing Hentys followed the whalers; Hobart, when the Derwent estuary "swarmed with Right whales"; and Fremantle, where John O'Reilly organized the escape of the six Irish convicts in the American whaler Catalpa." [ps] |
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WHALERS IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Alan Villiers. The Story of Modern Whaling in the Antarctica. Published by Angus and Robertson, Sydney etc., 1949. Hardcover, dustjacket, 148 pages, no illustrations, no index. Another excellent book from one of Australia's finest maritime authors. From the fly: "Alan Villiers, one of the best living writers about the sea and sailing ships, knows and loves good ships and ocean ways. In Whalers of the Midnight Sun he tells a fascinating story based on modern whaling on the grounds that lie towards the South Pole. A Norwegian expedition, calling at Hobart to pick up a few extras for their crews, signs on a motley band of Australian youths who have had little experience of steady work behind them and no knowledge of the hardships which lie ahead. The only member of the gang who is not signed on is Little Alfie, who is too young. This does not worry Alfie; he stows away on one of the little ships of the fleet and turns up at Macquarie Island as- cheeky and as confident as ever. The descriptions of the ice-fields and the whaling-grounds are so vivid that one feels the menace of the icebergs, the lash of the gales and the chill of the fogs. There is absorbing interest in the accounts of the hunting of the whales and the recovery of their oil. Whalers of the Midnight Sun will appeal to all readers who have a taste for adventure, in an authentic modern setting, and esfecially to those who enjoy tales of the sea. " [ps] |
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