Awards
Winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction
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2010 Powell's Staff Top 5s
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Synopses & Reviews
“Unpredictable and amusing and informative and original, cavorting between biology, history, travel writing, and memoir.”
—Mark Kurlansky
The Whale by Philip Hoare is a enthralling and eye-opening literary leviathan swimming in similar bestselling waters as Cod and The Secret Life of Lobsters. Winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction, The Whale is a lively travelogue through the history, literature, and lore of the king of the sea—the remarkable mammals that we human beings have long been fascinated with, from Moby Dick to Free Willy. Bestselling author and naturalist Bernd Heinrich calls it, “a moving and extraordinary book,” and Hoares sparkling account of swimming with these incredible behemoths will delight whale and wildlife aficionados, lovers of the sea and sea stories, as well as the socially and environmentally conscious reader.
Review
“Genius … THE WHALE (is) a rhapsodic mediation on all things cetacean. Hoare is always on the lookout for the revealing detail. He also has a finely tuned sense of perspective and pacing.” Nathaniel Philbrick, New York Times Book Review
Review
“Hoare is a splendid writer and a beguiling guide. I found the spell (he) casts powerful and difficult to shake.” Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review
“A love letter to the ‘largest, loudest, oldest mammal ever to have existed, Brit biographer Hoares book romps through science, history and literature to chronicle his obsession with the mighty whale. Salted with astounding facts (the calls of blue whales were one mistaken for earthquakes), this is an exhilarating valentine.” People
Review
“This singular, magnificent book inspires both awe and shameawe of the whales, shame of the human species that has tried to destroy them. In the end, Hoares virtuosic sympathy for his subject makes you believe in the better angels of our nature.” Alex Ross, bestselling author of THE REST IS NOISE
Review
“A wonderful read!... Hoare magnificently weaves together his own experiences with stories about literary giants whose writings were inspired by whalesMelville, Hawthone, and Thoreauand he captures the utter beauty, size, and power of the whale.” Lynne Cox, author of GRAYSON
Review
“[Hoares] work is rigorous, something every serious student of whales--and, more widely conceived, of the natural world--will want to have at hand.” Washington Post
Review
“Philip Hoares writing is quite untrammelled by convention and opens up astonishing views at every turn.” W.G. Sebald
Review
“Philip Hoares THE WHALE is everything you want from a book. It is unpredictable and amusing and informative and original, cavorting between biology, history, travel writing, and memoir with an engaging sense of the subjects charisma. And the book is even handsome.” Mark Kurlansky, author of SALT and COD
Review
“You dont have to love Moby Dick to love this book. But if you do, THE WHALE is probably one of the most sublime reading experiences youll have this year.” NPR's All Things Considered
Synopsis
In the tradition of the bestselling Cod and The Secret Life of Lobsters comes this lively, prize-winning travelogue through the history, literature, and lore of the king of the sea: the whale.
Synopsis
"Unpredictable and amusing and informative and original, cavorting between biology, history, travel writing, and memoir."
--Mark Kurlansky
The Whale by Philip Hoare is a enthralling and eye-opening literary leviathan swimming in similar bestselling waters as Cod and The Secret Life of Lobsters. Winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction, The Whale is a lively travelogue through the history, literature, and lore of the king of the sea--the remarkable mammals that we human beings have long been fascinated with, from Moby Dick to Free Willy. Bestselling author and naturalist Bernd Heinrich calls it, "a moving and extraordinary book," and Hoare's sparkling account of swimming with these incredible behemoths will delight whale and wildlife aficionados, lovers of the sea and sea stories, as well as the socially and environmentally conscious reader.
Synopsis
Philip Hoare's life calling started as a childhood interest with the gigantic Natural History Museum model of a blue whale and quickly turned into a hybrid of fascination and admiration of the giants of the sea. Spurned forward with inspiration from Moby Dick, The Whale is the result of Hoare's quest for a comprehensive understanding of the human and natural worlds, and their points of interaction throughout history.
Taking students deep into their domain, Hoare shows these mysterious creatures as they have never been seen before. Following in Ishmael's footsteps, he explores the troubled history of man and whale; visits the historic whaling locales of New Bedford, Nantucket, and the Azores; and traces the whale's cultural history from Jonah to Free Willy. Winner of the prestigious BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, The Whale is an unforgettable and often moving attempt to explain why these strange and beautiful animals still exert such a powerful hold on our imagination.
"The Whale is a moving and extraordinary book .... Philip Hoare here brings whales], their story, and our long relationship...to life."-Bernd Heinrich, author of Summer World
Synopsis
From his childhood fascination with the gigantic Natural History Museum model of a blue whale to his adult encounters with the living animals in the Atlantic Ocean, the acclaimed writer Philip Hoare has been obsessed with whales. Journeying through human and natural history,
The Whale is the result of his voyage of discovery into the heart of this obsession and the book that inspired it: Herman Melville's
Moby-Dick.
Taking us deep into their domain, Hoare shows us these mysterious creatures as they have never been seen before. Following in Ishmael's footsteps, he explores the troubled history of man and whale; visits the historic whaling locales of New Bedford, Nantucket, and the Azores; and traces the whale's cultural history from Jonah to Free Willy.
Winner of the prestigious BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, The Whale is an unforgettable and often moving attempt to explain why these strange and beautiful animals still exert such a powerful hold on our imagination.
About the Author
Philip Hoare is the author of biographies of Stephen Tennant and Noël Coward and the historical studies Wilde's Last Stand, Spike Island and England's Lost Eden. He is also the writer and presenter of the BBC Arena film, The Hunt for Moby-Dick. He lives in Southampton, England.