Publisher Description
This is 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.
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“I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It goes into great detail about the rise of the whaling industry in America and the whaling culture of America during the industries heyday. The idea of taking to the ocean for 4 years at a time, in small wooden ships, to hunt these huge creatures of the deep, strikes me as both ludicrous and thrilling. I find the stories of the ships, towns and individuals who lived and breathed whaling absolutely fascinating. These individuals (both men and women) lived very hard lives and the industry they toiled in nearly wiped out several whale species, and yet there seens to be a charm to this bygone era. It is such a foreign world compared to today and yet our world of today probably would not exist without the aid of whale oil. Whale oil helped light the urban centers of the world (i.e. London and New York) and in doing so contributed to their massive growth. I completely recommend this book.”
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Nick (5 out of 5 stars)
