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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 639.280973 EAN: 9780393060577 ISBN: 0393060578 Label: W. W. Norton Manufacturer: W. W. Norton Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 480 Publication Date: July 02, 2007 Publisher: W. W. Norton Studio: W. W. Norton Editorial Review: Product Description: 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. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - LeviathinWas referenced to this book by a friend and I'm glad that I chose Amazon. The book WAS IN EXCELLENT condition and shipped quickly. Thank you. Ken Driscoll Rating: - 300 Years, 1 fascinating volume.Dolin did an absolutely amazing job in covering the 300 years of whaling history in one volume. It is very comprehensive, fascinating, and it is never boring. There are oddities and facts a reader would never think about coming across in a historic narrative. His book has been read, cited, awarded and peer reviewed by many scholars, maritime historians, and has many reviews by different publishers and historical journals. Dolin used many ideas in what he wrote from Herman Melville, author of The ... Read More Rating: - A Fascinating and Balanced Investigation of American WhalingEric Jay Dolin's history of whaling in America is a great read. He goes to great pains to judge whaling on its own terms, chronicling the rise and decline of whaling from multiple points of view: looking at the impact of improving whale-hunting technologies; industries and towns that grew up to support the whaling industry; products of whaling and how extensively they influenced the regional (mostly New England) and national economy; how whaling was impacted, and what roles it played, in each major ... Read More Rating:  - LeviathanIt is a fantastic and complete book about American whaling. After reading this you know everything about the subject. Bram Oosterwijk The Netherlands Rating: - A Great ReadI picked up "Leviathan" on a whim during a visit to the North Carolina shore. I'm glad I did -- I could hardly believe how good it turned out to be. The detail, the sweep of the narrative and Dolin's wonderful writing all make this a very special book. I felt I understood my nation's history far better after reading it. |
