Gone Whaling: A Search for Orcas in Northwest Waters

by Douglas Hand

Book Overview

Each year, thousands of people fascinated by the orcas intelligence, wildness and history, embark on whale-watching cruises hoping to catch a glimpse of one. To find out more about the appeal of these gentle giants - formerly known as killer whales - Douglas Hand travelled to the Pacific Northwest, whose waters the orcas call home. There he spent some time with the people who have been closest to the whales: marine biologist and orca census-taker...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671768409
• ISBN13: 9780671768409
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 4.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Amazing

This book is spell binding. I haven't even finished it yet, but I have enjoyed every word thus far. The author paints a watery world of murky human-orca relations, and lets the reader accompany him on his quest. If you are at all interested in orcas, their history with humans, native american totems, etc., this book is well worth the price. I have found it to be both spiritual and educational.

This Author Deserves a Better Editor

I read this book a few years ago, and I remember thinking that the ideas were extremely interesting, and that the book was reasonably well written. However, the editing was absolutely terrible. It was quite distracting at times, and made the author look bad (but something convinced me at the time that the majority of problems really were editorial ones). Very frustrating. Anyhow, if you're willing to wade through those errors, or if there has been a second edition published, I recommend it. This is a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in a mammal found in every ocean in the world, whether you know more about orcas than the author, or whether you are as new to orca legend as he.