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tesladrianne's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.0
i would have loved less glorifying of the killing of the whales (and also less moby dick talk) and more… i don’t know, whale facts? this book just made me sad
emmaswiththefairies's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great book. Full of interesting facts about whaling and whales with quotes from "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville.
Fortunately I had not read "Moby Dick" before reading this book. If I had I would have found the many references and analysis of the book tedious. To be honest there were places where I'd had enough of the quotes and wanted more about whales.
Fortunately I had not read "Moby Dick" before reading this book. If I had I would have found the many references and analysis of the book tedious. To be honest there were places where I'd had enough of the quotes and wanted more about whales.
kthompson9's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
sparrowlight's review against another edition
4.0
The fact that I read this entire book while taking a course on Moby-Dick -- and it was not on the reading list -- is a testament not to my own reading interests, but to Hoare's masterful and engaging prose. He weaves extensive quotes about whaling, many from Melville, with personal anecdotes and reflections. Though he covered a wide range of territory, from the history of hunting whales to contemporary whale-watching expeditions, he handles each angle with grace and beautiful prose.
gingerjane's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for book club and rather enjoyed it - however I left the last chapter for two weeks before I finished it and I'd fallen off the Leviathan band wagon somewhat which meant that I was all like "WHAT?" when I read it this morning.
lelandbuck's review against another edition
5.0
Despite much searching, I have yet to find a more loving, inquisitive, or touching look at the great creatures of the deep. This is a beautiful and informative book filled with awe and respect for the whale. I highly recommend it to any with a love of whales, animals in general, or the sea. A really satisfying read.
jaimcham's review against another edition
4.0
I have never seen anyone really SEE a whale like Hoare sees a whale. If you like prose that feels a little like poetry, his sentences will leave you reeling for days.
lyrareadsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. Some of my disappointment stemmed from the book being as much if not more of a travelogue than a work of science or history. Parts of the book were enjoyable, but mostly I found it baffling. Hoare writes with a lofty style that would not be out of place in academia, but this is no piece of scholarship like those I'm familiar with. I could not identify sources on multiple occasions. Even more confounding, Hoare relied heavily on the literary work, Moby Dick, as a guide for his study of whales. Literature can be a useful tool for understanding the past and the present. I have no quibbles with incorporating literature and using fiction as an inspiration. I do take umbrage with treating Ishmael's observations as though they are of equal value to first hand witnesses to the past. In one place, we are told Melville never visited a certain city and yet Ishmael's impressions of the city are given greater believability and weight than those of Frederick Douglass, a man who actually walked the streets of the city. Something about the use of Moby Dick as evidence didn't sit right with me. If this had been presented as more of a travelogue or a memoir rather than scientific study, I might have enjoyed it more.
jabarkas's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, so I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I enjoyed it because Mr. Hoare is erudite, witty and insightful. He has a gift for vebiage that is rarely found in these sort of semi-science books, at least the ones written on this side of the pond. However, this book was also something of a let down for a two reasons. First, pretty much the whole thing is a big love letter to Moby Dick. Not necessarily a bad thing, since Moby Dick is fucking fantastic, Melville himself a profound and interesting character. At points during The Whale though, one almost feels cheated, as one was promised a whole new book, and instead about 50% of what you're reading is extended commentary on entirely separate story. Which leads into the second let down, which is that while there are four whales on the cover of this book, over half of the tome is devoted entirely to sperm whales (and people who have written about sperm whales.) I was really hoping for some more in depth natural history on the rest the whale family. While I learned a tremendous amount about the relationship between western culture and whales in this book, I learned almost nothing new about whales themselves. Still, very much worth a read if you enjoy witty writting, or just want to sit around for a few hours being talked at by someone who really enjoyed Moby Dick (which I did, and enjoyed quite a bit.)
aimeeverret's review against another edition
5.0
Le livre parfait qui m'est tombé dessus au bon moment. Non content de nous en apprendre plus sur les baleines (cétacés serait plus juste en français), leur physionomie, leurs habitudes, l'auteur nous dresse surtout le portrait de notre relation à elles, notre histoire commune, notre perception, leur exposition, exploitation, quasi-extermination. L'auteur examine leur représentation dans des peintures, mythes, récits, en accordant bien sûr une place de choix à Melville lui-même, de même qu'à son Moby Dick. Un livre écrit avec une grande sensibilité, un essai qui se distingue de l'ouvrage purement scientifique. Je le relirai (en fait j'ai presque déjà détruit mon exemplaire lors de cette première lecture).