Eric Jay Dolin is the author of Leviathan: The History of Whaling In America, which was chosen as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe, and also won the 2007 John Lyman Award for U. S. Maritime History; and Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America. He is also the author of When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail. A graduate of Brown, Yale, and MIT, where he received his Ph.D. in environmental policy, he lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children.
"...perfect summer reading, especially if you happen to be spending
the summer by the sea, or on it."
*Adam Kirsch - New York Sun*
"Leviathan is an exhaustive, richly detailed history of industrial
American whaling...Dolin succeeds admirably at what he sets out to
do: tell the story of one of the strangest industries in American
history."
*Bruce Barcott - New York Times*
"Starred Review. Engrossing account...at once grand and quirky,
entertaining and informative."
*Publishers Weekly*
"Mr. Dolin handles this long, complex tale with great skill, both
as a historian and as a writer (the bibliography and illustrations
are splended too)...Leviathan is thoroughly engaging."
*John Steele Gordon - The Wall Street Journal*
"...perfect summer reading, especially if you happen to be spending
the summer by the sea, or on it." -- Adam Kirsch - New York Sun
"Leviathan is an exhaustive, richly detailed history of
industrial American whaling...Dolin succeeds admirably at what he
sets out to do: tell the story of one of the strangest industries
in American history." -- Bruce Barcott - New York Times
"Starred Review. Engrossing account...at once grand and quirky,
entertaining and informative." -- Publishers Weekly
"Mr. Dolin handles this long, complex tale with great skill, both
as a historian and as a writer (the bibliography and illustrations
are splended too)...Leviathan is thoroughly engaging." --
John Steele Gordon - The Wall Street Journal
Ask the average reader about whaling, and all you'll get back (except possibly in New England) is Moby Dick and Free Willy. Most people are unaware of the major role played by the whaling industry in the history and economy of America in the 18th and 19th centuries. This book will definitely help correct that lack of knowledge. Dolin, a fisheries policy analyst with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gloucester, MA, has used the extensive local museum and library resources available to him to provide a comprehensive and well-written account of North American whaling from the earliest Indians to the last wooden whaling ship to leave New Bedford, MA, in 1924. The author clearly states that this is not a book about the ethics of commercial whaling or the conservation of whales. It is meant to show the numerous ways in which whaling influenced U.S. culture, and this it does extremely well. The extensive notes and bibliography will provide a launch pad for the reader who wants more. Highly recommended for all high school, academic, and public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/07.]-Margaret Rioux, Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., MA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
