Leviathan

The History of Whaling in America

Eric Jay Dolin

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Paperback

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English

Norton
08 January 2010

History; History of the Americas; Industrialisation & industrial history; Maritime history; Fisheries & related industries; Aquaculture & fish-farming: practice & techniques

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.

By: Eric Jay Dolin
Imprint: Norton
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 380g
ISBN: 9780393331578
ISBN 10: 0393331571
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 08 January 2010
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America

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 Starred Review. Engrossing account...at once grand and quirky, entertaining and informative. -- Publishers Weekly 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 ...perfect summer reading, especially if you happen to be spending the summer by the sea, or on it. -- Adam Kirsch - New York Sun