编辑推荐

　　From Publishers Weekly

　　Starred Review. In this engrossing account, Dolin (Political Waters) chronicles the epic history of the American whaling industry, which peaked in the mid-18th century as "American whale oil lit the world." Temporarily dealt a blow by the Revolutionary War, whaling grew tremendously in the first half of the 19th century, and then diminished after the 1870s, in part because of the rise of petroleum. Many of America's pivotal moments were bound up with whaling: the ships raided during the Boston Tea Party, for example, carried whale oil from Nantucket to London before loading up with tea. Dolin also shows the ways whaling intersected with colonial conquest of Native Americans—had Indians not sold white settlers crucial coastal land, for example, Nantucket's whaling industry wouldn't have gotten off the ground. He sketches the complex relationship between whaling and slavery: service on a whaler served as a means of escape for some slaves, and whalers were occasionally converted into slave ships. This account is at once grand and quirky, entertaining and informative. 32 pages of illus. (July)

　　Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

　　From Booklist

　　Many people regard the hunting of whales as an archaic and even barbaric practice that threatens a magnificent, highly intelligent animal with extinction. The Japanese have been particularly scorched recently for their refusal to abide by various conventions to limit whaling. So it is useful, as well as very interesting, to be reminded of how integral a role whaling has played in our own national development. Dolin, who has written extensively on the marine world, has crafted a survey of the whaling industry over the past four centuries. It began in North America early in the seventeenth century and reached its peak in the mid–nineteenth century. Whaling was critical in the economic growth of New England, and whale products flooded international markets. Dolin provides wonderful, exhilarating accounts of whaling expeditions and illustrates just how dangerous the profession could be. He also describes (in sometimes gruesome detail) the industrialized processing of the fruits of the hunts. Even those adamantly opposed to the industry will find this to be a finely written account of a once-burgeoning industry. Freeman, Jay

　　Review

　　A history of America through whaling....with a historian's diligence and a trivia nut's eye for oddities. -- Entertainment Weekly

　　A lively and thorough history...if [Dolin] leaves us wanting more, that is what good history does. -- Boston Globe

　　A remarkable book…only Dolin has managed to synthesize the enormous array of historical sources into one cohesive narrative. -- Michael P. Dyer, librarian and maritime historian, New Bedford Whaling Museum

　　Dolin compellingly examines whaling's importance to America's early growth and wealth…densely researched and comprehensive portrait…fascinating…paintings and photos. -- Kirkus Reviews

　　Dolin handles this long, complex tale with great skill, both as a historian and as a writer...thoroughly engaging. -- The Wall Street Journal, John Steele Gordon

　　Dolin provides wonderful, exhilarating accounts of whaling expeditions and illustrates just how dangerous the profession could be. -- Booklist starred review

　　National Marine Fisheries Service analyst Dolin compellingly examines whaling's importance to America's early growth and wealth. The author traces the industry's development, from enthusiastic whale hunting by eighth-century Basques to the introduction of an array of whale products throughout Europe by the 17th century. The first American settlers saw Indians cutting up dead pilot whales stranded on the beach and soon tried "drift" whaling themselves. Favorably located near migratory routes, Nantucket took the lead first in drift whaling and then in shore whaling, rowing out to harpoon leviathans swimming near the coast. The island's hardworking, business-minded Quaker settlers, relying on the local Indians as an abundant source of skilled labor, launched deep-sea hunting for the sperm whale and its three lucrative components: oil for clean lighting, spermaceti for medicinal elixirs and candles, ambergris as a fixative for perfumes. (Right whales provided another commercially successful product: baleen for corset stays.) Dolin takes the reader through the facets of sperm-whale hunting, detailing the creature's actual physical makeup and the nasty life aboard whaling vessels, then moving on to describe the dangerous chase for an elusive, troublesome prey, followed by the dismemberment and processing of its carcass. Various American wars dealt disastrously with the whaling industry, though it recovered after 1812 and, by the early 1850s, had entered the golden age Herman Melville depicted in Moby-Dick. In 1853, the top year of production, ships from New Bedford, New London and Sag Harbor killed an astounding 8,000 whales to produce 103,000 barrels of sperm oil and 5.7 million pounds of baleen. But the discovery of crude oil in Pennsylvania during the late 1850s produced a flood of cheap kerosene that soon supplanted whale oil as the principle source of lamp fuel. Dolin closes with the final voyage of New Bedford's last whaling ship in 1924.A densely researched and comprehensive portrait, enhanced by fascinating archival paintings and photos. (Kirkus Reviews)

　　Perfect summer reading, especially if you happen to be spending the summer by the sea, or on it. -- The New York Sun, Adam Kirsch

　　The best history of American whaling to come along in a generation. -- Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea

　　The excitement of the stories in this magnificently researched saga build and build…I read every word. -- Dava Sobel, author of Longitude

　　Unflagging insight....[Dolin] mixes his authoritative research with a whale-oil-smooth style that would satisfy Melville and Jonah alike. -- Boston Magazine

媒体推荐

　　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

作者简介

　　Dolin's professional career includes jobs as a fisheries policy analyst at the National Marine Fisheries Service, a program manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an environmental consultant stateside and in London, an American Association for the Advancement of Science writing fellow at Business Week, a curatorial assistant in the Mollusk Department at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, and an intern at the National Wildlife Federation, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, and the U.S. Senate. In addition to books, Dolin has written more than 60 articles for magazines, newspapers, and professional journals.

利维坦