a Lane discussion in the first place-Hugh , Henry, or otherwise.
The history of Am erican whaling is a fasc inating sto ry. D espite the proliferation Fitz Henry Lane and Mary Blood M el- of research already done o n the economlen is a must for Lane devotees, students of ics and culture of the fishery, its sources are American luminism , or fo r anyon e looking far from exhausted. Dolin's extensive use of for a good read , thoughtfully illustrated by the collection at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, amo ng other archives, assures inspired paintings. JONATHAN BACON SMITH readers the study is based on solid research Washingto n , Maine (the endnotes by themselves take up the last 75 pages). Readers wi ll be drawn to the retellLeviathan: The History of Whaling in America by Eric Jay Dolin . (W W No r- ing of the exploits of the Confederate raider ton, New York, 2007, 479 pp, notes, bib- Shenandoah decimating the Pacific whaling lio, illus, index, ISBN 978-0-393-06057, fleet during the C ivil War and afrerwards, but the book's strength is its balance of cov$27. 95hc) In this new book by Eric Jay Dolin , erage. Dolin extensively reviews the early the history of American whaling is revealed period of American whaling. H e also highth ro ugh the stories of people and events lights bo th triumphs and tragedies. Adveninvolved in the fishery. The stories of indi- tures into the Arctic in search of the everdiminishing stock of viduals, such as Captain ..,__ whales provided a perfect John Smith-an unsetting for catastrophe. successful whaler who Many ships were lost in returned to England in those frigid waters, when 1614-are interwoven greed and the chase exwith events, such as the ceeded sound judgm ent. New Bedford, MassaThe social and economic chusetts, screening that side of whaling receives packed the O lympia appropriate attention Theater in September by the author within his 1922 to view the locally larger charting of the rise filmed and cast wo rld and decline of the w halpremiere of Down to the ing industry. Addressing Sea in Ships. The l 7ththe rosy view of armchair century Smith claimed whalers, Dolin writes, that he wo uld have "There were those who stayed in New England if whaling had proved successful, w hile the saw it as an exciting and even romantic film audience at the screening knew, from enterprise, most often because they were the first turn of the reel, that they were cons idering it from the safety of their own wa tching a m emorial to the industry that homes. There were others who had a decidhad once made New Bedford one of Amer- edly different image of the profession . . . ica's weal thiest cities. (The pro ud Charles whaling was, during most of the Golden W Morgan played a role in the film. Built Age, a miserable pursuit and the average in 184 1, the 3 14-to n wooden wh aler is the whaleman's lot was depressing." Readers will find frank appraisals of last in survivo r of het breed ; she is undergothe whaling life and the parallel lives of the ing a refit at Mystic Seaport.) Dolin's career includes degrees from whales pursued. This is a riveting sto ry and Brown, Yale, and MIT (in biology and en- one that invites discussion of the history of viro nmental policy) and a position with the human predation in the wo rld's oceans. Nation al Marine Fisheries Service, a part of TIMOTHY J. RUNYAN G reenville, No rth Carolina (NOAA). The author's sympathy for his subject is evident througho ut the work, as is his enthusiasm for the sto ries fro m that New York \liaters: Pro.files from the Edge industry. H e writes m aritime histo ry from by Ben Gibberd, photographs by Randy the perspective of one well-informed by Duchaine (Globe Pequot Press, G uilfo rd, studies and work in marine biology and CT, 2007, 144PP photos, index, ISBN 9780-7627-4133-5 ; $24 .9 5hc) policy. SEA HISTORY 121 , WINTER 2007-08
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