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Fathoms: The World in the Whale
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78/99
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28/99
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About This Book
When writer Rebecca Giggs encountered a humpback whale stranded on her local beachfront in Australia, she began to wonder how the lives of whales shed light on the condition of our seas. Fathoms: The World in the Whale blends natural history, philosophy, and science to explore: How do whales experience ecological change? Will our connection to these storied animals be transformed by technology? What can observing whales teach us about the complexity, splendour, and fragility of life? In Fathoms, we learn about whales so rare they have never been named, whale songs that sweep across hemispheres in annual waves of popularity, and whales that have modified the chemical composition of our planet's atmosphere. We travel to Japan to board the ships that hunt whales and delve into the deepest seas to discover the plastic pollution now pervading the whale's undersea environment. In the spirit of Rachel Carson and Rebecca Solnit, Giggs gives us a vivid exploration of the natural world even as she addresses what it means to write about nature at a time of environmental crisis.
Reviews
"In lyrical language, Giggs leads readers on a journey through underwater cultures and the place of whales in the chain of life."
"Giggs's writing has an old-fashioned lushness and elaborateness of thought."
"Giggs's prose is fluid, sensuous, and lyrical."
"she questions the conventional wisdom that all is well with whales now that conservation campaigns have helped their populations rebound ..."
"delving and lyrically precise ..."
"A thoughtful, ambitiously crafted appeal for the preservation of marine mammals."
"Giggs, tending the final hours of a humpback on an Australian beach, reminds us that paying attention to the close of another creature's life can be its own form of moral instruction."
"As well as being dazzlingly well researched and conveyed, the language in Fathoms is wonderful in that it never becomes sentimental and yet is thoroughly moving."
"In tracing humankind's continuing intersection with these alluring creatures, Giggs ultimately uncovers seeds of hope and, planting them in her fertile mind, cultivates a lush landscape that offers remarkable views of nature, humanity and how we might find a way forward together."
"Giggs ends Fathoms much where she began with people gathered to view yet another dead whale."
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