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 ...
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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.
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Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $2.70, good condition, Sold by Aspen Book Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Good. A well-loved companion. Corners and cover might show a little wear and you could find some notes or highlights. The dust jacket might be MIA it might have been a library book and extras aren't guaranteed-but the story's all there!
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $2.99, good condition, Sold by newlegacybooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Annandale, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $18.60, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $20.00, very good condition, Sold by BookHouse On-Line rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Very Good. Very Good Dust Jacket. Size: 6x1x9; 1st printing of 1st edition, as stated and with complete number line. Very good hardcover with DJ, from a personal collection (NOT ex-library). Top edge of text block has a remainder dot and a stain. Binding is tight, sturdy, and square; boards and text also very good. Unclipped dust jacket looks nice. Ships same or next business day from Dinkytown in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $25.00, like new condition, Sold by Southampton Sag Harbor Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southampton, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Like New in Like New jacket. First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped ($27.95 price intact). Published by Norton, 2007. Octavo. Book is like new. Dust jacket is like new with very light edgewear. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions or if you would like a photo. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York.
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $25.19, good condition, Sold by BookHolders rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gambrills, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $41.81, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Add this copy of Leviathan; the History of Whaling in America to cart. $60.00, very good condition, Sold by Ground Zero Books, Ltd. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Silver Spring, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Edition:
First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Published:
2007
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
14487159270
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Very good in Very good jacket. 479, [1] pages. Notes. Select Bibliography. Illustration Credits. Index. Signed by the author on the title page. Eric Jay Dolin (born 1961) is an American author who writes history books, which often focus on maritime topics, wildlife, and the environment. He has published eleven books, which have won numerous awards. Dolin has worked as a program manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; an environmental consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton (MD) and Environmental Resources Limited (London); an intern at the National Wildlife Federation, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, and for Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. on Capitol Hill; a fisheries policy analyst at the National Marine Fisheries Service; a technical writer for the National Transportation Safety Board; a PEW research fellow at Harvard Law School; and an American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow at Business Week. Derived from a Kirkus review: Dolin compellingly examines whaling's importance to America's early growth and wealth. The author traces the industry's development, from whale hunting by eighth-century Basques to the introduction of whale products throughout Europe by the 17th century. The American settlers saw Indians cutting up pilot whales and soon tried "drift" whaling themselves. 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 settlers launched 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. Dolin goes through the facets of sperm-whale hunting, detailing the life aboard whaling vessels, then moving on to describe the dangerous chase for an elusive prey, followed by the processing of its carcass. By the early 1850s, whaling entered the golden age Herman Melville depicted in Moby-Dick. The discovery of crude oil during the late 1850s produced kerosene that soon supplanted whale oil as the principal source of lamp fuel. Dolin ends with the final voyage of New Bedford's last whaling ship in 1924.
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $63.57, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Add this copy of Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America to cart. $77.62, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Here is a well-documented history of a major industry that played a crucial role in the formation of this country and has been overlooked in most circles. While "Moby Dick" presented the whaling adventure, this book takes in the much broader panorama of the industry from its origins to its demise. Not only factual, but interspersed with little nuggets of social history. While "Moby Dick" was about "Man", "Leviathan" is about "Society".
