Leviathan

The History of Whaling in America

By: Eric Jay Dolin

Write A Review

Paperback | 1 July 2008 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
512 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.8 x 13.8 x 3.0

Paperback

$39.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $9.94 with

Ships in 5 to 10 business days

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.

Industry Reviews

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

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction History Regional & National History History of the Americas Economics Economic History Specific Events & Topics in History Industrialisation & Industrial History Industry & Industrial Studies Primary Industries Fisheries & Related Industries Maritime History

Engineering & Technology Agriculture & Farming Aquaculture & Fish-Farming Practice & Techniques

Introduction	p. 11
Arrival and Ascent, 1614-1774
John Smith Goes Whaling	p. 17
"The King of Waters, The Sea-Shouldering Whale"	p. 30
All Along the Coast	p. 41
Nantucket, the "Faraway Land"	p. 63
The Whale's Whale	p. 75
Into "Ye Deep"	p. 90
Candle Wars	p. 109
Glory Days	p. 119
Tragedy and Triumph, 1775-1860
On the Eve of Revolution	p. 139
Ruin	p. 149
Up from the Ashes	p. 165
Knockdown	p. 188
The Golden Age	p. 205
"An Enormous, Filthy Humbug"	p. 253
Stories, Songs, Sex, and Scrimshaw	p. 275
Mutinies, Murders, Mayhem, and Malevolent Whales	p. 282
Disaster and Decay, 1861-1924
Stones in the Harbor and Fire on the Water	p. 309
From the Earth	p. 335
Ice Crush	p. 342
Fading Away	p. 353
Epilogue: Fin Out	p. 370
Notes	p. 375
Select Bibliography	p. 453
Illustration Credits	p. 461
Acknowledgments	p. 463
Index	p. 467
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Leviathan

The History of Whaling in America

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in History

Looking from the North

Australian history from the top down

The Courageous Life of Weary Dunlop

Surgeon, prisoner-of-war, life-saving leader and legend of the Thai-Burma Railway

Jane Austen at Home

A Biography

SAS Brothers in Arms

Paddy Mayne's Desperadoes: Blood-and-Guts Defiance at Britain's Darkest Hour.

Threads of Life

History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle

An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West

The Twins of Auschwitz

The inspiring true story of a young girl surviving Mengele's hell

Pax

War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age - THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Straya Day: from the bestselling author of RUM and GOLD, with 45 trivia quiz questions to test your history

The unofficial history of Australia's national day

Unwell Women

A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World

The Missing Thread

A New History of the Ancient World Through the Women Who Shaped It

Day of the Caesars : Eagles of the Empire

Eagles of the Empire : Book 16

38 Londres Street

On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia

History's Greatest Drinking Games

From the Notorious to the Wisely Forgotten

Turning to Stone

Shadows of the Workhouse

The Drama of Life in Postwar London

Hiroshima

The extraordinary stories of the last survivors of the atomic bomb who can still recall the day the world changed forever

Long Walk To Freedom

'Essential reading' Barack Obama

The Gnostic Gospels

The World of King Arthur

A 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle by Adam Simpson

The Golden Thread

How Fabric Changed History

Sovietistan

Journey Through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

Henry V

The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King

The Australian Wars

The truth about the bloody battles fought to establish the nation

This product is categorised by