The Whale

A travelogue through the history, literature, and lore of the remarkable mammals that we long have been fascinated with, from Moby-Dick to Free Willy.

From his childhood fascination with the gigantic Natural History Museum model of a blue whale, to his abiding love of Moby-Dick, to his adult encounters with the living animals in the Atlantic Ocean, the acclaimed writer Philip Hoare has been obsessed with whales. The Whale is his unforgettable and moving attempt to explain why these strange and beautiful animals exert such a powerful hold on our imagination.

Praise for The Whale

Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction

“This tour de force is a sensuous biography of the great mammals that range on and under Earth’s oceans.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The Whale is part cultural study, part travelogue, as Hoare traces the footsteps of Herman Melville from New York to New Bedford and Nantucket . . . [and] digresses on our abuses of the whale and the devastations of the whaling industry.” —Boston Globe

“One of the most sublime reading experiences you’ll have this year.” —NPR’S All Things Considered