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War of the Whales: A True Story
Two men face off against an all-powerful navy—and the fate of the ocean’s most majestic creatures hangs in the balance.
War of the Whales is the gripping tale of a crusading attorney who stumbles on one of the US Navy’s best-kept secrets: a submarine detection system that floods entire ocean basins with high-intensity sound—and drives whales onto beaches. As Joel Reynolds launches a legal fight to expose and challenge the Navy program, marine biologist Ken Balcomb witnesses a mysterious mass stranding of whales near his research station in the Bahamas. Investigating this calamity, Balcomb is forced to choose between his conscience and an oath of secrecy he swore to the Navy in his youth.
When Balcomb and Reynolds team up to expose the truth behind an epidemic of mass strandings, the stage is set for an epic battle that pits admirals against activists, rogue submarines against weaponized dolphins, and national security against the need to safeguard the ocean environment. Waged in secret military labs and the nation’s highest court, War of the Whales is a real-life thriller that combines the best of legal drama, natural history, and military intrigue.
War of the Whales is the gripping tale of a crusading attorney who stumbles on one of the US Navy’s best-kept secrets: a submarine detection system that floods entire ocean basins with high-intensity sound—and drives whales onto beaches. As Joel Reynolds launches a legal fight to expose and challenge the Navy program, marine biologist Ken Balcomb witnesses a mysterious mass stranding of whales near his research station in the Bahamas. Investigating this calamity, Balcomb is forced to choose between his conscience and an oath of secrecy he swore to the Navy in his youth.
When Balcomb and Reynolds team up to expose the truth behind an epidemic of mass strandings, the stage is set for an epic battle that pits admirals against activists, rogue submarines against weaponized dolphins, and national security against the need to safeguard the ocean environment. Waged in secret military labs and the nation’s highest court, War of the Whales is a real-life thriller that combines the best of legal drama, natural history, and military intrigue.
426 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2014
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February 16, 2020
War of the Whales: A True Story
by Joshua Horwitz
What a heartbreaking story! Sonic blasts, mapping, sonar explosives, and more including military games that cause death, strandings ( which cause death), and bleeding in the brain for underwater mammals. This is the journey of a scientist and a whistleblower that battles for the humane treatment of these animals. I really wanted to punch the creeps in the Navy that were so unethical but fortunately there is evidence they couldn't hide.
by Joshua Horwitz
What a heartbreaking story! Sonic blasts, mapping, sonar explosives, and more including military games that cause death, strandings ( which cause death), and bleeding in the brain for underwater mammals. This is the journey of a scientist and a whistleblower that battles for the humane treatment of these animals. I really wanted to punch the creeps in the Navy that were so unethical but fortunately there is evidence they couldn't hide.
July 7, 2014
War of the Whales is a new favorite in my collection of books about the ocean, marine mammal science and environmental politics. The narrative reads as suspensefully as fiction although it is a true story about beaked whale strandings attributed to the use of navy sonar in military training exercises. Proving that you can kill a whale with sound and tackling the herculean task of doing something about it drives the book forward and Horwitz makes sure that all the elements of a good detective story are front and center. You get to know the reticent whale scientist who becomes a public figure in spite of himself. You watch a young lawyer mature into a key spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council. You watch them both struggle with personal and financial problems while trying to hang onto fragile marriages. Although it eventually becomes clear where his sympathies lie, Horwitz does not disparage military players and by the time you’ve gotten half way through the book you understand how and why they become committed to some of the maneuvers that have such deadly consequences. He is masterful at showing how fundamentally well meaning people end up making terrible decisions. Not incidentally, the book happens to be written in my favorite style— smooth elegant prose with a conversational rhythm so it is really easy to read. Cannot recommend highly enough!
July 30, 2014
This excellent book hit a nerve with me. So put on your seatbelts, here we go...
In law there is a term - "prima facie" - which means "based on the first impression". The prima facie situation of the sole superpower on Earth insisting that it must be allowed to kill animals in any number in order to keep in practice to defend the lives of Americans against foes that do not have the capability to mount an attack that would not be met with an overwhelming counterattack can be captured in one word: absurd.
Case in point from the book: an admiral expresses the need for the United States to detect a North Korean submarine should it appear off Hawaii. Ask yourself - what would be the immediate future of North Korea should it launch even a tiny attack on the United States? There is simply no credible military armed force threat to the U.S. by any one nation or any combination of nations in the world. But huge bureaucracies, and the military is one, can go on quite well regardless of the magnitude of the problem they were created to address. The Cold War ended 25 years ago, and what of the size and funding of the U.S. military since?
The foregoing doesn't touch on another no-brainer: what will happen when creatures, that have such sensitive hearing that they can detect sounds from fellow creatures hundreds of miles away, are exposed to high power pulses of audio that can even be heard out of the water by people miles from the source? This practice goes on today. Whales cannot jump out of the water to escape, nor can they dive for escape, or swim away, the sound is all encompassing. I can only ask my fellow human beings - can you imagine something so awful happening suddenly all around you that you would throw yourself over a cliff, or dive under water where you could not breathe, in order to escape?
But common logic doesn't deter. Those who do harmful things will do so until it is absolutely established that there is harm and they are forced to be responsible by the law. The cigarette companies are the perfect example. I vividly recall the "take a puff...it's springtime!" ads for Salem cigarettes. Look at all the time and effort it took to get rid of that advertising even as people were dying of lung cancer throughout. What hope for wildlife?!
This comprehensive account of the attempt, only partly successful, to protect marine mammals from the United States Navy will leave the reader well informed on the habits and characteristics of whales, the details of sonar and the history not only of military interaction with whales, but commercial exploitation of our seaborne relatives. Oh, and guess who funds such prestigious institutions of maritime research as Scripps and Woods Hole? Yes, none other than the U.S. Navy. Loads of research on bio-acoustic location. Did it protect the whales? No, it was all to enable the navy to mimic the whales and, should it kill the whales once the knowledge was gained, too bad.
The author has succeeded in drawing character portraits that give interesting personal angles on the many subjects covered. Quite a number of marriages fall apart, preventing this story about whales from becoming too dry, even though many whales dry out, beached around the world in a frantic effort to escape.
The book is uplifting, following the progress of animal rights from the days when there were none, to the present in which such organizations as the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) use the law to protect wildlife as far as is possible under the legislation passed decades ago before Congress became an assembly of people who view any non-military act of the government as improper.
The War of the Whales makes a solid case for foresight in legislation, though of course the Supreme Court can always nullify even the best intentions that have made it through Congress.
It also shows how "national security" can be used to justify anything. We've seen this happen with the presidency, the NSA, the FBI, the CIA and, in this case, the navy. The public must wage a constant battle to defend the rights which are so quickly denied by government agencies only too eager to get more power, while claiming to protect the public. If human rights are so easily put at risk, you can well imagine the status of wildlife.
I hope this book will result in a flood of money going to the NRDC. Only by going to the courts can rights be protected. Without the courts, networking of the powerful combined with the revolving door between government agencies, the military, and businesses all but guarantee the abuse of all living things that have no voice representing them in law.
UPDATE: I just received the following in an email from the NRDC:
"The Navy’s reckless plan for training and testing with deadly sonar and explosives could kill nearly 1,000 marine mammals over the next five years. They have conceded there could be more than 13,000 serious injuries, such as permanent hearing loss or lung damage." So the impression this book gives that the problem has been at least reduced turns out not to be the case - the USN is proceeding as it pleases and there has just been another mass stranding off of Greece.
In law there is a term - "prima facie" - which means "based on the first impression". The prima facie situation of the sole superpower on Earth insisting that it must be allowed to kill animals in any number in order to keep in practice to defend the lives of Americans against foes that do not have the capability to mount an attack that would not be met with an overwhelming counterattack can be captured in one word: absurd.
Case in point from the book: an admiral expresses the need for the United States to detect a North Korean submarine should it appear off Hawaii. Ask yourself - what would be the immediate future of North Korea should it launch even a tiny attack on the United States? There is simply no credible military armed force threat to the U.S. by any one nation or any combination of nations in the world. But huge bureaucracies, and the military is one, can go on quite well regardless of the magnitude of the problem they were created to address. The Cold War ended 25 years ago, and what of the size and funding of the U.S. military since?
The foregoing doesn't touch on another no-brainer: what will happen when creatures, that have such sensitive hearing that they can detect sounds from fellow creatures hundreds of miles away, are exposed to high power pulses of audio that can even be heard out of the water by people miles from the source? This practice goes on today. Whales cannot jump out of the water to escape, nor can they dive for escape, or swim away, the sound is all encompassing. I can only ask my fellow human beings - can you imagine something so awful happening suddenly all around you that you would throw yourself over a cliff, or dive under water where you could not breathe, in order to escape?
But common logic doesn't deter. Those who do harmful things will do so until it is absolutely established that there is harm and they are forced to be responsible by the law. The cigarette companies are the perfect example. I vividly recall the "take a puff...it's springtime!" ads for Salem cigarettes. Look at all the time and effort it took to get rid of that advertising even as people were dying of lung cancer throughout. What hope for wildlife?!
This comprehensive account of the attempt, only partly successful, to protect marine mammals from the United States Navy will leave the reader well informed on the habits and characteristics of whales, the details of sonar and the history not only of military interaction with whales, but commercial exploitation of our seaborne relatives. Oh, and guess who funds such prestigious institutions of maritime research as Scripps and Woods Hole? Yes, none other than the U.S. Navy. Loads of research on bio-acoustic location. Did it protect the whales? No, it was all to enable the navy to mimic the whales and, should it kill the whales once the knowledge was gained, too bad.
The author has succeeded in drawing character portraits that give interesting personal angles on the many subjects covered. Quite a number of marriages fall apart, preventing this story about whales from becoming too dry, even though many whales dry out, beached around the world in a frantic effort to escape.
The book is uplifting, following the progress of animal rights from the days when there were none, to the present in which such organizations as the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) use the law to protect wildlife as far as is possible under the legislation passed decades ago before Congress became an assembly of people who view any non-military act of the government as improper.
The War of the Whales makes a solid case for foresight in legislation, though of course the Supreme Court can always nullify even the best intentions that have made it through Congress.
It also shows how "national security" can be used to justify anything. We've seen this happen with the presidency, the NSA, the FBI, the CIA and, in this case, the navy. The public must wage a constant battle to defend the rights which are so quickly denied by government agencies only too eager to get more power, while claiming to protect the public. If human rights are so easily put at risk, you can well imagine the status of wildlife.
I hope this book will result in a flood of money going to the NRDC. Only by going to the courts can rights be protected. Without the courts, networking of the powerful combined with the revolving door between government agencies, the military, and businesses all but guarantee the abuse of all living things that have no voice representing them in law.
UPDATE: I just received the following in an email from the NRDC:
"The Navy’s reckless plan for training and testing with deadly sonar and explosives could kill nearly 1,000 marine mammals over the next five years. They have conceded there could be more than 13,000 serious injuries, such as permanent hearing loss or lung damage." So the impression this book gives that the problem has been at least reduced turns out not to be the case - the USN is proceeding as it pleases and there has just been another mass stranding off of Greece.
February 15, 2017
From my Amazon Best Books of the Month review: Reported and written with great passion and precision, this is a gripping and wholly original tale of the ecological side effects of national security. When whales begin beaching themselves in the Bahamas, a marine researcher suspects a clandestine military sonar program. The fight to protect the gentle giants of the sea from the US Navy reads like an eco-thriller crossed with the best of investigative journalism. The action veers from Caribbean beaches to the Pentagon, from the San Juan Islands of Washington State to the chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court. At the center of the action is marine biologist and ex-Navy man, Ken Balcomb, a relentless defender of the whales he’s come to love. Take your fictional pick: Balcomb is either Quixote, Ishmael, or David to the Navy’s Goliath. He’s also got a backstory worthy of its own novel – an absent-father childhood, a lengthy (and secret) Navy career, three failed marriages, and finally a passion for marine mammals. When Balcomb teams up with activist environmental lawyer Joel Reynolds, the story’s twists and turns expose us to the hidden histories of underwater submarine surveillance and its impact on deep-sea dwellers. Joshua Horwitz is an exuberant storyteller, and this is a rare trifecta of a book: important, highly readable, and stunningly true.
May 21, 2014
I borrowed the advanced reader copy from my friend. I was a bit hesitant since this is a non-fiction book, but after I read the first chapter I was hooked. The book reads like a mystery novel - at times, I was shocked (in both good and not-so-good ways) to think that some of these events really happened! I am not the most avid environmentalist or animal lover, but this book got me to feel for all the characters, human and animal alike. AND learning about the Navy's use of sonar and secret defense trainings, let's just say there is SO much I never would have known without reading this book. Really puts life in perspective.
In short: Read this book. You will be entertained and informed, regardless of your position in life, I promise you will learn at least one thing -in my case, many things- you never knew before.
In short: Read this book. You will be entertained and informed, regardless of your position in life, I promise you will learn at least one thing -in my case, many things- you never knew before.
May 16, 2022
This is a book that I highly anticipated reading for years now. It was described as an eco-thriller, and a grand and true story about the US Navy vs whales. What is there not to like?!
Unfortunately, I found that even with a premise that gripping, the book itself is really dry. It goes a lot into the life stories of the people involved, and while some of it was interesting, the whales strangely took a backseat. A huge chunk of the book also talks about the engineering that goes behind acoustics in the ocean (creating sounds, tracking sounds, etc). That's not a bad thing, it's just that engineering is really not in my realm and I found myself kind of disinterested a lot.
It did start off strong, with a mysterious mass stranding of whales in the Bahamas that had me turning pages. But once you settle into the meat of the story, it started feeling like a slog. Unless you're interested in the bits I complained about, this might not be the book for your fix on whale stories.
Unfortunately, I found that even with a premise that gripping, the book itself is really dry. It goes a lot into the life stories of the people involved, and while some of it was interesting, the whales strangely took a backseat. A huge chunk of the book also talks about the engineering that goes behind acoustics in the ocean (creating sounds, tracking sounds, etc). That's not a bad thing, it's just that engineering is really not in my realm and I found myself kind of disinterested a lot.
It did start off strong, with a mysterious mass stranding of whales in the Bahamas that had me turning pages. But once you settle into the meat of the story, it started feeling like a slog. Unless you're interested in the bits I complained about, this might not be the book for your fix on whale stories.
September 28, 2025
Would I recommend this to the average person? No. Would I recommend this to someone who likes to harass their military spouse about how horrible the navy is for the environment? Big fat YES. I was running out of fuel in my “the military is harming the world” argument and this really added fuel to my fire. Watch out Ryan! My arguments will continue on!!!! (Also RFK Jr. jumpscare a couple times ahhhhhh)
February 22, 2016
Update: Just received this today (August 8, 2014) and as I posted below I wouldn't have expected anything less than Stunning, GORGEOUS and sometimes fun, from Simon & Schuster books (no I'm not kissing *ss, I have just come to know through other S&S books I've read that the quality and amazing stories from this publisher and their authors is nothing short of superb. That top notch quality begins in the titles, to the blurbs, the covers, holding the book and its perfection in quality, the marketing pages they insert into the books they ship are truly awesome I have no words, and of course in reading the ones I've been so blessed to read I have a gratitude and respect that runs so deep I just had to say thank you once again!!)....anywho, I received it today and it is a stunning book. I flipped through it a bit and cannot wait to dive in *no pun intended*. This topic is extremely high interest and what I've seen so far is the exquisite quality of the books that S&S unfailingly puts out for us. Thank you 'so' much for such an Amazing gift!!
Not my review since I just won this last night and don't have the book yet, however I just 'have' to say what's on my mind and in my Heart. I'm absolutely honored and grateful. I just want to say thank you to Simon & Schuster and the Goodreads First Reads program for the opportunity to read this book. I swear on my last breath if it weren't for this amazing site I'd never have the chance to read even a crumb of the amazing books I've discovered here. I 'know' without question from other S & S books I've read, that if it's got Simon & Schuster on/in/published by, the book is going to be AMAZING!
I feel the same about many other publishers, (which I feel would be inappropriate to name here on a Simon & Schuster book page), as well as indie author's, just by paying attention to this which isn't something I've ever done before I became a member of Goodreads in 2011. I think so many people here can relate to that about just having that intuition and knowledge learned over time. Paying attention to publishers and authors names on the books we read is awesome knowledge. Sharing them along to others is so important to this wonderful world of reading and that's why I'm typing this out now because everyone needs to know how truly appreciated they are, how much the art they put out there for us is impacting our world's in an immensely profound way. I've learned so much that I went from, woman always searching through the same 'ole book isle in the store, that's now closed, to an entirely new world of endless possibilities and so much more knowledge of the in and outs, the good, the bad and the extraordinary....something that came to my heart and world just by being here. I'm thrilled, excited, grateful and honored to be a part of this site for 'all' it has to offer.
Thank you 'so' much!!! And again, thank you Goodreads and Simon & Schuster for 'all' that you do for all of us here. This book is going to be fantastic, I cannot wait to read it and a shoutout to all to check out the video for this book on Simon & Schuster's website by the Author is awesome!! I tweeted it and G+ it last night. Check it out and I look forward to sharing my thoughts after I've read the book :)
Amazon purchase link (Hardcover link cuz it's Gorgeous and a forever kepper): http://www.amazon.com/War-Whales-A-Tr...
~*Happy Reading, everyone*~
Not my review since I just won this last night and don't have the book yet, however I just 'have' to say what's on my mind and in my Heart. I'm absolutely honored and grateful. I just want to say thank you to Simon & Schuster and the Goodreads First Reads program for the opportunity to read this book. I swear on my last breath if it weren't for this amazing site I'd never have the chance to read even a crumb of the amazing books I've discovered here. I 'know' without question from other S & S books I've read, that if it's got Simon & Schuster on/in/published by, the book is going to be AMAZING!
I feel the same about many other publishers, (which I feel would be inappropriate to name here on a Simon & Schuster book page), as well as indie author's, just by paying attention to this which isn't something I've ever done before I became a member of Goodreads in 2011. I think so many people here can relate to that about just having that intuition and knowledge learned over time. Paying attention to publishers and authors names on the books we read is awesome knowledge. Sharing them along to others is so important to this wonderful world of reading and that's why I'm typing this out now because everyone needs to know how truly appreciated they are, how much the art they put out there for us is impacting our world's in an immensely profound way. I've learned so much that I went from, woman always searching through the same 'ole book isle in the store, that's now closed, to an entirely new world of endless possibilities and so much more knowledge of the in and outs, the good, the bad and the extraordinary....something that came to my heart and world just by being here. I'm thrilled, excited, grateful and honored to be a part of this site for 'all' it has to offer.
Thank you 'so' much!!! And again, thank you Goodreads and Simon & Schuster for 'all' that you do for all of us here. This book is going to be fantastic, I cannot wait to read it and a shoutout to all to check out the video for this book on Simon & Schuster's website by the Author is awesome!! I tweeted it and G+ it last night. Check it out and I look forward to sharing my thoughts after I've read the book :)
Amazon purchase link (Hardcover link cuz it's Gorgeous and a forever kepper): http://www.amazon.com/War-Whales-A-Tr...
~*Happy Reading, everyone*~
April 21, 2015
I really think this is a story that should be widely disseminated, and Horwitz obviously did a lot of research and presented it in a readable way.
However, I found a lot of errors. For example, Horwitz writes "Even the deepest-diving of modern military submarines can't dive as deep as a big whale. [Footnote: The deepest-diving military submarines...reached crush depth at 3,700 feet meters. Cuvier's beaked whales have been measured to dive almost 1,000 feet.]" Neither of those numbers are correct-- Cuvier's beaked whales can dive to almost 3000 meters, Alfa-class subs had a crush depth around 1,300 m. And "feet meters"? In another section, Horwitz reports that "With their wild salmon prey dying off from dammed rivers and overforested streambeds..." After five years working on salmon issues, I can assure you that overforested streambeds are not a major (or even a minor) contributor to wild salmon dying off. Over-logging? Deforestiation? Yes. But very, very few streambeds are overforested. Elsewhere, the author writes of "attack subs...armed with torpedoes rather than missiles." Torpedoes are a type of missile. This sort of sloppy writing was a frequent occurrence.
When the writing is so careless and the editing so poor that I can spot lots of obvious errors even in a non-careful reading, I have a hard time trusting the author about the rest of the story. I also found the way the story jumped from a very character-centered telling of one part of the story to a different character for a different part of the story to be an awkward narrative choice. It also would have been helpful to learn a bit more about the Navy's perspective on the testing-- did they act out of arrogance, or out of genuine need to conduct testing in certain places? I'm a marine ecologist working on conservation issues, and I came away feeling like the story was a bit too one-sided in glorifying Balcomb and Reynolds and pillorying the government. I can't imagine how someone on the fence about this issue would feel.
However, I found a lot of errors. For example, Horwitz writes "Even the deepest-diving of modern military submarines can't dive as deep as a big whale. [Footnote: The deepest-diving military submarines...reached crush depth at 3,700 feet meters. Cuvier's beaked whales have been measured to dive almost 1,000 feet.]" Neither of those numbers are correct-- Cuvier's beaked whales can dive to almost 3000 meters, Alfa-class subs had a crush depth around 1,300 m. And "feet meters"? In another section, Horwitz reports that "With their wild salmon prey dying off from dammed rivers and overforested streambeds..." After five years working on salmon issues, I can assure you that overforested streambeds are not a major (or even a minor) contributor to wild salmon dying off. Over-logging? Deforestiation? Yes. But very, very few streambeds are overforested. Elsewhere, the author writes of "attack subs...armed with torpedoes rather than missiles." Torpedoes are a type of missile. This sort of sloppy writing was a frequent occurrence.
When the writing is so careless and the editing so poor that I can spot lots of obvious errors even in a non-careful reading, I have a hard time trusting the author about the rest of the story. I also found the way the story jumped from a very character-centered telling of one part of the story to a different character for a different part of the story to be an awkward narrative choice. It also would have been helpful to learn a bit more about the Navy's perspective on the testing-- did they act out of arrogance, or out of genuine need to conduct testing in certain places? I'm a marine ecologist working on conservation issues, and I came away feeling like the story was a bit too one-sided in glorifying Balcomb and Reynolds and pillorying the government. I can't imagine how someone on the fence about this issue would feel.
September 14, 2014
I gave this book 5 stars because it's something the public should be aware of and I am one who never knew anything about this. That being said however, it's a well written book and explains the problems with high pitched sounds and sonar that the Navy was using (and probably still is, who knows).
The whales started coming to shore and getting stranded there and the author talks about his research and how they came to try to save these whales and other sea life from what the Navy was doing.
If you are interested in the environment, ocean, whales, dolphins, other sea-life and it's impact than you should read this book.
Not only does this book talk about the effects that the high pitched sounds do on these beautiful creatures, but also the author tells it more like a story. You also learn interesting facts. For instance, I never knew that whales had 13 stomachs. I just find this fascinating.
These creatures of the deep can't speak for themselves and we all need to stand up and help them out before we miss out and they become extinct.
The whales started coming to shore and getting stranded there and the author talks about his research and how they came to try to save these whales and other sea life from what the Navy was doing.
If you are interested in the environment, ocean, whales, dolphins, other sea-life and it's impact than you should read this book.
Not only does this book talk about the effects that the high pitched sounds do on these beautiful creatures, but also the author tells it more like a story. You also learn interesting facts. For instance, I never knew that whales had 13 stomachs. I just find this fascinating.
These creatures of the deep can't speak for themselves and we all need to stand up and help them out before we miss out and they become extinct.
June 3, 2014
Wow! War of the Whales is a well-researched, page turner of a book about the terrible impact that navy sonar can have on whales. It starts with the mass stranding of whales in the Bahamas in 2000 and follows the investigations into the causes of these and other strandings (which are eventually clearly tied to U.S. Navy sonar war games/testing in the areas). I would give this book my highest rating for anyone interested in the environment, oceans, acoustics, marine life and especially whales. Beautifully written, highly readable!!
There are an array of scientists, attorneys, environmental activists, navy personnel, and other individuals who were interviewed and profiled in-depth for the book and fascinating and complex portraits emerge.
There are an array of scientists, attorneys, environmental activists, navy personnel, and other individuals who were interviewed and profiled in-depth for the book and fascinating and complex portraits emerge.
May 20, 2023
A whale on a beach has always been a mystery that cried out for explanation. Ancient coastal dwellers from the South Pacific to the Bering Sea interpreted strandings as a bounty of food and other blessings sent to them by their gods.
In the fourth century BC, Aristotle remarked on the conundrum of beached whales in his Historia Animalium: "It is not known for what reason they run themselves aground on dry land; at all events it is said that they do so at times, and for no obvious reason." Millennia later, at the end of the twentieth century, marine scientists were still pondering the question Why do whales strand? And why do they sometimes strand en masse? Many theories had been advanced, none of them definitive. Since toothed whales and dolphins are particularly prone to stranding, researchers looked to possible sources of biosonar navigational errors. One hypothesis suggested that echolocating whales have trouble discerning gently sloping coastlines, which would explain mass-stranding hot spots such as Ocean Beach in Tasmania and Western Australia's Geographe Bay. Baleen whales-such as humpbacks, grays, fins, and blues -follow long migration paths and are believed to navigate by magnetically tracking iron deposits in the earth's crust. Some researchers speculate that when earthquakes rearrange the tectonic plates in the ocean floor, misaligned veins of iron ore can misdirect migrating whales into shore. Whales that hunt close to shore are the most likely to run aground-though paradoxically, killer whales that hunt sea lions in the shallows rarely do. The strong social bonds of certain species, such as pilot whales, have led some scientists to embrace a "follow me" theory of mass strandings: pods that hunt close together, often following a lead animal, might strand when the leader is caught in a strong onshore current.
- Unusual Mortality Event : War of the Whales (A true story) by Joshua Horwitz
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This has been a book (specifically this book) about people (marine biologist) trying to solve problems (an absurd number of stranded whales) created by people (US Navy) trying to solve problems (war / security / defence). Whenever i read any environmental / nature or animals book, i will always go back to what Elizabeth Kolbert (one of my fav author) said and this is exactly it. It’s common for some whales to find themselves stranded (many rescue operation would have just resolved it by pushing them back to the sea if they are not injured) but it is UNCOMMON when it happened at the same time, with quite few number of whales that reportedly has found beached themselves and looked somewhat disorientated about which direction they should be heading. This is the part whereby many marine biologists / wildlife experts / scientists started to find out why this phenomenon happened. As much as they don’t want to point out finger , they know that deep down, most of the time because of sonar emitting by the submarine that was launched by Navy. These operations could take days and the more it continued on, the more it will stunted whales either in their migration, their movements and even to the extent harming their organs. Whales usually used echolocation locate object in their direction, to move around and to swim from one place to another. This is when their signals got interfered by some strange sound (from Navy submarines) and almost too loud for the frequency of their communication and direction . This explained why some post-mortem of dead whales revealed of bleeding in the brain, ear and eyes. This is ALMOST equivalent to your car GPS doesn’t work and at the same time, you were stuck in the car with something screeching so loud, you went deaf, blind and bleed to death. Now imagine how these whales felt while swimming and enjoying their habitat. My review will not include details of which type of whales that got stranded or which areas/ countries that USA government refused to admit they got caught snooping around - because admitting that they are around the area will implicate them in two crimes, one was causing the distress to the marine species which eventually killed them and two, international repercussions as they didn’t follow the right protocol as whatever borders law intended to. Props to Joshua Horwitz and Apologies to him as well (for putting this on my book shelf far too long before i finally read it) - mad respect for the chapters arrangement of this book, it was neatly documented but at the same time, it keep the suspense going on. You have all of these scientists scrambling trying to figure out why these unfortunate incidents happened, then afterwards we’ve got the prominent activists and environmentalists and even the formidable lawyers who’ve keeping tab on their own government to held up the agreed deal. The cooperation between these scientists, lawyers and activists (particularly NRDC) is just what these helpless whales needed to defend and protect their safety. Unfortunately, many chapters also spilled infos about how long winded USA bureaucracy processes are, experts have to ensure the lawmakers are not tiptoeing around the loophole, and trying to stop Navy from excusing themselves under the name of country’s security. I think the middle chapters is where i got frustrated because - humanity truly sucks. Not trying to be that girl but with the amount of destruction that Navy have done to the ocean yet still wanting to prove that the whales did not get injured because of their sonar and all the military testing - underwater explosion and exploitation of marine animals in the name of ‘PEACE’ is a cliche in itself. Again, sorry for omitting names here in the review because there are too many of them that has been fighting for these whales. However, please know that by the end of this book, i would just want to say thank you for keep on fighting for marine wildlife specifically cetaceans. This is an excellent piece of investigative writing, i would say. Joshua Horwitz presented both sides - and remains neutral throughout the whole thing but as much as i would like to give navy the benefit of the doubt especially the reason they were so on high alert due to Post 9/11, i just can’t. Too many beautiful whales were killed, died in painful manner just so USA government can play their role as self appointed world peacekeeper. The book has all the details and if you are interested in reading about ocean and marine life, please pick up the book. I can guarantee you will love this book!
.
A fucking cliché that i just have to share - where the formidable whale hunter is the one bemoaning the number of whales dwindling in the area : “It took Scammon iust five winter hunts to empty the Baja lagoons of whales. During the 1850s, 20,000 gray whales migrated past the California coastline each year. Twenty years later, only 2,000 made the passage. By then, Scammon had made his fortune and retired from whaling to become a gentleman naturalist. He authored the first comprehensive text on marine mammals of the Pacific Coast, in which he ruefully recorded- without a trace of irony--the passing of the gray whale:The large bays and lagoons, where these animals once congregated, brought forth and nurtured their young, are already nearly deserted, The mammoth bones of the California gray lie bleaching on the shores of those silvery waters, and are scattered among the broken coasts from Siberia to the Gulf of California; and ere long it may be questioned whether this mammal will not be numbered among the extinct species of the Pacific”.
In the fourth century BC, Aristotle remarked on the conundrum of beached whales in his Historia Animalium: "It is not known for what reason they run themselves aground on dry land; at all events it is said that they do so at times, and for no obvious reason." Millennia later, at the end of the twentieth century, marine scientists were still pondering the question Why do whales strand? And why do they sometimes strand en masse? Many theories had been advanced, none of them definitive. Since toothed whales and dolphins are particularly prone to stranding, researchers looked to possible sources of biosonar navigational errors. One hypothesis suggested that echolocating whales have trouble discerning gently sloping coastlines, which would explain mass-stranding hot spots such as Ocean Beach in Tasmania and Western Australia's Geographe Bay. Baleen whales-such as humpbacks, grays, fins, and blues -follow long migration paths and are believed to navigate by magnetically tracking iron deposits in the earth's crust. Some researchers speculate that when earthquakes rearrange the tectonic plates in the ocean floor, misaligned veins of iron ore can misdirect migrating whales into shore. Whales that hunt close to shore are the most likely to run aground-though paradoxically, killer whales that hunt sea lions in the shallows rarely do. The strong social bonds of certain species, such as pilot whales, have led some scientists to embrace a "follow me" theory of mass strandings: pods that hunt close together, often following a lead animal, might strand when the leader is caught in a strong onshore current.
- Unusual Mortality Event : War of the Whales (A true story) by Joshua Horwitz
.
.
This has been a book (specifically this book) about people (marine biologist) trying to solve problems (an absurd number of stranded whales) created by people (US Navy) trying to solve problems (war / security / defence). Whenever i read any environmental / nature or animals book, i will always go back to what Elizabeth Kolbert (one of my fav author) said and this is exactly it. It’s common for some whales to find themselves stranded (many rescue operation would have just resolved it by pushing them back to the sea if they are not injured) but it is UNCOMMON when it happened at the same time, with quite few number of whales that reportedly has found beached themselves and looked somewhat disorientated about which direction they should be heading. This is the part whereby many marine biologists / wildlife experts / scientists started to find out why this phenomenon happened. As much as they don’t want to point out finger , they know that deep down, most of the time because of sonar emitting by the submarine that was launched by Navy. These operations could take days and the more it continued on, the more it will stunted whales either in their migration, their movements and even to the extent harming their organs. Whales usually used echolocation locate object in their direction, to move around and to swim from one place to another. This is when their signals got interfered by some strange sound (from Navy submarines) and almost too loud for the frequency of their communication and direction . This explained why some post-mortem of dead whales revealed of bleeding in the brain, ear and eyes. This is ALMOST equivalent to your car GPS doesn’t work and at the same time, you were stuck in the car with something screeching so loud, you went deaf, blind and bleed to death. Now imagine how these whales felt while swimming and enjoying their habitat. My review will not include details of which type of whales that got stranded or which areas/ countries that USA government refused to admit they got caught snooping around - because admitting that they are around the area will implicate them in two crimes, one was causing the distress to the marine species which eventually killed them and two, international repercussions as they didn’t follow the right protocol as whatever borders law intended to. Props to Joshua Horwitz and Apologies to him as well (for putting this on my book shelf far too long before i finally read it) - mad respect for the chapters arrangement of this book, it was neatly documented but at the same time, it keep the suspense going on. You have all of these scientists scrambling trying to figure out why these unfortunate incidents happened, then afterwards we’ve got the prominent activists and environmentalists and even the formidable lawyers who’ve keeping tab on their own government to held up the agreed deal. The cooperation between these scientists, lawyers and activists (particularly NRDC) is just what these helpless whales needed to defend and protect their safety. Unfortunately, many chapters also spilled infos about how long winded USA bureaucracy processes are, experts have to ensure the lawmakers are not tiptoeing around the loophole, and trying to stop Navy from excusing themselves under the name of country’s security. I think the middle chapters is where i got frustrated because - humanity truly sucks. Not trying to be that girl but with the amount of destruction that Navy have done to the ocean yet still wanting to prove that the whales did not get injured because of their sonar and all the military testing - underwater explosion and exploitation of marine animals in the name of ‘PEACE’ is a cliche in itself. Again, sorry for omitting names here in the review because there are too many of them that has been fighting for these whales. However, please know that by the end of this book, i would just want to say thank you for keep on fighting for marine wildlife specifically cetaceans. This is an excellent piece of investigative writing, i would say. Joshua Horwitz presented both sides - and remains neutral throughout the whole thing but as much as i would like to give navy the benefit of the doubt especially the reason they were so on high alert due to Post 9/11, i just can’t. Too many beautiful whales were killed, died in painful manner just so USA government can play their role as self appointed world peacekeeper. The book has all the details and if you are interested in reading about ocean and marine life, please pick up the book. I can guarantee you will love this book!
.
A fucking cliché that i just have to share - where the formidable whale hunter is the one bemoaning the number of whales dwindling in the area : “It took Scammon iust five winter hunts to empty the Baja lagoons of whales. During the 1850s, 20,000 gray whales migrated past the California coastline each year. Twenty years later, only 2,000 made the passage. By then, Scammon had made his fortune and retired from whaling to become a gentleman naturalist. He authored the first comprehensive text on marine mammals of the Pacific Coast, in which he ruefully recorded- without a trace of irony--the passing of the gray whale:The large bays and lagoons, where these animals once congregated, brought forth and nurtured their young, are already nearly deserted, The mammoth bones of the California gray lie bleaching on the shores of those silvery waters, and are scattered among the broken coasts from Siberia to the Gulf of California; and ere long it may be questioned whether this mammal will not be numbered among the extinct species of the Pacific”.
January 17, 2022
In March 2000 16 whales were found on the beach in the Bahamas in a mass stranding event. Scientists and whale experts alike were confused as to what caused this mass stranding event and began to investigate. They discovered that the US Navy had been doing sonar tests that lasted over 16 hours and had caused the whales to beach themselves or die from drowning and the bends (decompression sickness). This book is the story of the scientists and whale advocates difficult legal battle for the whales against the US Navy's sonar testing.
This book is an incredible piece of investigative journalism that goes into the history of the development of sonar equipment inspired by studying whales using echolocation to the ironic turn of events of the Navy using that same technology that caused the death of many whales. It was almost comical, if not for the tragedy of the whales, how the US Navy was trying so hard to refute the scientific proof that their sonar tests were harming whales; creatures incredibly dependent upon their sonar capabilities and navigation.
Horwitz did an amazing job going into detail about the US Navy's history of using dolphins during wartime detonating underwater bombs, donning knife helmets to stab swimming soldiers during the Vietnam war, dismantling underwater landmines as recent as the early 2000s, and even accounts of the US Navy target-practicing missiles on Orcas in the open ocean. 'War of the Whales' goes into "both sides" of this battle from the defenders of the whales to the US Navy fighting for war preparedness right after 9/11. This was an incredible read, and it was truly inspiring to follow the journey of the whale conservationists and scientists that put everything on the line for the pursuit of truth and justice for the whales.
This book is an incredible piece of investigative journalism that goes into the history of the development of sonar equipment inspired by studying whales using echolocation to the ironic turn of events of the Navy using that same technology that caused the death of many whales. It was almost comical, if not for the tragedy of the whales, how the US Navy was trying so hard to refute the scientific proof that their sonar tests were harming whales; creatures incredibly dependent upon their sonar capabilities and navigation.
Horwitz did an amazing job going into detail about the US Navy's history of using dolphins during wartime detonating underwater bombs, donning knife helmets to stab swimming soldiers during the Vietnam war, dismantling underwater landmines as recent as the early 2000s, and even accounts of the US Navy target-practicing missiles on Orcas in the open ocean. 'War of the Whales' goes into "both sides" of this battle from the defenders of the whales to the US Navy fighting for war preparedness right after 9/11. This was an incredible read, and it was truly inspiring to follow the journey of the whale conservationists and scientists that put everything on the line for the pursuit of truth and justice for the whales.
July 29, 2025
I guess I don't like non-fiction as much as I thought I did 'cause the amount of setup in ever chapter was not my cup of tea. Loved the message, but could've been a much shorter read!
July 16, 2021
Quite good. Going up against the Navy is a lot like pushing a large, heavy, flat rock up a very steep hill; but there are persistent and tireless activists working to maintain the health of the oceans and sea life. I am constantly amazed at what mankind can do with careless and callous disregard for the environment or other species. By the end of the book you recognize that it's not just the Navy and it's not just the US. Exxon Mobile uses powerful sonar to map the ocean and the impacts on the marine mammals is mass inter-species stranding. This is a pretty powerful story that might cause a little bit of nausea once we start realizing the real damage being done in the name of national security as a catch all to authorize inflicting mortal injury on a large number of species. Yes the Navy has to test new technologies and train, but there has to be consideration for the damage knowingly (and not all together necessary) inflicted. After reading this book, I don't know where that line is, but I do know that an unfettered authority to do whatever they deem necessary is not good. There are no check and balances. Invoke national security in a post-911 world and suddenly everything can be justified.
My quibbles with the book are minor (but enough to bring it down from its 5 star trajectory). There is a lot of personal stuff about a some folks that is just misplaced. To say that their work took a major toll on their personal lives would have been enough. No need to go into their multiple failed marriages and childhoods. The detailing of events came across as biased and one-sided (which inadvertently comes across badly and rife with opportunity to be misinterpreted). That may have been a clumsy attempt to lure readers. Not necessary it's a fascinating story in it's own right. Secondly, the ending was anticlimactic. Three hundred pages of great build up, heroic efforts, honorable people, hardworking knowledgeable experts on both sides of the argument
Overall this was fascinating and it never dragged. This is the best kind of book. I came away from it much smarter and more informed than when I started and I never noticed I was learning. Highly recommended.
4 stars
My quibbles with the book are minor (but enough to bring it down from its 5 star trajectory). There is a lot of personal stuff about a some folks that is just misplaced. To say that their work took a major toll on their personal lives would have been enough. No need to go into their multiple failed marriages and childhoods. The detailing of events came across as biased and one-sided (which inadvertently comes across badly and rife with opportunity to be misinterpreted). That may have been a clumsy attempt to lure readers. Not necessary it's a fascinating story in it's own right. Secondly, the ending was anticlimactic. Three hundred pages of great build up, heroic efforts, honorable people, hardworking knowledgeable experts on both sides of the argument
Overall this was fascinating and it never dragged. This is the best kind of book. I came away from it much smarter and more informed than when I started and I never noticed I was learning. Highly recommended.
4 stars
July 5, 2014
WAR OF THE WHALES REVIEW
As a Navy man, sailor, lover of all things oceanic, and a person who once thought about a career in marine biology, I found Joshua Horwitz’s “War of the Whales” to be both fascinating and food for thought. I abhor the image of Navy brass as perpetrators of animal cruelty although I’m convinced, after reading the book, that such behavior in the name of national security is entirely in character and unlikely to change.
Marine biologist Ken Balcomb is a fascinating study of a dedicated scientist who is so immersed in his studies that the customary things in life that most people enjoy go unnoticed to him. He doesn’t need creature comforts and, in fact, struggles to get the funding to help pay for them or for living a normal life. Although he has two homes in resort locations, neither of which could be considered luxurious, he has been known to eat fresh road-killed rabbits and stays at Motel 6 and eats Pizza Hut when he travels; travails he gladly puts up with to keep his studies funded.
Horwitz makes what seems to be an impossible job of making Balcomb’s early life fathomable. A weak and skinny kid, Balcomb resolutely builds himself up to a fitness specimen and spends every waking moment outdoors, wading rivers and combing beaches. As a graduate zoology student at UC Davis he gathered horse lungs from regional slaughterhouses for use in the Davis lab. Then he became interested in the whale deconstruction he encountered and became immersed in maggoty and aromatic whale offal as he dug through the garbage bins at a whaling station looking for intact whale lungs to study. After reading of Balcomb’s dedication to smelly work, I am happy with my decision to go a different direction.
Some forty years later, in March of 2000, after a remarkable career as a scientist in both the Navy and civilian world, Balcomb is well established as an expert in cetology studies. He is alerted to unusual whale strandings near his study facility in the Bahamas and in close proximity to U.S. Naval war exercises. And so begins the story of a battle between dedicated marine scientists and the powerful United States Navy who rejects the notion that environmental responsibility trumps its mandate to protect our country.
Balcomb, a reluctant whistle blower, is teamed with a powerful environmental lawyer in an attempt to reign in the Navy’s belligerent attitude towards interference from those who disagree with the necessity of national security. The future of the decreasing numbers of sea creatures, already protected from everyone but the admirals, is still wending it way through many courts, including the Supreme Court, with good and bad decisions being rendered almost daily.
Horwitz has done some remarkable research. He introduces us to heroes and villains and carefully explains their agendas. It’s clear where his sympathies lie but he still maintains a sense of neutrality. His story is exceptionally well written and moves with clarity and sensibility to an unsolved resolution. Every step of the encounter is explained in understandable language that deeply draws the reader into the turmoil. This is a fight that, under the guidance of the author, will invoke emotion and opinion.
As a Navy man, sailor, lover of all things oceanic, and a person who once thought about a career in marine biology, I found Joshua Horwitz’s “War of the Whales” to be both fascinating and food for thought. I abhor the image of Navy brass as perpetrators of animal cruelty although I’m convinced, after reading the book, that such behavior in the name of national security is entirely in character and unlikely to change.
Marine biologist Ken Balcomb is a fascinating study of a dedicated scientist who is so immersed in his studies that the customary things in life that most people enjoy go unnoticed to him. He doesn’t need creature comforts and, in fact, struggles to get the funding to help pay for them or for living a normal life. Although he has two homes in resort locations, neither of which could be considered luxurious, he has been known to eat fresh road-killed rabbits and stays at Motel 6 and eats Pizza Hut when he travels; travails he gladly puts up with to keep his studies funded.
Horwitz makes what seems to be an impossible job of making Balcomb’s early life fathomable. A weak and skinny kid, Balcomb resolutely builds himself up to a fitness specimen and spends every waking moment outdoors, wading rivers and combing beaches. As a graduate zoology student at UC Davis he gathered horse lungs from regional slaughterhouses for use in the Davis lab. Then he became interested in the whale deconstruction he encountered and became immersed in maggoty and aromatic whale offal as he dug through the garbage bins at a whaling station looking for intact whale lungs to study. After reading of Balcomb’s dedication to smelly work, I am happy with my decision to go a different direction.
Some forty years later, in March of 2000, after a remarkable career as a scientist in both the Navy and civilian world, Balcomb is well established as an expert in cetology studies. He is alerted to unusual whale strandings near his study facility in the Bahamas and in close proximity to U.S. Naval war exercises. And so begins the story of a battle between dedicated marine scientists and the powerful United States Navy who rejects the notion that environmental responsibility trumps its mandate to protect our country.
Balcomb, a reluctant whistle blower, is teamed with a powerful environmental lawyer in an attempt to reign in the Navy’s belligerent attitude towards interference from those who disagree with the necessity of national security. The future of the decreasing numbers of sea creatures, already protected from everyone but the admirals, is still wending it way through many courts, including the Supreme Court, with good and bad decisions being rendered almost daily.
Horwitz has done some remarkable research. He introduces us to heroes and villains and carefully explains their agendas. It’s clear where his sympathies lie but he still maintains a sense of neutrality. His story is exceptionally well written and moves with clarity and sensibility to an unsolved resolution. Every step of the encounter is explained in understandable language that deeply draws the reader into the turmoil. This is a fight that, under the guidance of the author, will invoke emotion and opinion.
December 7, 2022
A suspenseful and deep read, War of the Whales: A True Story by Joshua Horwitz dives into the relationship between the United States Navy’s use of sonar and the struggles of dolphins and whales affected by it. Alternating between viewpoints and using flashbacks to help the reader gain insight into how deep the Navy’s secrets go, this book covers years of research, lawsuits, and protests. With the insight and action of environmental attorney Joel Reynolds and marine biologist Ken Balcomb, we discover how affected whales and dolphins are by sonar testing and battle simulations in the water, and the many legal battles it takes to get the Navy to admit its role in mass strandings of cetaceans around the world. This book really paints a picture of how hard it is to overrule powerful organizations, and the consequences of those people getting away with it. I will most remember the way Horwitz describes people around the world rallying together and creating a demand for the navies around the world to protect our oceans. This book forces the reader to realize battles like this are never truly won, and there will always be future generations continuing the fight. Although I liked how in-depth Horwitz went into the science behind the Navy’s use of sonar and weapon testing, this made it a little bit hard to understand, and occasionally tripped me up when it was referenced. This book will resonate most with readers who are passionate about protecting our oceans and the species that depend on them, as well as an interest in science and the legal side of environmental issues. War of the Whales has an incredible amount of dedication and suspense, and I highly recommend this thought-provoking read.
September 25, 2014
In 2003 my cousin Ken Balcomb video taped and sound recorded the Navy performing 235-decibel, mid-frequency sonar testing, right off the shore from his house on San Juan Island in Puget Sound. In this clip below, you will hear the shrieking of the sonar, while you see the battleship, and a pod of orcas are huddled close to shore. They are very agitated.
http://vimeo.com/35584781
The Navy initially denied that they were even in the area, but when Ken sent the footage to KOMO 4 TV, they amended their statement, and blamed the whales' behavior on the whale-watching boats. The next day, dead harbor porpoises began washing up onshore. Cause of death: acoustic trauma to the ears and brain hemorrhaging.
And this is just Ch. 26 in this great book about Ken (a former Naval acoustic expert) and his many-years-long battle with the Navy over numerous whale and dolphin deaths around the world as a result of sonar testing. It's a fascinating read, and quite an education about Low Frequency Active sonar, acoustic thermometry, antisubmarine warfare, Magellan I and II, and that's just the sexy stuff!
http://vimeo.com/35584781
The Navy initially denied that they were even in the area, but when Ken sent the footage to KOMO 4 TV, they amended their statement, and blamed the whales' behavior on the whale-watching boats. The next day, dead harbor porpoises began washing up onshore. Cause of death: acoustic trauma to the ears and brain hemorrhaging.
And this is just Ch. 26 in this great book about Ken (a former Naval acoustic expert) and his many-years-long battle with the Navy over numerous whale and dolphin deaths around the world as a result of sonar testing. It's a fascinating read, and quite an education about Low Frequency Active sonar, acoustic thermometry, antisubmarine warfare, Magellan I and II, and that's just the sexy stuff!
May 22, 2018
This is a book I should have rated highly (I can't say "enjoyed" as it is about whales dying due to humans training for fucking war.) but could not for a number of reasons. First of all, I thought the focus was far too heavy on people and far too little on whales, ya know...the point of the book. I grew quite tired of listening to all these details about every person included in the book while whales, even specific whale species, got limited focus. The book also jumps around far too much in terms of time and people. I also found myself wanting more information on certain things while the author clearly felt other elements were more important because he would drone on about those instead. I found the book to be dryly and boringly written, which is bad because I have a greater tolerance for such things than other people and this means there are a lot of people that will not bother to read it. Had it been written in a more concise and compelling manner I think more people would be able to learn about sonar and the impacts on whales and other marine species, thereby making it more likely things could change.
September 29, 2014
This book details the affects of military sonar and LFA testing and the affects on mammal sea life.
The story starts with whales washing up on the shores of Bahamas in 2000. From there it follows the investigation and legal proceedings. Spliced into the narrative is information on military programs, ocean fish & mammal advocacy and protection, whale biology, and background stories of the participants.
Whales use bioacoustics to identify objects, navigate, and communicate. When there's a really loud noise permeating the ocean it can unsettle them at the least, and at the worst, cause direct or indirect death. Enter technology and the goal of undersea detection.
The two major antagonists are militaries with sonar programs and oil exploration.
When a single test can kill up to 100 whales it doesn't seem very promising for the future of marine mammal survival.
The story starts with whales washing up on the shores of Bahamas in 2000. From there it follows the investigation and legal proceedings. Spliced into the narrative is information on military programs, ocean fish & mammal advocacy and protection, whale biology, and background stories of the participants.
Whales use bioacoustics to identify objects, navigate, and communicate. When there's a really loud noise permeating the ocean it can unsettle them at the least, and at the worst, cause direct or indirect death. Enter technology and the goal of undersea detection.
The two major antagonists are militaries with sonar programs and oil exploration.
When a single test can kill up to 100 whales it doesn't seem very promising for the future of marine mammal survival.
September 5, 2014
I loved reading this book. I am very interested in becoming a marine biologist/ecologist when I grow up. This book is very written with many details. It felt like I was one of the "Earthlings" helping and researching the whales. I liked how the author explained the science behind the things he did. I also liked learning about the beaked whales and all the pictures that were included in the text. I was very interested in learning about mass stranding of whales and it was wonderful to read about people care so much for these whales. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in whales and marine biology. This book was very fascinating and one of the best books I've read.
June 1, 2014
Received ARC from NETGALLEY for honest review. Excellent nonfiction work about how military sonar tests drove whales to beach themselves. Well-written and fast-paced, it was informative without being mind-numbing. The courtroom bit was a little more tedious but easy to understand. Definitely worth a read if you're looking for something that isn't just fluff this summer.
January 27, 2015
I love it when a book inspires me with depictions of people who are willing to fight for what they believe in. It is even better when the book is about real people. I enjoyed reading about Ken Balcomb and Joel Reynolds and their longtime efforts to protect whales and many other species. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the environment, and particularly environmental law.
July 1, 2014
Josh has done an amazing job of detailing the events surrounding the mass strandings of whales that have been occurring for the last 40 years. Are the strandings explicable? To some, no. You will reach your own conclusions after you read this compelling, extremely well written book.
June 29, 2014
Fascinating history of the ongoing battle between environmental stewardship and military preparedness. The story leads to the NRDC v. Winter Supreme Court decision. If you're unfamiliar with that case, no spoilers here.
October 5, 2021
4.5, really. Nonfiction that reads like a spy novel. Informative and engaging, it combines two of my favorite things to great effect: whales and the Supreme Court.
Crazy story line, conflicts of interest, matters of the heart, politics, conservation, mortality, war... It's got it all.
Crazy story line, conflicts of interest, matters of the heart, politics, conservation, mortality, war... It's got it all.
March 6, 2018
I suppose I was looking for a thrilling undercover story full of twists and turns when I picked up this book. It ended up being more of a detailed, slow, and technical account of the Navy’s impact on whales. Expertly researched, but a little bit too dense for those of us with little background in law / military / sonar. My one critique about the actual writing was that the characters were hard to follow and there were so many involved. I would recommend this book for anyone considering a career in environmental law!
March 15, 2023
I found the first half of this book really hard to read and felt it jumped around too much. The second half read much quicker and was very interesting and educational. As someone who has studied conservation biology I think more people should read this book and work to ensure the future of these beautiful creatures.
October 7, 2023
War of the Whales is first and foremost a character piece centered on Joel Reynolds and Ken Balcomb and their lifelong commitment to environmental protection. An emotionally heavy but worthwhile read.
June 10, 2024
Really excellent, super well researched and it pulled me in. Definitely need to turn your brain on to read it, but I loved it.
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