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Die Reise der Wale: Mein Leben mit den geheimnisvollen Meeresgiganten
Eine fesselnde Erkundung des Lebens der Wale im Pazifischen Ozean
Leigh Calvez erforscht als Wissenschaftlerin seit vielen Jahren das Leben der Wale. Hier erzählt sie mitreißend und sehr persönlich die Geschichten dieser Giganten der Tiefsee, darunter familiäre Orcas, weit wandernde Buckelwale oder uralte, tief tauchende Blauwale, die größten Tiere des Planeten. Wir begleiten die Wale auf ihren geheimnisvollen Routen, ergründen ihre Gewohnheiten und Geräusche und kommen ihnen dabei sehr nahe. Die Autorin berichtet sie von ihren Forschungsreisen und den Schlüssen, die sie hieraus ziehen konnte. Ein Buch, das uns staunen und das Leben der Wale verstehen lässt und so unsere Verbundenheit mit der Natur vertieft.
Eine spannende Verbindung von wissenschaftlicher Wal-Forschung mit einer sehr persönlichen Erzählebene
Das Natur-Sachbuch bietet allen einen interessanten, wissenschaftlich fundierten und gleichzeitig leicht verständlichen Einblick in das Leben und Verhalten von sechs Walarten, darunter Orcas, Buckelwale, Pottwale, Blauwale und Grauwalen, aber auch unbekanntere, wie der Blainville-Schnabelwal oder der Kleine Schwertwal. Wir verfolgen das Leben dieser Tiere und begleiten sie auf ihren geheimen Routen durch die Ozeane. Dabei lernen wir ihre Gewohnheiten kennen, ihre Geräusche und Gesänge, ihre Bewegungsmuster an der Meeresoberfläche und die Besonderheiten, die sie voneinander unterscheiden. Wissenschaftlich fundiert und gleichzeitig verständlich erfahren viel Neues zu den Meeresgiganten und ihrer Lebenswelt der Ozeane. Die persönlichen Erzählungen der Autorin lockern die wissenschaftlichen Informationen auf und machen den Inhalt zugänglich und emotional. Ihre Faszination für diese atemberaubenden Tiere ist auf jeder Seite spürbar.
Leigh Calvez hat ein Buch geschrieben für alle, die sich für die großen Meeressäugetiere interessieren, die Faszination für sie verstehen sowie Näheres über die Kommunikation und das Verhalten von Walen erfahren wollen.
Leigh Calvez erforscht als Wissenschaftlerin seit vielen Jahren das Leben der Wale. Hier erzählt sie mitreißend und sehr persönlich die Geschichten dieser Giganten der Tiefsee, darunter familiäre Orcas, weit wandernde Buckelwale oder uralte, tief tauchende Blauwale, die größten Tiere des Planeten. Wir begleiten die Wale auf ihren geheimnisvollen Routen, ergründen ihre Gewohnheiten und Geräusche und kommen ihnen dabei sehr nahe. Die Autorin berichtet sie von ihren Forschungsreisen und den Schlüssen, die sie hieraus ziehen konnte. Ein Buch, das uns staunen und das Leben der Wale verstehen lässt und so unsere Verbundenheit mit der Natur vertieft.
Eine spannende Verbindung von wissenschaftlicher Wal-Forschung mit einer sehr persönlichen Erzählebene
Das Natur-Sachbuch bietet allen einen interessanten, wissenschaftlich fundierten und gleichzeitig leicht verständlichen Einblick in das Leben und Verhalten von sechs Walarten, darunter Orcas, Buckelwale, Pottwale, Blauwale und Grauwalen, aber auch unbekanntere, wie der Blainville-Schnabelwal oder der Kleine Schwertwal. Wir verfolgen das Leben dieser Tiere und begleiten sie auf ihren geheimen Routen durch die Ozeane. Dabei lernen wir ihre Gewohnheiten kennen, ihre Geräusche und Gesänge, ihre Bewegungsmuster an der Meeresoberfläche und die Besonderheiten, die sie voneinander unterscheiden. Wissenschaftlich fundiert und gleichzeitig verständlich erfahren viel Neues zu den Meeresgiganten und ihrer Lebenswelt der Ozeane. Die persönlichen Erzählungen der Autorin lockern die wissenschaftlichen Informationen auf und machen den Inhalt zugänglich und emotional. Ihre Faszination für diese atemberaubenden Tiere ist auf jeder Seite spürbar.
Leigh Calvez hat ein Buch geschrieben für alle, die sich für die großen Meeressäugetiere interessieren, die Faszination für sie verstehen sowie Näheres über die Kommunikation und das Verhalten von Walen erfahren wollen.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
September 25, 2019
Common thread for many contemporary nature/wildlife books - trying to make them into a memoir AND a science book. Best to focus on one or the other.
Calvez's book is strongest when she focuses on the marine mammals (instead of the human mammals... namely herself), sharing stories of her observations of various species, her participation in scientific studies, and her work as a naturalist. She travels to US/Pacific sites - Hawaii, California, and Washington. Included are anecdotes of Springer the orphan orca, discussion of dolphin personhood, encounters with the "desert" gray whales, and deep water species like beaked and false killer whales.
While I firmly believe in the complex emotional life and intelligence of animals, Calvez enters into "woo woo" territory several times here with her own beliefs surrounding whales and spirituality. She quotes several "spiritual leaders" and 2000s-style miracle manifestation popular self-help books (that is likely the reasoning behind the "Spirit" inclusion in the book's title), and this will likely be a turn-off for some readers, expecting more of a hard science/biology book. While I wasn't fond of these sections, I did like the whale and dolphin stories, and that was enough to keep me reading.
Calvez's book is strongest when she focuses on the marine mammals (instead of the human mammals... namely herself), sharing stories of her observations of various species, her participation in scientific studies, and her work as a naturalist. She travels to US/Pacific sites - Hawaii, California, and Washington. Included are anecdotes of Springer the orphan orca, discussion of dolphin personhood, encounters with the "desert" gray whales, and deep water species like beaked and false killer whales.
While I firmly believe in the complex emotional life and intelligence of animals, Calvez enters into "woo woo" territory several times here with her own beliefs surrounding whales and spirituality. She quotes several "spiritual leaders" and 2000s-style miracle manifestation popular self-help books (that is likely the reasoning behind the "Spirit" inclusion in the book's title), and this will likely be a turn-off for some readers, expecting more of a hard science/biology book. While I wasn't fond of these sections, I did like the whale and dolphin stories, and that was enough to keep me reading.
May 18, 2021
You might also enjoy:
✱ Spying on Whales
✱ War of the Whales — about the U.S. Navy's LFA Sonar
✱ The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea
✱ The Whale Warriors
✱ Grayson
✱ The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Ocras
✱ Into Great Silence
✱ Listening to Whales
✱ The Lost Whale: The True Story of an Orca Named Luna
✱ Operation Orca: Springer, Luna and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales
✱ The Killer Whale Who Changed The World about Moby Doll
✱ Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
✱ Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
✱ Spying on Whales
✱ War of the Whales — about the U.S. Navy's LFA Sonar
✱ The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea
✱ The Whale Warriors
✱ Grayson
✱ The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Ocras
✱ Into Great Silence
✱ Listening to Whales
✱ The Lost Whale: The True Story of an Orca Named Luna
✱ Operation Orca: Springer, Luna and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales
✱ The Killer Whale Who Changed The World about Moby Doll
✱ Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
✱ Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
March 22, 2020
Recommended for: Your not-quite-a-hippie wine aunt who has too many crystals in her house.
Ugh, that might be unfair of me. I just feel like... this book doesn't really bring anything to the conversation. Some authors do a great job of blending science writing and personal memoir (Into Great Silence: A Memoir of Discovery and Loss among Vanishing Orcas and Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us are two of my favorites in the same vein), but I don't think Calvez succeeded. She provides introductions to about six cetacean species, and anecdotes about her own experience in the field, and in between there's some cursory stuff about her personal life, but nothing really blends.
I think the thing that I struggled with the most is the fact that she brings up her "interest in the metaphysics of whales" in the first chapter, and touches on some rather unscientific beliefs occasionally, but despite positioning this belief as something that makes her perspective unusual, she doesn't really engage with it. I understand the desire to avoid the topic - cetacean biology has a history of weird shit that the field struggles to overcome to be taken seriously - but if you don't want to actually dig into something sensitive.... just don't bother bringing it up at all. Either explain the 'woo-woo' bits, or don't have any 'woo-woo' bits.
Other than that.... mmm... I guess people who aren't particularly interested in whales may find this a decent introduction, but there's way better options out there, and I wouldn't spend money on this one.
Ugh, that might be unfair of me. I just feel like... this book doesn't really bring anything to the conversation. Some authors do a great job of blending science writing and personal memoir (Into Great Silence: A Memoir of Discovery and Loss among Vanishing Orcas and Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us are two of my favorites in the same vein), but I don't think Calvez succeeded. She provides introductions to about six cetacean species, and anecdotes about her own experience in the field, and in between there's some cursory stuff about her personal life, but nothing really blends.
I think the thing that I struggled with the most is the fact that she brings up her "interest in the metaphysics of whales" in the first chapter, and touches on some rather unscientific beliefs occasionally, but despite positioning this belief as something that makes her perspective unusual, she doesn't really engage with it. I understand the desire to avoid the topic - cetacean biology has a history of weird shit that the field struggles to overcome to be taken seriously - but if you don't want to actually dig into something sensitive.... just don't bother bringing it up at all. Either explain the 'woo-woo' bits, or don't have any 'woo-woo' bits.
Other than that.... mmm... I guess people who aren't particularly interested in whales may find this a decent introduction, but there's way better options out there, and I wouldn't spend money on this one.
November 18, 2024
This 6-year-old book contained a ton of very interesting information about whales, including my favourite (my spirit animal)—the Humpback Whale.💗 The information was excellent! The only real downfall of the book—and it's a big one—NO PHOTOS!!! Reading about my favourite beauty was great, and it elicited all kinds of wonderful images in my MIND, but that's not enough for me! I wanted photos!! Maybe they figured there were thousands of beautiful images of whales online—and that's certainly true! But for goodness sakes, if you're going to go to the trouble of publishing a book about whales, why not include at least a FEW photos!?!?! It was very disappointing so, when I finished, I did what anyone would do... I googled "photos of humpback whales" and got my fill. OMG, looking at them absolutely makes my heart soar! In my opinion, there's nothing more beautiful, more majestic, more dreamy than a humpback whale. Except maybe a humpback whale with a calf. Yes, that's the ultimate beauty. 😌(big sigh)😌 I'm in heaven!🥰
🩶💗💗💗🩶💗💗💗🩶
3.5 stars
🩶💗💗💗🩶💗💗💗🩶
3.5 stars
August 25, 2025
"Write a book about whales and resist actually making it a memoir" challenge level: Impossible
guys I just want to learn about our big ocean boy-os I do not want to learn about you finally found yourself by gazing into the majestic ocean and realizing that it is a metaphor for the tempest inside you
guys I just want to learn about our big ocean boy-os I do not want to learn about you finally found yourself by gazing into the majestic ocean and realizing that it is a metaphor for the tempest inside you
May 6, 2026
I have always been fascinated by cetaceans and Leigh Calvez shares her experience with roughly six of its species.
I feel this was a very satisfactory introduction on the topic of our gentle giants 🐳 sprinkled in with some weird metaphysical memoir that I have no doubt if Humpback’s are Calvez’s spirit animal. (Mine is probably a raccoon. Stays up all night, eats junk, and will fight you for a Cheeto!)
However, if you already have a good introduction on whale facts, their habitat, and threats to their survival I feel this book would read more as rehearsal than shining moment.
I feel this was a very satisfactory introduction on the topic of our gentle giants 🐳 sprinkled in with some weird metaphysical memoir that I have no doubt if Humpback’s are Calvez’s spirit animal. (Mine is probably a raccoon. Stays up all night, eats junk, and will fight you for a Cheeto!)
However, if you already have a good introduction on whale facts, their habitat, and threats to their survival I feel this book would read more as rehearsal than shining moment.
January 3, 2023
In this book, Calvez is constantly demonstrating that she has awful epistemic hygiene. The most telling example of this is when she describes some story about a calf being separated from its mother, apparently by some sort of low frequency sonar. When she is asked for details by someone making a report or something, she is aghast that he has the temerity to question her narrative by asking her questions like "How do you know that?" She ascribes this to some sort of bias on his part, and the way she tells it quits being a scientist. To be honest, though, I suspect she wasn't exactly a scientist to start with, considering that "how do you know that?" is the core question of all science. Science is all about finding out how you know what you think you know.
Calvez also clearly aligns with some sort of new age guilt-based philosophy. Part of the reason she is interested in cetaceans is that she had a dream or a "vision" or something where a dolphin told her not to feel so guilty about being human. A good message, I suppose, but not the greatest sign that she occasionally feels that she has mystical connections to whales and dolphins. This comes through in her constant anthropomorphizing of the animals. To be fair, I think that science in general has over-resisted anthropomorphizing and we could stand to dial that back, but just looking at animals and ascribing human motives and feelings to them is not going to convince anyone. "A dolphin told me this in a vision" is even lower in the epistemic hierarchy than that.
She also seems to be a believer in "morphic resonance" and buys Rupert Sheldrake's research program. Even without just believing the majority of scientists (which, oddly, is how she wanted to be treated), if you look into the criticisms of Sheldrake's work, you'd be hard pressed to believe he has anything there unless you were biased towards "other ways of knowing" (a phrase that belies a misunderstanding of the rational scientific approach in the first place).
This book was bad, and honestly I only read the whole thing because I felt like I wanted to write a negative review of it, and I don't like to review books I haven't finished. Given Calvez's poor epistemic hygiene, I would find it hard to extract any useful information about this, since she has adequately demonstrated that she does not have high standards for determining what is and is not true.
Calvez also clearly aligns with some sort of new age guilt-based philosophy. Part of the reason she is interested in cetaceans is that she had a dream or a "vision" or something where a dolphin told her not to feel so guilty about being human. A good message, I suppose, but not the greatest sign that she occasionally feels that she has mystical connections to whales and dolphins. This comes through in her constant anthropomorphizing of the animals. To be fair, I think that science in general has over-resisted anthropomorphizing and we could stand to dial that back, but just looking at animals and ascribing human motives and feelings to them is not going to convince anyone. "A dolphin told me this in a vision" is even lower in the epistemic hierarchy than that.
She also seems to be a believer in "morphic resonance" and buys Rupert Sheldrake's research program. Even without just believing the majority of scientists (which, oddly, is how she wanted to be treated), if you look into the criticisms of Sheldrake's work, you'd be hard pressed to believe he has anything there unless you were biased towards "other ways of knowing" (a phrase that belies a misunderstanding of the rational scientific approach in the first place).
This book was bad, and honestly I only read the whole thing because I felt like I wanted to write a negative review of it, and I don't like to review books I haven't finished. Given Calvez's poor epistemic hygiene, I would find it hard to extract any useful information about this, since she has adequately demonstrated that she does not have high standards for determining what is and is not true.
July 28, 2021
The Breath of a Whale by Leigh Calvez is narrated by Karen White. I wanted to feel inspired by this book. I wanted to learn more about these gentle giants of the ocean. I have fallen in love with several other nature books like The Soul of An Octopus by Sy Montgomery. I was really hoping for that same emotional connection to the book.
This book does discuss the gentle giants of the seas and their emotions as well as intelligence. There are portions of this story that discuss the effects of sonar and nuclear testing in the oceans. I wanted more of their habitats and their connections to each other and their young. But to my surprise, I felt that the whales were not the priority of this read. It was mostly about the author—the whales are just there. It also didn’t feel very…very…what is the word I am looking for? Oh, scientific. I felt anyone could do their research and write a more detailed analysis about whales. This is a shame because I have more of her books on my TBR and I am now skeptical about reading them.
But what really killed this book for me was the narrator. There is absolutely no emotion in her voice. In fact, I didn’t think it was a person narrating the book, I thought it was just computer-generated because it was so robotic. I rate this audiobook 2 out of 5 stars.
This book does discuss the gentle giants of the seas and their emotions as well as intelligence. There are portions of this story that discuss the effects of sonar and nuclear testing in the oceans. I wanted more of their habitats and their connections to each other and their young. But to my surprise, I felt that the whales were not the priority of this read. It was mostly about the author—the whales are just there. It also didn’t feel very…very…what is the word I am looking for? Oh, scientific. I felt anyone could do their research and write a more detailed analysis about whales. This is a shame because I have more of her books on my TBR and I am now skeptical about reading them.
But what really killed this book for me was the narrator. There is absolutely no emotion in her voice. In fact, I didn’t think it was a person narrating the book, I thought it was just computer-generated because it was so robotic. I rate this audiobook 2 out of 5 stars.
October 18, 2019
I thought this audio would be a nice accompaniment to my current re-read of The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness but this is nothing special. Even only a little way in, the author is dropping hints about metaphysical ideas that first, seem a little out there, and second, are not what I thought I was signing up for. The reader is bland and the story is less about whales and more a memoir about learning about whales.
January 24, 2021
The author is a bit woo woo, so you have to take that bit in stride if it’s not your thing. But the whale facts are fascinating. She touches on many species of Pacific whales, habitat, habits, and threats, with her life as some narrative webbing. The threats are sad and stressful and feel hard to influence, but she does a pretty good job balancing the despair with notes on progress. Worth reading.
November 16, 2020
4/5 stars
This was such a beautiful and enlightening read for me. I very rarely read non-fiction books, so this is definitely out of the ordinary for me. But I have recently fallen in love with whales, and this book just ignited that passion more. I learnt so much about our beautiful ocean mammals and the many man-made troubles that they face.
This book perfectly seems to blend commentary and opinion-based observations on the author’s love of whales, with more factual and scientific understandings of cetaceans. Maybe for someone more used to non-fiction and scientific books, this may have been too much of a personal account and somewhat a memoir, but I think it suited me perfectly. My heart was so warmed by the author’s personal connection with whales. She was obviously so in awe with the beauty of these creatures and had deep respect for them, which shone through the book. I’m a firm believer that almost anything can be interesting when the person telling it is passionate, which is just highlighted here. I feel like the author’s love for cetaceans was just fuelling my blooming love for them as well.
My one semi-major critique is the frequent mention of the author’s more spiritual and metaphysical beliefs regarding the whales. This by itself isn’t a problem, but she never really dove into these beliefs. It was smattered around the book but felt like a large omission given the author’s frequent mention that she has more controversial and un-scientific beliefs. Nonetheless, this book has opened the door to reading more science based and non-fiction books in the future.
This was such a beautiful and enlightening read for me. I very rarely read non-fiction books, so this is definitely out of the ordinary for me. But I have recently fallen in love with whales, and this book just ignited that passion more. I learnt so much about our beautiful ocean mammals and the many man-made troubles that they face.
This book perfectly seems to blend commentary and opinion-based observations on the author’s love of whales, with more factual and scientific understandings of cetaceans. Maybe for someone more used to non-fiction and scientific books, this may have been too much of a personal account and somewhat a memoir, but I think it suited me perfectly. My heart was so warmed by the author’s personal connection with whales. She was obviously so in awe with the beauty of these creatures and had deep respect for them, which shone through the book. I’m a firm believer that almost anything can be interesting when the person telling it is passionate, which is just highlighted here. I feel like the author’s love for cetaceans was just fuelling my blooming love for them as well.
My one semi-major critique is the frequent mention of the author’s more spiritual and metaphysical beliefs regarding the whales. This by itself isn’t a problem, but she never really dove into these beliefs. It was smattered around the book but felt like a large omission given the author’s frequent mention that she has more controversial and un-scientific beliefs. Nonetheless, this book has opened the door to reading more science based and non-fiction books in the future.
October 7, 2022
A beautiful story about whales and dolphins and a woman's journey to find them, learn more about them and protect them ❤️
March 5, 2021
Within the first few pages of this book, the author spoke of a magical encounter she had had with a mother dolphin and its calf...during which time she heard something to the effect of "do not feel guilty for being a human. You are our guardians". I should have closed the book right then, knowing that I would be rolling my eyes a lot. But...i kept going for another 46 pages before I sailed my white flag finally. This mix of some science and some magical thinking might be for some..but not my cup of tea.
August 23, 2019
I love 🐋 so much. Book was a good combo of heartbreaking, educational, hopeful and loco
February 27, 2024
Although my favourite sea creature has always been (and, unless I one day end up getting my ass bitten off by one of them, always will be) the shark, I have, all the same, a long-harboured love of and fascination for whales. As a child, the giants like the blue whale, the sperm whale, the humpback, enchanted me with mysterious nature, their effortless balance between sheer size and true grace. Most of all, I fell in love with their benevolence, their revered altruism.
They are absolutely stunning creatures, from the largest, most allusive, to the intimidating, predatory yet playful orcas, to the relatively small and adorable belugas.
This book is a wonderful, touchingly personal tribute to whales, written by someone who, like me, has an almost spiritual reverence for them, but who, very much unlike me, actually did something about it and made whales her life passion.
This is a great book that I deeply resonated with, and I'm sure it would do the same for others with a love for these gentle giants of the deep.
They are absolutely stunning creatures, from the largest, most allusive, to the intimidating, predatory yet playful orcas, to the relatively small and adorable belugas.
This book is a wonderful, touchingly personal tribute to whales, written by someone who, like me, has an almost spiritual reverence for them, but who, very much unlike me, actually did something about it and made whales her life passion.
This is a great book that I deeply resonated with, and I'm sure it would do the same for others with a love for these gentle giants of the deep.
April 24, 2023
I have mixed feelings about this book from the standpoint that learning about the different species of whales is fascinating but learning about their struggle is heartbreaking. For instance the effect of human existence on the whales is so damaging - from noise pollution from ships to low frequency sonar, decreases in food resources and stress leading to other diseases. It is all so sad and infuriating. The plight of so many whales is so serious because there are so many things killing the whales and limiting their ability to procreate and continue.
This book is well written and informative but with a personal spin on each story as the author did her research. I love the photos of the different whale species and the resources at the end of the book.
This book is well written and informative but with a personal spin on each story as the author did her research. I love the photos of the different whale species and the resources at the end of the book.
September 17, 2024
i honestly didn't feel like i got a lot from this book until the back two sections. it's definitely true that beaked whales aren't as well-known, so it was cool to learn more and to see some first-hand experience with them. i personally liked seeing the author's personal life as part of the story, and though her spiritual beliefs were new to me, i thought they added an interesting perspective.
December 3, 2024
I learned some things that I didn't know about whales and dolphins. I also learned that dams in rivers can prevent wild salmon from returning to their spawning grounds which jeopardizes the continued existence of wild salmon.
December 23, 2024
Loved this book, adding this one to my favorites. Whales are such wonderful creatures. When I saw them for the first time in Hawaii I felt joy and honor being so close to them. Excited to read her book about owls.
June 27, 2025
Cried multiple times and decided I need to read more books like this. Best quote was we are just “spirits having a human experience” and there are other spirits out there (whales) who share consciousness with us. I love whales . please ask me about whale book .
May 14, 2026
Schöne Geschichten über Begegnungen mit Walen. Kein Sachbuch aber doch auch mit Fakten gespickt. Sehr angenehm zu lesen und etwas lernen.
June 11, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
I understand why the author got spiritual but I didn’t need it in this book. Would have preferred it just be about the science.
I understand why the author got spiritual but I didn’t need it in this book. Would have preferred it just be about the science.
October 14, 2023
Simple and beautiful.. A peek into the hidden lives of the ocean's giants.
August 13, 2025
⭐️3.5
September 12, 2025
This book was good bc whales obviously and the scientific parts were very beautiful and whales are such beautiful creatures but this book was bad bc the author was a nutjob a little bit
November 3, 2025
2.5, rounded up. this book doesn't feel seem to have a point. it's a wandering snippet of personal tales, some biology facts, a hint a spiritual but none of it ties together unfortunately.
Read
June 30, 2026I really enjoyed how the author shared stories about their experiences with whales and dolphins while also providing facts and history. I did find that some of their non-whale related anecdotes seemed out of place and took away from overall story.
July 30, 2024
A very quick and informative read. I learned a lot of things that I did not know about whales in a clear way. I would recommend this book for those interested in whales but not those who want a purely scientific approach.
May 11, 2021
I think this review was mostly based on the narrator of the audiobook. For some reason I didn't particularly like her cadence and inflection it. I actually sped up the play back 1.4x and it made listening a little more bearable. I guess I was expecting something different with this book, I thought it was going to be more about whales from a marine biology standpoint but it seemed like it was more about the author's experience observing whales with some parts about whales mixed in.
Sometimes I questioned why things were included, she seemed to spend a lot of time on the whole Stringer saga and then she also throws in her near death experience with toxic shock - which I didn't understand why it was being brought up. And that's when I concluded this book is more about the author than it was about whales. It's going to sound weird but there were too many humans in this book for me...
She mentions whales have skin lice in passing and I'm like what? Whales have lice??? Talk about that! But alas no explanation about skin lice...
Sometimes I questioned why things were included, she seemed to spend a lot of time on the whole Stringer saga and then she also throws in her near death experience with toxic shock - which I didn't understand why it was being brought up. And that's when I concluded this book is more about the author than it was about whales. It's going to sound weird but there were too many humans in this book for me...
She mentions whales have skin lice in passing and I'm like what? Whales have lice??? Talk about that! But alas no explanation about skin lice...
August 4, 2020
A beautiful look at whales and dolphins. Also, a timely and emotional reminder that, as humans, we are the guardians to our planet and the plants and animals on it. With that comes a responsibility to take care of the planet and to be mindful of our actions and the consequences they carry. If you like reading about nature, this is a good read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews