What do you think?
Rate this book
The Whale in the Living Room
The Whale in the Living Room follows the thrilling adventures of award-winning wildlife documentary producer, John Ruthven, on a journey of discovery - by turns memorable, touching and often funny -that has helped the undersea world flow into countless living rooms to reveal many of our ocean's mysteries.
John is the only producer to have worked on both Blue Planet and Blue Planet II, presented by David Attenborough, in total making nearly fifty ocean films, including episodes of Discovery Shark Week, expedition films for National Geographic and coral conservation documentaries for PBS. With innovative technology he has helped capture unique images of a sperm whale mother and calf, pictures of glowing creatures half a mile deep, and grey reef sharks hunting by the light of the moon.
We swim with him through blue lagoons, dive into the abyss to encounter new life forms, and experience everything from the danger of getting lost at sea to the sadness of finding a starving whale with a fishing net caught in its mouth. Through each remarkable adventure, John gives insight into what we currently know about the ocean, and our whole blue planet, revealing that the sea really is the 'saltwater country' the Yolngu people of Australia know it to be - a place with as many unique destinations in water as on land.
John's book also explores why we have remained largely blind to the pollution in our oceans until recently and charts how plastic 'went wild' in the sea, to understand how we might begin to clear up the mess.
John is the only producer to have worked on both Blue Planet and Blue Planet II, presented by David Attenborough, in total making nearly fifty ocean films, including episodes of Discovery Shark Week, expedition films for National Geographic and coral conservation documentaries for PBS. With innovative technology he has helped capture unique images of a sperm whale mother and calf, pictures of glowing creatures half a mile deep, and grey reef sharks hunting by the light of the moon.
We swim with him through blue lagoons, dive into the abyss to encounter new life forms, and experience everything from the danger of getting lost at sea to the sadness of finding a starving whale with a fishing net caught in its mouth. Through each remarkable adventure, John gives insight into what we currently know about the ocean, and our whole blue planet, revealing that the sea really is the 'saltwater country' the Yolngu people of Australia know it to be - a place with as many unique destinations in water as on land.
John's book also explores why we have remained largely blind to the pollution in our oceans until recently and charts how plastic 'went wild' in the sea, to understand how we might begin to clear up the mess.
359 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2021
40 people are currently reading
969 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 2, 2021
“The ocean is by far the largest liveable space on Earth, and hugely exceeds our conception of life’s abundance. It’s average depth is about 3.5km, or 2 miles, and, as is often mentioned, the ocean covers nearly three-quarters of the world.”
It’s unlikely that you’d recognise the author of Whale in the Living Room by name, but you, and millions of others, have likely seen his work. A television producer, John Ruthven is in part responsible for the extraordinary footage seen in almost fifty ocean life documentaries, including the groundbreaking series’, Blue Planet and Blue Planet II narrated by David Attenborough.
The Whale in the Living Room provides the reader with a behind-the-scenes look at how documentaries like the Blue Planet series is filmed. Ruthven shares his journey’s all over the world to gather footage for what may only be a minute long sequence of television. It takes a huge amount of hard work, risk, money, luck and patience to bring ‘whales into our living rooms’, exposing the amazing variety of life to be found in the ocean, from the enormous to the microscopic, the sublime to the ridiculous, we would otherwise likely never see.
I found Ruthven’s stories to be fascinating, related in a personable tone with flashes of humour. He provides insights not only into the complex logistics of a shoot, but also the subjects themselves, from cuttlefish to blue whales. The only producer to have worked on both Blue Planet I & II, he also touches on the changes he, and others, have witnessed, due to issues such as global warming and plastic pollution.
As I’ve been reading The Whale in the Living Room I’ve been re-watching the Blue Planet documentaries with new appreciation. Available on a multitude of streaming services, if you haven’t watched these, you really should. The images are particularly stunning on a large screen, with the room darkened (though I find Attenborough’s voice can have a somewhat soporific effect). The author also has a YouTube channel (search for Indoona) where you can view some short clips he has captured.
A well-written, informative book, I’d recommend it to anyone interested in marine life and ecology, travel, environmental issues, ocean diving, wildlife photography/videography, or television production. The Whale in the Living Room by John Ruthven is fascinating, compelling reading.
It’s unlikely that you’d recognise the author of Whale in the Living Room by name, but you, and millions of others, have likely seen his work. A television producer, John Ruthven is in part responsible for the extraordinary footage seen in almost fifty ocean life documentaries, including the groundbreaking series’, Blue Planet and Blue Planet II narrated by David Attenborough.
The Whale in the Living Room provides the reader with a behind-the-scenes look at how documentaries like the Blue Planet series is filmed. Ruthven shares his journey’s all over the world to gather footage for what may only be a minute long sequence of television. It takes a huge amount of hard work, risk, money, luck and patience to bring ‘whales into our living rooms’, exposing the amazing variety of life to be found in the ocean, from the enormous to the microscopic, the sublime to the ridiculous, we would otherwise likely never see.
I found Ruthven’s stories to be fascinating, related in a personable tone with flashes of humour. He provides insights not only into the complex logistics of a shoot, but also the subjects themselves, from cuttlefish to blue whales. The only producer to have worked on both Blue Planet I & II, he also touches on the changes he, and others, have witnessed, due to issues such as global warming and plastic pollution.
As I’ve been reading The Whale in the Living Room I’ve been re-watching the Blue Planet documentaries with new appreciation. Available on a multitude of streaming services, if you haven’t watched these, you really should. The images are particularly stunning on a large screen, with the room darkened (though I find Attenborough’s voice can have a somewhat soporific effect). The author also has a YouTube channel (search for Indoona) where you can view some short clips he has captured.
A well-written, informative book, I’d recommend it to anyone interested in marine life and ecology, travel, environmental issues, ocean diving, wildlife photography/videography, or television production. The Whale in the Living Room by John Ruthven is fascinating, compelling reading.
January 20, 2022
Although this book really needed another round of line editing, I found the descriptions of scuba diving, undersea filming and observing the alien world of the ocean very vivid and engaging. I did wish he let the visuals speak for themselves instead of trampling over them occasionally with corny poetic language. It's the sea, dude. You should know you don't have to try that hard to make it cool.
February 14, 2022
Thoroughly recommend. An amazing deep dive into the vastness of the hidden ocean. I would never have believed the written word could summon up such strong images. Certainly makes you think twice about eating seafood!
August 16, 2022
Wonderful insight into life behind the camera, told in an engaging style by a charming, diffident cameraman. Delightful and engrossing.
March 26, 2023
This is a beautiful book. Honest , informed, adventurous , funny at times, extremely down to earth in the way it approaches incredible adventures.
I loved the stories, the travels, the insight into making one of the most iconic nature shows of all times.
This is I think a must read for any ocean lover of recreational scuba diver.
I agree with a prior reviewer that editing could have been a notch higher
Wonderful book
I loved the stories, the travels, the insight into making one of the most iconic nature shows of all times.
This is I think a must read for any ocean lover of recreational scuba diver.
I agree with a prior reviewer that editing could have been a notch higher
Wonderful book
June 7, 2024
4.5 🌟
Absolutely loved this. Tales of both the filming and scuba diving required to make blue planet I and II. I have been to some of the places, so that was nostalgic. Others gave great inspiration for future trips. Had me laughing out loud, crying, and sitting with my mouth open in wonderment. Fabulous
Absolutely loved this. Tales of both the filming and scuba diving required to make blue planet I and II. I have been to some of the places, so that was nostalgic. Others gave great inspiration for future trips. Had me laughing out loud, crying, and sitting with my mouth open in wonderment. Fabulous
October 30, 2022
An educational and informative read, although the authors style of writing dragged at Times.
January 4, 2023
Very interesting to hear behind the scenes and realising how much time and effort goes into capturing amazing underwater imagery.
January 3, 2024
to many random anecdotes for me, writing also felt a bit clunky
July 7, 2024
4.5/5.0
August 4, 2025
A great book that gave me a new perspective on the making of the blue planet—and marine photography in general.
September 26, 2021
Immersive, beautiful and eye opening.
I am a daily swimmer/diver and I have felt some of the wonder described in this book. Blue Planet 1 and 2 have brought it to those who prefer land. This book tells these ocean stories mixed in with some interesting tales of film production. John - come to my stomping ground, the Cabbage Tree Bay marine reserve, next!
I am a daily swimmer/diver and I have felt some of the wonder described in this book. Blue Planet 1 and 2 have brought it to those who prefer land. This book tells these ocean stories mixed in with some interesting tales of film production. John - come to my stomping ground, the Cabbage Tree Bay marine reserve, next!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews