Watching Giants: The Secret Lives of Whales

by Elin Kelsey, Doc White (Photographer), François Gohier (Photographer)

Personal, anecdotal, and highly engaging, Watching Giants opens a window on a world that seems quite like our own, yet is so different that understanding it pushes the very limits of our senses. Elin Kelsey's colorful first-person account, drawing from her rich, often humorous, everyday experiences as a mother, a woman, and a scientist, takes us to the incredibly productive waters of the Gulf of California and beyond, to oceans around the world. Kelsey brings us along as she talks to leading cetacean researchers and marine ecologists about their intriguing discoveries. We encounter humpback whales that build nets from bubbles, gain a disturbing maternal perspective on the dolphin-tuna issue, uncover intimate details about whale sex, and contemplate the meaning of the complex social networks that exist in the seas. What emerges alongside these fascinating snapshots of whale culture is a dizzying sense of the tremendous speed with which we are changing the oceans' ecosystems―through overfishing, noise pollution, even real estate development. Watching Giants introduces a world of immense interconnectivity and beauty―one that is now facing imminent peril.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Science, Science Nature, Nature, Natural History

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a book about perspective and scale. Kelsey narrates her essays from the voice of a mother watching her children grow up in a world that is at once very small and mind-bogglingly huge. It's a different sort of nature book than man alone in the woods or a clinical study, very human and thoughtful. The essays cover topics from very specific studies of sperm whale diets to holistic assessments of the health of our oceans and what we can do to stop it. She covers a variety of myths (including distressing theories about pre-whaling population numbers of whales and what it truly means to be a recovered species) and takes a critical look at bandaid solutions like "dolphin free" tuna. Even as something of a cetacean nerd, I learned a few new facts from this book, and it definitely heightened my perspective of how big whale culture is and how big an effect humans can have on it. Highly recommended for ocean enthusiasts and anyone wanting to take a large scale look at our environmental practices.

[Yi-hsin Lin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of interesting facts and stories about whales, but too many personal anecdotes that were just fluff and did not add to the story.

[Carol Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elin Kelsey is fortunate enough to spend time near Mexico's, Sea of Cortez, perhaps the place with the greatest diversity of whales in the world, and a breeding ground for some of them. In this book, she talks with several scientists who are spending their lives studying whales. I've read a few books about whales, but this book provided new and interesting information. It also has some stunning photographs.

Did you know that some bottlenose dolphins use tools? That humpbacks sometimes get so excited by killer whale attacks on seals that they swim in and hit the seals? That some sperm whales nurse each others' babies? Pacific sperm whales live in clans of thousands of females.

In addition to fascinating information about different species of whales, Kelsey provides a serious overview of the problems of the oceans, especially about the impact of overfishing. Humans need to conserve not only whales, but all the oceans' creatures.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love whales, and this is a great book for people who simply love whales. It presents much of the research and conservation efforts of the last 30 years in easy to read prose.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think about what you know about whales and dolphins.

They're big, they swim around in the ocean, dolphins are friendly and leap high above the waves, humpback whales feast on ocean delicacies in extraordinary displays.

Now, think about what you really know about whales and dolphins. Did you know that dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors, a sign of high intelligence? Did you know that humpback whales have favourite feeding partners or that different clans of sperm whales have different dialects, like orcas?

I love the ocean and marine mammals and this book taught me so much that I didn't know, elevating my respect for the ocean and its inhabitants even higher.

This book also highlights the wealth of different threats to the world's oceans and the people and scientists (heroes in my opinion!) that have dedicated their lives to saving them. It is written as a series of essays to enjoy in order or as you like and they are easy to understand for those of you who are not scientists. Enjoy!

[abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i actually liked the autobiographical aspects of this book. sometimes it could be a bit much, but i liked what kelsey brings to the conversation as a woman and a mother. some of the ecological details (a big chunk of the book) got more depressing every time i remembered this was published in 2009. i had no idea how bad it was even then, and id hate to imagine how things have developed since. hopefully, there's been more positive progress made, especially as people like kelsey and her colleagues work to spread info like this to the general public.

also i need to visit the friendly gray whales omfg

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is well written at times. It's not really about the secret life of whales. Instead, it's a recount of the author's experiences and what she learns by hanging out with marine biologists. I learned a bit from it about whales but there's too much of the author's life and her experience in this book. Not what I was expecting, not a scientific perspective. I was disappointed.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good information and some very interesting things, but frequently too much detail and some random stuff about her daily life thrown in that didn't really fit. Also a great deal about the Theory of Evolution just being assumed to be true.

[Rachel Levi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I easily entered into the ocean world when reading this book, filled with wonder about whales and the deep interconnections within the ocean.
Notes: Tieryney Thys -- biologist and documentary filmmaker
David Attenborough -- The Life of Mammals

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have fun though less than authortATIVe description of whale research; mostly in Baja

[Trisha Roberson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turns out, we don't know much about whales. Only what we've observed which then biases future observations to be in simila3 circumstances.

[Stobby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading this book I didn’t know much about whales. I knew that they were big. That they are mammals, live in water and occasionally go by the names Shamu and Willie. Thanks to Watching Giants, I’m now a little wiser. With better editing, I could be even more so.

Whales are compelling animals. They sing, they play, they learn, they teach and even babysit. Elin Kelsey does a good job creating interest in these creatures. I only have some issues with the way she does it. In her opening paragraph, the audience for this book is loud and clear. Written by a mother, the author clearly pitched this book believing that whales would be more interesting with some sort of woman-child whale-calf angle thrown in unfortunately you realise around page 30 that anecdotes about her kids have less to do with whales and more to do with filling pages.

Another problem was that chapters were divided into behavioural patterns and not on species. This made it difficult to remember if it was the gray, sperm, fin, humpback, killer, blue or right whales that click, breach, copulate intermittently, migrate north, eat squid or krill. Throw in a few chapters on dolphins and it gets so messy that towards the end of the book I had to use Wikipedia to keep my facts straight.

In any event I’m much more interested in whales after having read Watching Giants. I just wish I could remember most of what I read.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays on ceteceans, it's informative and easy to dip into. There are some interesting and fascinating points about conservation and some great insight from people working in the field.

However, the writing style was what disappointed me. The author frames everything with her own life, comparing her motherhood to that of whales for example, and while this was initally ok the repeated references and details of her children and family life end up being repetitive and if anything, distracting, rather than reinforcing any comparisons to whales. They end up feeling like obligatory ways to open a new chapter or topic.

The personal approach is not necessarily a negative thing. For example, Leviathan by Philip Hoare, which I read recently and loved is anothre hugely personal and informative book about whales, but this book seems to more of a result of a part of the author's life - for example, having kids and living in Mexico and the US.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of 20 essays about various aspects of whale and dolphin biology, behavior and culture, each essay its own chapter. Kelsey isn't herself an expert, but she interviews a great many experts, and while the indiviudal chapters are sort of interesting, it still reads like a collection of 20 long feature stories, most of them sprinkled with details about Kelsey's home life and how it compares and contrasts to that of whales. I found it a pretty tough slog to go straight through, but I learned a lot about whales and the ocean, including several things I didn't even know I didn't know (like the fact that there are apaprently zombie worms that use the bodies of dead whales on the ocean floor as their entire ecosystems, for example).

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a very interesting starter book for whales. Rather than be a linear description or timeline of their history or biology, this book uses each new chapter to describe a new aspect about whales. For the most part, this works very well for the book, keeping you interested with each chapter.

The main downside of this book is perhaps that it can be a little dry reading at times. The author obviously tries to negate this by interweaving her own experiences and life choices and comparing it to whales, and this doesn't completely work. However, if you normally read books about animal behavior or ecology, you'll find the book interesting and easy reading.

[Lynne Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, I was excited to pick up this book, as it is with most books on whales. I may not be a scientist, nor am I professionally educated in the subject, but I read as much as I can, and learn as much as I can about cetaceans.
This book taught me quite a few new things, and I'm thankful for picking it up. It teaches you how different species of whales act. It also stresses that we know barely anything at all about them.
My biggest pet peeve about this book is that the author name drops pretty much every other page. I get it, you're referencing people. But it really feels more like you're saying, "Oh look who I know! Yay!" Too much name dropping, and it gets tedious.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

kelsey's personal anecdotes are often beneficial to the arc of the book, but sometimes feel forced and out of place. when they fail, they really fail. despite that, the interviews and the information she gathered were always interesting, and i learned a lot.

[Pancha]

I series of short essays or flavor pieces. The tone is very chatty, and it wasn't what I wanted.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Its very rare that I can't finish a book -- especially one about marine animals. It was repetitive and dull.

[Meadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost makes me want to go whale watching again. Almost. I like my science books a little more...chatty(?), but interesting

[Shelby Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me new perspectives on cetaceans and oceans. Also easy to read.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful read.

[Anne Ruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interestig take on a broadly covered topic. A great introduction to whales - an incentive to learn more.

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review: http://www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blo...