Fathoms: The World in the Whale

In all honesty I really wanted to like this book and I wish I could have ignored it\’s flaws but (for me) it was too much, and felt kind of like immature writing when it came to so many aspects not with excluding the author\’s poetic prose. Speaking as someone who has several masters degrees (one in writing and documentary strategies) I did appreciate the lovely prose, but the content was that of lacking in an overall new substance and impact on the subject of whales. Honestly, a great rule of thumb that I often use to be sure that I give any topic the proper respect it deserves that of making sure that I see and understand the difference between making the the whale as being the subject versus the object and in this flowing prose, the whale was used as if it were an object that the reader could use as a catalyst for her own self involved self searching for meaningfulness in the world. It felt disrespectful and not unlike taking a selfie with a dead whale in the background (to paraphrase a scene in this book). What I want to call this as an opportunity for some sort of privileged \’ecotourism\’ from what sounds like a beach walk turned whim and an accompanied deep drive google search. For me when we have any non-scientist writing a book about such a deeply complex subject, one should be aware of how to respect the subject enough to make more connections with real scientists and not use such broad generalizations around particular instances of \’whale stories and or whale facts\’. As with science if you don\’t at least acknowledge the sources, it just starts to sound again like some conjecture mixed with some Google deep dives.. And yes, I understand that metaphor for the world and it\’s future could be a whale, but when you forget that the whale is that of one of the greatest creatures to have ever existed on this planet you might loose your reader. And if one wants to wax poetic and use philosophy as least refer to philosophy and life, and or its objects as a metaphor not unlike say: \’Foucault\’s Ship of Fools.\’ Of course I probably sound a bit harsh, but it\’s only because I too have a deep love for whales, as having partially grown up on the sea and also posing that magic and wonder that is the whale… Again this is my perspective and for me I\’d prefer to have a scientist as an author trying to be and or being poetic versus a literary writer again for me is really not trying hard enough to understand a world of deeply important science. Again I so wanted to like this book and I have a feeling that if only this author had taken more time, editing, research and meditation on this subject of whales; plus our own failure to keep our own ecosystem alive…tjis would have been a much better book.

I too wanted to like this book but the language was so superfluous and redundant I had to stop reading after 55 pages. The author is way too impressed with her vocabulary and many of her descriptions assumed we all knew the geography of Australia. I appreciate and share her affinity for whales and the natural world ,plus concern for our oceans but tell me more about whale behavior and not as if I was 12 yrs old. There were some very interesting facts about whaling and whale behavior but not enough to keep me reading. The absence of reviews from notable publications was conspicuous ,the endorsements were all from fellow authors of similar books on nature.

Such an intersting topic, a favorite of mine and i so enjoy reading to learn more of intelligent marine life. However, the author\’s style, chaotic organization, and seeming reliance on theasarus~sourced word choice were horrible. One of the worst written books ive recently encountered. Such a diservice to such a nobel subject.

Some great information in Fathoms but the reader is required to wade through substantial amounts of narrative to find it.

Whales are some of the most mysterious and charismatic creatures on the planet, which may explain why they have such a hold over our collective imagination. Whales feature in our religious tales and are the highlight of many childhood vacations. Whales have contributed to huge sectors of the economy – spermaceti, a byproduct of whales, was once one of the most expensive commodities on earth – and saving them became the defining mission of the 1980’s. And through Rebecca Giggs’s sharp eyes and shimmering prose, whales once again become a prism through which we can understand our world as it stands now: on the precipice of an ecological crisis. Fathoms is my favorite type of book. It’s interdisciplinary, it’s intellectually stimulating, but, most importantly, it’s awe-inspiring. It toes the line between wonder and hauntedness; we are shown what nature can do, before realizing our complicity in altering its inner workings. Fathoms had the almost mythical quality of making me see the world anew, dazzled by the fragility and splendor of life on earth. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

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