Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America

I don't generally read histories. I usually read novels. Although I love the subject matter of history, i.e. humanity, I find most historical narratives as dry as the leftover hardtack from a long sea voyage. In light of that it is essential to point out that Eric Jay Dolin's, Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, is much more than just an historical narrative.As an obsessive enthusiast of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick I have read that novel at least eight times. Every time I have the privilege of reading, and teaching, the greatest American novel ever written, I find myself in need of further research to embellish both my and my students' literary and historical experience of whaling. Dolin's history fills that sea bill of lading admirably. Not only is it a comprehensive history of the American Whaling Industry, as the title indicates, but it reads like one of the better novels I have ever relished. His creative success lies in the fact that he uses historicity, the citation of primary sources, in a way that allows the reader to envision the players and hear their voices.As a student of Melville's prose I have always wondered about the Arthurian fascination I feel whenever I read the arresting Romance of The Quest for the White Whale. Reading Dolin's history helped me better understand the facts behind my Romantic fascination as well as vividly conveying the stories that delineate one of American history's most successful, significant and lucrative industries. A perfect example of this can be found in Chapter Five, "The Whale's Whale," when the author clearly explains the practical importance of hunting the Sperm Whale and how it got its name.The ultimate success of Dolin's history can be distilled into one word, storytelling. Dolin is a magnificent and articulate storyteller. The exhaustive research that went into the composition of this history includes some of the most compelling and adventurous tales this reader has ever experienced. From the Colonial tales of "Crook Jaw," through the American Revolution, and right into the exploits of Commodore David Porter during the War of 1812, Dolin captures the full excitement and adventure of whaling and the country that "once upon a time" excelled the rest of the world in its economic and military supremacy. A nation that once achieved that prowess through innovation and creativity rather than sheer wealth and brute force. Moving from there he vividly portrays the ascent and decline of whaling through "The Golden Age" to "The Disaster and Decay," of the industry not long after the mayhem of the Civil War. In short, the success of this book is no fluke. It has won numerous awards because of the author's well-yarned tales.This reader is also struck by the abundantly hopeful undertones of this work. The fact that America survived its dependency on whale oil, an industry as vital to American sustenance then as crude oil is today, through the discovery of alternative fuel sources, is a living testament to Yankee ingenuity. That ingenuity has historically dictated our success as a nation. What is particularly pertinent about Dolin's history is the lesson it contains; as a nation we have weaned ourselves off detrimental energy dependencies before, with some determination, we can do it again!The W.W. Norton Company also deserves rich praise. Through the publication of this brilliant history they have maintained their sterling, and well-deserved, reputation for publishing the finest, and most authoritative, critical works available. Like their Critical Edition of Moby-Dick they have once again proven themselves to be the zenith of scholarly research and expert storytelling. As such, Eric Jay Dolin and W.W. Norton richly compliment one another; they both have a good eye for a great tale.

Dolin starts off saying there are entire libraries devoted to whaling and that he has harvested these rich archives to render a choice summation of the history of whaling - he does not get into modern conservation issues, ending the narrative in the 1920s. The book moves chronologically starting with native Americans; the first settlers on the Mayflower who found a beached whale; the rise and fall of the Quaker whaling community of Nantucket and New Bedford; to whaling's long demise after the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania. The focus on American whaling is significant because it represented about 90% of the worlds whaling prior to the 20th century, American whalers were the leaders and innovators.I previously read Moby-Dick and Philbriock's excellent In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex and thought I might enjoy learning more. While these books are more focused and romantic, Dolin's survey is by comparison brief on detail and wide in scope, yet he retains a lot of the emotional awe and wonder of whaling, it is not a dry work (you might even say it's all wet). There is hardly a page that does not have a fascinating story and corresponding book in the footnotes for further reading (many of which are 19th century accounts out of copyright and freely available online through Google Books or Internet Archive) - the history of whaling is extensive and the jump off points many and varied. The footnotes, at over 75 pages of small font text, are almost a book within a book.

I read 40 books per year and this is one of the best I've read in the last year. This book is a pretty deep dive on the early whaling industry and paints a picture of what life was like for early whalers. It really held my interest from beginning to end.

Unsurprisingly, Eric Dolin provides us with a history of American whaling. What is surprising, though, is the enjoyable way in which he tells the story.This is not a dry academic history, nor is it an economic history of the impact whaling had on the growth of America. Instead, it is the tale of how Americans, starting in earliest years of colonization, and running through the demise of whaling just after World War I, were shaped by the pursuit of these giants of the deep.Dolin spans the globe in his tale - he tells the reader of early whaling just off the East coast of the United States, he discusses ships chasing whales around the Cape Horn, up into the Arctic, and even in the South Pacific, near Australia. His history focuses on the men (and sometimes women) who worked on the boats and what these folks did with the whale.Naturally, it is a sad tale to know that Americans used a very small portion of the whale and simply discarded the remainder of the carcass, but it is important to know why - and Dolin gives us that information; he tells us that the whale oil was the desired product, and only part of the whale was needed for that product.Overall, I enjoyed the book a tremendous amount - I could smell the salt in the air during the whaling voyages, and I could envision the docks teeming with activity when the ships were either setting out or returning from their (often) several year treks around the globe. Fascinating reading for anyone with any interest in American history, critical reading for anyone with an interest in how Americans viewed the whale and other creatures of the deep during this 300 year period.