The Whaling Season: An Inside Account of the Struggle to Stop Commercial Whaling

Kieran Mulvaney, an author who has published an extensive list of articles on matters of science and the environment, recounts his adventures and experiences while on expedition to protect whales in this book. After co-founding The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, (originally called The Whale Conservation Society), along with Sean Whyte, Mulvaney embarked upon a life of activism that takes him from his boyhood home typewriter to the frigid seas off Antarctica. As a member of four different whale protection exhibitions, Mulvaney has worked for and alongside members of Greenpeace, encountering some degree of success charting frozen waters, as well as political minefields. Through it all, his mission has remained the same - to protect the whales. An early history of the whaling industry, as well as that of Greenpeace, (originally known as the Don't Make A Wave Committee), is covered extensively. Modern day whaling practices are explained - including ways in which some countries continue to thwart the worldwide ban on whaling practices by claiming they are hunting the mammals for the purpose of science. Written in easy to understand terms (in other words, you don't have to be a biologist to get it), this book is an entertaining and interesting read, although some readers might be offended by the frequent use of colorful language. Especially enjoyable is the passage describing the majesty of icebergs, "I pictured them building up slowly over millions and millions of years and then one day, with a violent, ear-shattering crack, breaking away from the ice shelf and setting off on their own. From that moment they were doomed, destined to erode under the steady assault from wind and waves until nothing was left. . . ancient witnesses of eons past, . . . " Beautifully worded. --Michelle Smith