Whales, ice, and men : the history of whaling in the western Arctic

Select an Action

Title:

Whales, ice, and men : the history of whaling in the western Arctic / John R. Bockstoce.

Author/Creator:

Bockstoce, John R., author.

Edition:

First edition.

Publication:

Seattle and London : University of Washington Press in association with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Massachusetts, 1986.

Physical description:

400 pages : illustrations and maps ; 28 cm.

Provenance:

From the collection of Robert M. Warneke. Item ID 202700381

Notes:

Bibliography: p. 383-393 and index.

Incomplete contents:

First whaleship to Bering Strait -- From New England to Bering Strait, 1750-1848 -- An Arctic whaling voyage -- Pursuit and capture -- Development of the fishery, 1849-64 -- Civil war in the Bering Strait, the cruise of the CSS Shenandoah -- Walrusing -- The 1870's, disastrous decade -- Trade -- Steam whaling -- Shore whaling -- Herschel Island -- Federal support and the disaster of 1897 -- Decline of the fishery -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1. Chronology of major events -- Appendix 2. Estimated harvest -- Appendix 3. Statistical graph -- Appendix 4. Gazetteer of Whalers' place names in the Western Arctic -- Appendix 5. Glossary.

ISBN:

0295963182

Alternate Title:

Whales, ice & men.

Subjects:

Whaling -- Arctic Ocean -- History.

Whalers (Persons) -- History.

Whalers (Ships) -- Artic Ocean -- History.

Other Authors/Creators:

Warneke, R. M. (Robert M.), former owner.

New Bedford Whaling Museum

Record ID:

SD_ILS:214376

Available:

Library	Shelf Location	Shelf Number	Item Category 2	Item category 3	Status
Searching... State Library Reading Room	Quarto (Stack)	338.37295 BOC	Adult General	Undefined	Searching... Unknown
Searching... State Library Reading Room (Tas)	Tas Quarto (Stack)	338.37295 BOC	Adult General	Undefined	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In the pages that follow, the story of commercial whaling in the western Arctic is told by a scholar intimately acquainted with the terrain--not only as it can be found in the historical records or at archaeological sites, but from lone experience on the shores and waters where the great adventure was played out. His book is written with such mastery and vigor that we confidently greet it as the finest history yet written on any aspect of American whaling.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

A history of whaling in the western Arctic from the early 1840s through the turn of the 20th century might appear to have a rather small audience. Whether because or in spite of this, Bockstoce, curator of ethnology with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, has written a book that should appeal to a diverse readership. Intentionally avoiding the polemics and moralizing that frequently characterize writings on the subject, he has chosen instead to deal with whaling as a ``rational economic activity'' in a time and place that he portrays as the ``final flash of glorious success'' for the American whaling industry. Readability, attractive design, and ample illustration will make this book at home on coffee tables and in general public libraries, while the substantial scholarship and wealth of references should well serve academic researchers in a number of disciplines. Historians of technology and society in particular will find here a case study in the evolution of a cross-cultural technology responding to physical and economic pressures, as well as the impact of that technology on the native communities of the western Arctic. Recommended for college and university libraries.-L.W. Moore, University of Kentucky