Book Reviews

By William Rossiter

Beluga Days: Tracking a White Whale's Truths, by Nancy Lord, eloquently takes us to the isolated and genetically distinct population of belugas resident to Cook Inlet, near Anchorage, Alaska. Controversy has swirled around the shrinking population for too many years, Are they approaching extinction despite conservation laws, management policies, and human behaviors, or because of them? Are they worth saving, and at what cost? Published by Counterpoint Books/Perseus Books in 2004 it may be ordered from http://www.counterpointpress.com/.

The Whale Book: Whales and Other Marine Animals As Described by Adriaen Coenen in 1585 is a fascinating reminder of how humans are driven to observe the world, answer questions, and develop opinions, even when facts are few. Coenen's first Whale Book, written in 1585, resides in a museum library, one of the oldest works on northern Europe's cetaceans. Reaktion Books of London has republished most of Coenen's first Whale Book and the best from his other observations in this 2004 volume, a series of his artful and meticulous watercolor illustrations combined with revealing text and mixed with anecdotes, politics, poetry and cooking tips. It makes you wonder how far we have really come, and what people 500 years from now will think of today's books on whales. If you don't have this book your library is not complete. Information from morse@morse-partners.com.

Blind Man's Bluff: the Untold Story of America Submarine Espionage, by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew, was first published in 1998 and must be at your local library. The book details again and again how mission-driven people tasked to sell and develop the espionage and nuclear submarine programs to whatever congress or administration was in office explained the details artfully, never lying but often structuring their facts and answers to give a less than objective view of a situation. We're recommending that you read this carefully researched and insightful book because it's an unsettling glimpse into the collective subconscious mind of our Blue Water Navy. Sure it's about submarines, which is fascinating enough, but it certainly fits what we've seen in recent years and easily could be about the Low Frequency Active Sonar or the Navy-led battle for freedom from environmental limits. With historical accuracy it documents that, to the Navy, the mission is to win what the Navy wants.