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Of Whales and Men
Description of an eight month's whaling expedition to Antarctica on board a Norweigan whaler, written by the attending head physician of the ship.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 10, 2021
Utterly fascinating! The more I read, the more I wanted to come back to the ship and hang out with it's occupants, much like the writer himself in his quest to discover what makes men leave everything behind for a difficult job at sea.
Of course, being a book from 1954, not only there was a whaling business, but also some aspects of the cultural landscape were very different from today, so one must remember that this is a piece of history. However, the assessment the doctor does of how the people in land may perceive the whaleman, even though pretty much everything in their lives depended on the whale hunt back then, is very poignant, and heartbreakingly contemporary.
Of course, being a book from 1954, not only there was a whaling business, but also some aspects of the cultural landscape were very different from today, so one must remember that this is a piece of history. However, the assessment the doctor does of how the people in land may perceive the whaleman, even though pretty much everything in their lives depended on the whale hunt back then, is very poignant, and heartbreakingly contemporary.
July 1, 2012
What drives a man to the coldest, most treacherous regions of the earth to hunt the largest creature known to current times (1954)? Why does he set out for the past three to four hundred years with death lurking around every corner, barely earning enough to support himself, let alone a family? What breed of man dare do this, year after year, driven to it as a mad man?
These are the answers psychologist R.B. Robertson sought to learn. Psychopaths, in the best sense of the word...cut from a different pattern.
Thus we travel with Dr. Robertson for some eight months aboard a whaling vessel (factory) and her 17 catcher boats. We learn what makes these men tick, their loves, their pain, their hardships, their innermost fears. An excellent book on whales, whaling and whale-men.
These are the answers psychologist R.B. Robertson sought to learn. Psychopaths, in the best sense of the word...cut from a different pattern.
Thus we travel with Dr. Robertson for some eight months aboard a whaling vessel (factory) and her 17 catcher boats. We learn what makes these men tick, their loves, their pain, their hardships, their innermost fears. An excellent book on whales, whaling and whale-men.
February 6, 2025
Este libro se remonta a una expedición ballenera de 1950, cuando la industria ballenera moderna estaba en su apogeo. El Doctor R. B. Robertson narra en 14 capítulos las diversas experiencias que acontecieron durante el largo periodo que dura la expedición.
Además de lo interesante que resulta conocer más sobre esa industria, hoy extinta, el autor logra que nos interesemos de igual manera por los balleneros, hombres descritos como “psicópatas”, en un amplio sentido de la palabra, refiriéndose a su personalidad peculiar y su capacidad de dejar todo año tras año para internarse en el océano Antártico con el objetivo de cazar al mamífero más grande del mundo; adentrándonos y comprendiendo tanto su complejo trabajo, como sus personalidades e historias.
Asimismo, el autor tampoco olvida a las ballenas, por las que en ciertas líneas se percibe su empatía e incluso cierta tristeza ante su inminente muerte debido a la caza.
Al terminar la expedición y, con ella, el libro, es increíble cómo surge el deseo de volver a embarcarse con los balleneros, seguir leyendo sus historias y conocer más de sus experiencias. Para mí, es inevitable sentir nostalgia al pensar que esta industria no existe más y que, en algún momento, estos balleneros dejaron de realizar expediciones como aquella.
Además de lo interesante que resulta conocer más sobre esa industria, hoy extinta, el autor logra que nos interesemos de igual manera por los balleneros, hombres descritos como “psicópatas”, en un amplio sentido de la palabra, refiriéndose a su personalidad peculiar y su capacidad de dejar todo año tras año para internarse en el océano Antártico con el objetivo de cazar al mamífero más grande del mundo; adentrándonos y comprendiendo tanto su complejo trabajo, como sus personalidades e historias.
Asimismo, el autor tampoco olvida a las ballenas, por las que en ciertas líneas se percibe su empatía e incluso cierta tristeza ante su inminente muerte debido a la caza.
Al terminar la expedición y, con ella, el libro, es increíble cómo surge el deseo de volver a embarcarse con los balleneros, seguir leyendo sus historias y conocer más de sus experiencias. Para mí, es inevitable sentir nostalgia al pensar que esta industria no existe más y que, en algún momento, estos balleneros dejaron de realizar expediciones como aquella.
August 5, 2025
I started reading this casually at a friend’s house, couldn’t stop thinking about it, and ended up tracking it down across used book stores and it was so worth the hunting.
There is no one thing, no one moment in this book that I can point to and say — Ah! This is why it’s great. It’s well written, by someone with a keen sense of his own outsider-ness, of his own acceptance into a life not his own, of a fading tradition with its fading skills and pride, a tradition that is a hallmark example of the Anthropocene extinction at a time when that was starting to become clear. I’d long been interested in nautical / maritime history but this was The Book that introduced whaling to my bookshelves.
There is no one thing, no one moment in this book that I can point to and say — Ah! This is why it’s great. It’s well written, by someone with a keen sense of his own outsider-ness, of his own acceptance into a life not his own, of a fading tradition with its fading skills and pride, a tradition that is a hallmark example of the Anthropocene extinction at a time when that was starting to become clear. I’d long been interested in nautical / maritime history but this was The Book that introduced whaling to my bookshelves.
August 27, 2022
I have had this book for so many years , never planning to read it, thinking it would be so dull but I am running out of book here in Mexico to read so took it off the shelf. What a wonderful surprise. The author writes of his first whaling voyage as the doctor for several hundred men on a multi month south sea whaling party. It was perfect, the book , not the trip.
November 7, 2025
Outstanding insight into the psychology of those who spent much of their lives at sea. Great historical account of the old whale trade; a completely foreign concept to 21st century Westerners even tho the industry disappeared not long ago. Makes you wonder how the generational fishermen evolved since then…. A must read for those interested in arctic exploration.
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September 12, 2021I read this when I was a teen 65 years ago. I never forgot it. I love whales and certainly not whaling but this book will show you the way it once was and I for one am glad it is now ancient history. Great book!
March 9, 2020
Wonderfully written very descriptive layman's approach to modern whaling in the post war years for whaling was suppressed.
August 19, 2013
This is a marvelous little book that summarizes a Scottish Physician's experiences aboard a British/Norwegian whaling vessel in the mid 20th Century.
If you enjoyed reading "Two Years Before The Mast", this book is a wonderful work of contrast.
If you enjoy watching "Deadliest Catch", you will love this book, which is complete with the blood and guts catastrophes one might expect in this line of work and a gripping description of South Georgia Island which was quite different back in its polluted whaling days.
If you enjoyed reading "Two Years Before The Mast", this book is a wonderful work of contrast.
If you enjoy watching "Deadliest Catch", you will love this book, which is complete with the blood and guts catastrophes one might expect in this line of work and a gripping description of South Georgia Island which was quite different back in its polluted whaling days.
February 19, 2020
I don’t understand why the other reviews are just so-so?! Maybe I’m strange, because I absolutely loved this creative nonfiction piece! ...To the point that I didn’t want to put it down, especially toward the end. I found myself excited to get back to the sea with these whalers as they all became like beloved characters in a classic fiction novel. I would highly recommend. The content is interesting and mysterious since so man on earth, hopefully, will ever experience adventures in legal whaling again.
March 29, 2014
It was an alright book. Though he was pretty preachy against the Governments in the beginning. But it was very interesting one he actually got down to telling the story and describing both the people and their jobs.
Though please bear in mind that this was written when whaling was legal.
Though please bear in mind that this was written when whaling was legal.
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July 29, 2014More fascinating info about a industry that while totally repellant, I find totally fascinating! This was written by a doctor on a modern whaling expedition (1956). For anyone like me who is interested in anything to do with whales and whaling, a must read.
June 2, 2023
This book is amazing - if you ever wanted to know what it would be like to be a whaler in the latter days of the whaling industry, this book is for you.
September 17, 2016
people insights 5*
still don' understand all the pumps and flensing process
a great complement to Moby Dick
still don' understand all the pumps and flensing process
a great complement to Moby Dick
August 17, 2023
This man is HILARIOUS I’m so happy that I stumbled across this book on a sale shelf
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews