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Sea of Slaughter
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The northeastern seaboard of the United States and Canada, from Cape Cod to Labrador, was the first region in North America to suffer from human exploitation. In this timeless narrative, Farley Mowat describes in harrowing detail the devastation inflicted upon the birds, whales, fish, and mammals of this icy coast—from polar bears and otters to cod, seals, and ducks. Since
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Paperback, 420 pages
Published
August 18th 2004
by Stackpole Books
(first published 1984)
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Farley Mowat (1921–2014) was a famous Canadian nature writer, a fire-breathing critic of modernity’s war on wildness. He spent much of his life close to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic, and was an avid outdoorsman. By 1975, he and his wife were becoming acutely aware of the sharp decline of wildlife during their own lifetimes.
Mowat chatted with 90-year olds who confirmed his suspicions, and revealed even more tragedies. Then he began researching historical documents, and his mind snapp ...more
Mowat chatted with 90-year olds who confirmed his suspicions, and revealed even more tragedies. Then he began researching historical documents, and his mind snapp ...more

Since reading Mowat's "Sea of Slaughter," I can't get a certain picture out of my mind. It is of a sandy ocean beach, miles and miles long, where tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of morse came to socialize every summer until the middle of last century. The morse, or northern walrus, was a stupendous animal, of impressive bearing: a veritable lion of the sea. Yet it comes no more to those grounds, once the largest colony of its kind, out on Canada's Magdalene Islands, off the coast
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May 01, 2011
SD Mittelsteadt
marked it as to-read
I'll return to this book. Very depressing and hard to stick with it.
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Haunting, powerful. One of the most moving books I've read. 20 years later, the images still stick with me.
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It's horrifying, disgusting, morbid and apalling. It isn't a happy subject matter, but it is well written and intersting. :)
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This is easily the most depressing book I’ve ever read, the most horrific horror story. I love Farley Mowat’s writing and it is as good here as ever. The subject matter, however, is diabolical.
Human kind’s ability for and propensity toward cruelty and destruction in the name of progress, be it financial, spiritual, territorial or what have you, is surely one of the most powerful forces ever. European invaders arrived on the east coasts of what we now call Canada, the United States and South Amer ...more
Human kind’s ability for and propensity toward cruelty and destruction in the name of progress, be it financial, spiritual, territorial or what have you, is surely one of the most powerful forces ever. European invaders arrived on the east coasts of what we now call Canada, the United States and South Amer ...more

I choose to read this book for my biology book report and for my English book review. I choose this book because it's about the oceans, and I like learning about the oceans. When I started reading this book it was really good but as the book went on and on talking about the same concept it just started to get boring. This book is about the destruction of the north Atlantic seaboard and its wildlife. This book is in third person point of view because its a lot of different people telling Mowat wh
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Depressing, infuriating, horrifying, frightening - there just aren't enough adjectives to do justice. A passionate chronicle of man's greed and ignorance leading to the destruction of the East Coast ecosystem. Mowat's well-researched descriptions of the incredible abundance of birds, land mammals, fish, whales, and seals - skillfully contrasted with what we are left with today - are eye-opening. Worst of all, the slaughter goes on today - man just changes aims his avarice a new species.
If I had ...more
If I had ...more

In the novel,"Sea of Slaughter," I enjoyed how Farley Mowat introduced one of the subjects and was never opinionated, Always supporting the readers with facts and examples. The Foreword by David Suzuki was very well written and set the tone for the rest of the story, in my opinion. It was important to hear an example as a reader of the northern lands and waters where these problems were occurring and how some of the people who have lived there for so long have witnessed them firsthand. Overall i
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This book was a game changer for me. I read it with Diet For a New America by John Robbins and come out the other side - vegan. Well, that was a lot of years ago and I'm still vegan. Thank you, Farley and John, for telling the terrible truths. Yes, books can change lives.
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Mar 31, 2013
Theresa
added it
Farley MOWAT, Canadian Legend, so good at tellign the story with details , all the while making it a page turner you can't put down,, this one I will keep!
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Farley McGill Mowat was a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.
Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.
Mowat studied biology at the University of Toronto. During a field trip to the Arctic, Mowat became outrage ...more
Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.
Mowat studied biology at the University of Toronto. During a field trip to the Arctic, Mowat became outrage ...more
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“The Hunters, armed with heavy clubs, Advance upon the Isle, and by the noise They make, affright the Creatures, which By flight into the Sea, seek an escape From those upon their slaughter bent... It matters not which course they take, All are struck down upon the way; Fathers and Mothers, little Ones... Upon them all, blows fall like hail; If well directed, one upon the nose Suffices and the deed is done. But The beast still lives, for by the blow It is but shorn of consciousness; And sometimes so, within an hour’s space, Five or six hundred are laid low.”
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