A Savage History: Whaling in the Pacific and Southern Oceans

by John Newton

Nothing prepares you for your first sight of the world's largest mammal. Celebrated, revered, studied and increasingly watched for pleasure rather than hunted, whales hold particular allure. Humans have always been in awe of them, but for much of history we have been compelled to dominate and kill them - though like Moby Dick, sometimes whales fight back. A Savage History tells the rich history of whales and whaling. We learn about these highly intelligent and magnificent creatures, and follow the stories of whalers from the eighteenth century who hunted their prey along the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, across the Pacific and into the Southern Ocean. The result is a powerful account of a complex and bloody relationship. Although the modern era has seen the end of industrial whaling, as John Newton shows, the work of those who want to protect whales is far from over.

404 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

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Please see: John Newton


Dr. John Newton is an Australian author, journalist, novelist and lecturer. As a journalist he has written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Art of Eating, The Asian Wall Street Journal, the Weekend Australian Magazine and Slow. His first two novels, published in the '90s, were Whoring and The Man Who Painted Women. He writes about food and his three Spanish books are A Little Taste of Spain, Cooking Spanish and The Food of Spain. His last book for Murdoch was The Roots of Civilisation: a history of plants that changed the world. Grazing: the ramblings and recipes of a man who gets paid to eat was published in 2010. The Oldest Foods on Earth: a history of Australian native foods, with recipes was the 2016 National winner of the The Gourmand Awards, Best Culinary History Book category.
Two of his latest books are Stefano Manfredi's Italy & The Getting of Garlic, Australian Food from Bland to Brilliant. He occasionally uses his full name John Sefton Newton.