A Whale Hunt - by Robert Sullivan (Paperback)

About the Book

The story of a Native American tribe's quest to re-institute a long-forgotten tradition, "A Whale Hunt" is a gloriously idiosyncratic fusion of travelogue, ecology, history, moral controversy, and high-seas adventure.

Book Synopsis

The critically acclaimed New York Times Notable Book about a Native American tribe's quest to regain the lost art of whale hunting, from the author of The Meadowlands.

For centuries the hunting of the whale was what defined the Makah, a Native American tribe in Neah Bay, but when commercial whaling drove the gray whale to near extinction in the 1920s, the Makah voluntarily discontinued their tradition and hung up their harpoons. In 1994, after the gray whale was taken off the endangered species list, the Makah decided to hunt again. The problem was that all the old whalers were dead--no one knew how to go about hunting a whale.

A Whale Hunt chronicles the two years Robert Sullivan spends with the Makah as they prepare for and stage the first hunt. Combating tribal infighting and inexperience, they must also face passionate, furious animal rights activists and swarming reporters. Before the ragtag group of hunters even pursues a whale, there are clashes, disappointments, and defeats, small triumphs and unexpected heroes.

A book of many layers and revelations, A Whale Hunt is the story of the demise and attempted resurrection of a Native American nation and of the individuals on the reservation whose lives are forever changed.

Review Quotes

Jonathan Raban The New York Review of Books A book that is at once enthralling, fair-minded, and very funny.

Nathaniel Philbrick The New York Times Book Review Marvelous...Sullivan has a very Ishmael-like talent for being both funny and generous, and at times A Whale Hunt reads like Cool Runnings meets Northern Exposure.

Larry McMurtry A good book about the difficulties of keeping a cultural and tribal tradition alive in the present day. Mr. Sullivan's account is sensitive, moving, and sad.

About the Author

Robert Sullivan is the author of The Meadowlands, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He is also the author of Rats, A Whale Hunt, and The Thoreau You Don't Know. A contributing editor at Vogue, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times Book Review. He lives in Brooklyn, New Yo